Top 10 Frequently Asked Backyard Birding Questions

The fastest way to a bird's heart is definitely through their stomach.
Put up a
backyard bird feeder and birds will certainly come to feed in your yard.
Where you live determines what you'll see because of differences in birds'
range and habitat preferences. As words spread about your feeder, the kinds
of birds and the size of crowd will increase. Even if you live in the city where
it seems pigeons and house sparrows are the only birds on earth, you'll get
surprise visitors that find your food or stop in on migration.
Top 10 Frequently Asked Backyard Birding Questions.
1. Why aren't there any birds at my feeder? Birds are seasonal creatures of
habit. Some species that eat seed at your feeder all winter long switch to
insects or fruit during the spring and summer. And most birds take the bulk of
their diet from natural sources of food, rather than at our feeders. So the
goldfinches that stayed around until May may be off eating weed and flower
seeds in nearby meadows. A healthy natural crop of seeds, berries, fruits,
and insects is most likely the answer. Be patient, and the birds will return to
your feeders once the natural food stores begin to dwindle. One final
possibility: a predator may be stalking around your feeder, forcing the birds
into hiding. Look for a cat or hawk in your yard if your birds disappear all of a
sudden.
2. How can I keep squirrels from cleaning out my bird feeders? The best
solution is to prevent these clever critters from getting to your feeders in the
first place. A quality pole-mounted baffle, suspended below your feeder,
should prevent invasion from the ground. A smooth metal or plastic baffle
placed above the feeder should prevent assault from the air, but you must
make sure that your feeders are placed far from any object from which the
squirrels can launch themselves. A squirrel leaping from a tree to your feeder
will put the Flying Wallendas to shame. Last resort? Offer whole ears of feed
corn, or whole kernels in a squirrel-friendly feeder far from your bird feeders.
You may lure them away with this, their favorite food.
3. Should I take down my hummingbird feeder in the fall so the hummers

know to migrate? It's a myth that a hummingbird, or any bird for that matter,
will stick around a feeder and neglect to migrate. As much as we'd like to
think we're in control of the birds at our feeders, we aren't. Instinct and
hormonal urges are what drive birds to migrate, and hummers are no
different. Besides, there are good reasons to leave your hummingbird feeder
up in the fall. It offers late migrant hummers a refueling spot, long after most
nectar-producing flowers have ceased blooming. I leave my feeders up until
the nights get too cold for the solution to remain unfrozen. I've never had a
super-late hummer, but I want to be ready if one appears.
4. Will the birds starve if I quit feeding them? No, birds have wings and are
experts at using them to move around looking for a source of food. Birds
have evolved over the eons to be highly mobile. Even sedentary species
such as the northern cardinal are adept at finding food. Our feeding stations
are more of a convenience than a necessity to most birds. In extremely bad
winter weather, our feeders are more helpful, because natural sources of
food can be hard to find. Nature has given birds the tools they need to find
food for themselves, so when you go on a winter vacation, don't worry about
the birds at your feeders. It would be nice if you can have a neighbor tend to
your feeders, but most of the birds will do just fine for a while without your
help.
5. There's a bald bird at my feeder. What happened to it? Birds use their bills
and feet to preen all sorts of nasty stuff out of their feathers - dirt, excess oil,
mites, lice, ticks. But the one place a bird can't preen very well is its own
head (sort of like that place in the middle of your back that itches, but you
can't reach). When a bird, such as a cardinal, gets an infestation of feather
mites, it can't get rid of all the feather-eating pests on its head. Combine this
with a bird's annual late-summer feather molt (when most songbirds lose and
replace almost all of their feathers gradually), and you may see a bird with no
feathers on its head or neck. Until the new feathers grow in, the bird is
seemingly bald. A bald cardinal looks black-headed because its dark skin is
revealed in the absence of feathers.
6. How do I discourage the (choose one) doves, blackbirds, house finches at

