Keep Critters Away from Any Bird Feeder

Spicy foods aren't for everyone, including the critters that seem to empty your bird feeders. In fact, people, rodents and other mammals feel the burn when eating peppers. Birds do not.

That's a great tidbit of information to know when creating foods that can satisfy birds but deter animals, such as squirrels and raccoons.

We are proud to offer the widest variety of hot pepper bird foods on the market. Shop now and see how our hot pepper foods can help you regain control of your backyard.

 

Click the link below to enjoy the Cornell Lab FeederWatch Cam.  Hosted by Wild Birds Unlimited.

Cornell FeederWatch Cam LIVE

 

6 Ways to Prepare Your Yard for Fall Migration

Attract migrating birds to your backyard by setting up an environment that mimics how birds naturally live and forage.

1. Understand fall migration.

When fall arrives, a bird's life transitions. Summer was nesting time, during which birds set up territories and raise babies. In fall, they are no longer raising families and most of these territories break down. Some birds flock up with their own kind and use the flock as a winter survival tactic, taking advantage of more eyes to search for food and watch for predators.  Some birds mix together with other bird species in a winter foraging flock. This loose foraging guild travels around, learning each other’s alarm calls to protect from danger. They also learn food foraging techniques from each other, such as searching up or down trees.

2. Attract birds with low-lying landscapes.

Overall, a varied, dynamic landscape that is not completely manicured will help attract birds during the fall. Take a look at your landscape, try to leave some natural roughage. If possible, leave weed-seed plants. Many birds, like finches, sparrows and juncos, love to work on them.

Put out a few brush piles. It gives birds a place to hide from weather and predators. It also gives them a place to loaf and socialize before and after eating at your feeders. Ground-feeding environments attract birds that avoid elevated food sources. Song sparrows like to feed this way and are just about everywhere in North America.

You also want millet-type blends. These are wonderful when offered in feeders that are near the ground or in an elevated feeder that allows some millet to be dropped to the ground.

3. Attend to bird feeding stations.

Fall is the perfect time to attend to your bird feeding stations. Take the opportunity to clean and repair your feeders now, because who really wants to care for feeders during winter weather?

Fall is also a great time to move bird feeding stations closer to the house. It will be easier to keep them full during winter’s cold. Plus, regularly moving feeding stations prevents buildup of debris under the feeder, making it healthier for ground-feeding birds.

4. Fresh food now to attract birds later.

As birds come through and decide where to stay, they are more likely to stay if they note a regularly available food source. Even if they are not hitting the food source on a consistent basis in the fall, once the weather turns cooler, they’ll remember where that reliable source is. By keeping food fresh now, even if it’s a small amount, the birds will reward you once the weather turns.

5. There are more food sources beyond seed.

Make sure you have high-quality fresh food and high-energy, high-fat foods. Wild Birds Unlimited seed blends have these qualities. Also, spreadable Bark Butter or Bark Butter Bits are great sources. Bark Butter in any form is a magnet for birds, and there are over 140 species confirmed that enjoy them. Once they try it, birds are all over it. Live or dried mealworms are another option. These foods help captivate migrating birds.

6. Provide a moving water source.

A moving water source is a magnet for birds. If a bird is passing through and they see or hear moving water, they will almost always check it out. They need open water sources for drinking and keeping their feathers maintained for flight and proper insulation as the nights get colder.

Stop by the store and we’ll show you the foods, feeders and other products to help attract migrating birds.

 

OCTOBER NATURE HAPPENING       

Mid-October brings the greatest variety of migrating raptors. Golden Eagles, Peregrine Falcons and Merlin’s can be sighted. Broad-winged Hawks are gone by end of the month.

•Sharp-shinned Hawk population increases dramatically from northern migration. Look for them along road sides and hanging out at your bird feeders.

• Most Wood Ducks begin to migrate south this month, but a few stay to over winter in Eastern part of the state.

• Green-winged Teals and Pied-billed Grebes are migrating south, look for them at Abrams Creek, Lake Frederick, and farm ponds.

• Last of the Chimney Swifts will leave at the beginning of the month.

• Merlin, a pigeon-sized falcon from Canada, is migrating through the area headed south. Merlin’s will be found scanning open areas from treetops. Look for them at Blandy Farm, Abrams Creek Wetlands, and Lake Frederick

.• Purple finches arrive and will be attracted to finch feeders.

• Fox Sparrows, Lincoln Sparrows and American Tree Sparrows may be seen under feeders scratching through litter during their autumn migration.

• Blue-headed Vireos are traveling through to their wintering grounds. Look for them in coniferous habitats foraging for insects. Wood Duck

• Orange-crowned, Tennessee, and Black and White Warblers are migrating to their wintering grounds, look for them in deciduous forests gleaning for insects.

• Lapland Longspur, a common arctic tundra bird is sometimes found wintering in pastures and open grasslands foraging for insects and seeds.

• Ruby-throated Hummingbirds, House wrens, Catbirds and Tree swallows have departed by the end of the month.

• Juncos, White-crowned and White-throated Sparrows become common under the feeders towards the end of the month, migrating from their northern breeding habitats.

• Look for Rufous Hummingbirds to arrive in Maryland and Virginia, keep your feeders up through December!

• This is the month to install and repair nest boxes for use next year. This is a very good time to clean out Purple Martin houses.

• Keep nesting boxes up for cavity-dwelling birds to roost during the upcoming colder nights and inclement weather.

• Goldenrods, Asters, Bonesets and Blazing Stars are in bloom.

• White-tailed Deer bucks go into rut and are moving, keep a watchful eye along the highways.

• Squirrels are working at an insane level right now caching acorns and other tree nuts for the upcoming winter.

• Groundhogs are feeding profusely in preparation for hibernation.

• Virginia bats are either migrating south for the winter or seeking shelter in surrounding caves to hibernate.

• Cankerworms are emerging from their cocoons as adult moths eager to mate. Females will lay clusters of barrel-shaped eggs on branches, which will hatch in the spring.

• Spider webs are EVERYWHERE. Female spiders are preparing to lay eggs which will hatch in the springtime. Don’t destroy their webs as they are a natural insect removal system catching and eliminating vast amounts of insects including the stinkbug! Want an educational book for the children? E.B.Whites book Charlotte’s Web was release 68 years ago this month.

• Live in the mountains? Rattlesnakes are slithering together to form communal hibernation knots in rock outcroppings and borrows to escape the cold winter.

• Beavers are very active in the evenings while caching a winter supply of food.

 

 

---