my feeders? There are two things to consider when you wish to discourage a
certain group of birds at your feeders: food and feeder. Stop offering the food
that the pest birds seem to consume most eagerly. For blackbirds this may
be corn or mixed seed. For doves, it's mixed seed, containing milo, millet,
wheat, and other grains. To discourage house finches, shorten the perches
on your tube feeders, or order a special house-finch-proof feeder that has
the feeding holes below the perches (goldfinches and siskins will hang
upside down to feed, but most house finches won't). As for feeders, stop
offering food on the ground or on large platform feeders to discourage doves
and blackbirds. Tube and satellite feeders are hard for them to negotiate. To
discourage house finches, offer a limited amount of black-oil sunflower seed
in a small satellite feeder, one that chickadees, nuthatches, titmice, and
goldfinches can visit one at a time.
7. What's the best birdseed to use to get the maximum number of birds? For
most of North America, black-oil sunflower seed works best for variety and
universal acceptance. However, in the Southwest mixed seed containing milo
seems to work best. Ask a local expert at a specialty bird store or at your
seed supplier which foods work best in your region and climate.
8. Is peanut butter bad for birds? Will it stick to the roof of their beaks? This
topic is hotly debated, but there is no scientific evidence one way or the
other. We humans sometimes have trouble digesting large mouthfuls of
peanut butter, so is it logical that the same is true for birds? Not really. Birds'
bills do not have as much saliva as human mouths, so it is less likely that the
peanut butter will get gooey and stuck to the roof. To be safe, it's smart to
mix chunky peanut butter with whole oats, raisins, cornmeal, and other
ingredients to make it drier and more solid, and thus less sticky when it
enters a bird's bill. Offer only small amounts and offer a source of water, just
in case a bird wants to get a beak-cleaning drink.
9. How can I keep a hawk from killing birds at my feeders? You can't, either
literally or legally, prevent a hawk from doing what comes naturally to it:
hunting for food. Sharp-shinned and Cooper's hawks, the two most common
backyard birds of prey, are natural predators on songbirds and will make a
pass at the birds at a busy feeder. Enjoy this dramatic natural scene as it
plays out, and - if you can - consider yourself lucky to witness it. Birds of
prey, like nearly all wild bird species, are protected by federal and state
wildlife laws.
10. There's a woodpecker ruining my siding. How can I make it stop? Your
woodpecker, like the hawks in the previous question, are just doing what
comes naturally. Woodpeckers drum, drill, and excavate in wood for many
reasons. Drumming is done to announce a bird's presence both as a
defender of a given territory and as a potential mate. But drumming is done
to make noise, not holes. If a woodpecker is making holes it is looking for one
of two things: food in the form of wood-boring insects (ants, termites, and
their larval grubs) or a nesting cavity. To encourage a woodpecker to look
elsewhere, try these ideas: 1. Scare the bird away regularly by startling it. 2.
Hang up something to discourage or scare it, such as sheet metal, fencing,
aluminum pans or foil, rubber snakes, plastic owls, and so on. 3. Erect a
woodpecker nest box over the damaged area. 4. If all else fails, call your
local wildlife control office and ask for their help in removing the bird or birds
causing the damage.

Top 10 Frequently Asked Backyard Birding Questions

Uploaded by

Copyright:

Available Formats

Top 10 Frequently Asked Backyard Birding Questions

Uploaded by

Document Information

Original Title

Copyright

Available Formats

Share this document

Share or Embed Document

Sharing Options

Did you find this document useful?

Is this content inappropriate?

Copyright:

Available Formats

Top 10 Frequently Asked Backyard Birding Questions

Uploaded by

Copyright:

Available Formats

The fastest way to a bird's heart is definitely through their stomach.

Top 10 Frequently Asked Backyard Birding Questions.

3. Should I take down my hummingbird feeder in the fall so the hummers

6. How do I discourage the (choose one) doves, blackbirds, house finches at

You might also like