From Fall of 2005… Where have all of my birds been? September and October are always the slowest months at feeders. This is the season of nature’s bounty. Some years are better than others. The moisture and other factors this year must have been perfect because the amount of natural food out there is staggering. I have never seen so many acorns, walnuts, berries and seeds as I have this fall. Generally November 1st has always been my “unofficial” start of the feeder season and reports of increased feeder activity have been coming in this week. Finally! The Squirrel Buster Plus has quickly become a best seller in our squirrel-proof line. $64.99 Is there anything new in the battle against squirrels? Foiling squirrels continues to be at the forefront of feeder design. I still feel the best way is a well positioned pole system with a quality baffle. It does seem that the issue of too many trees to prevent the air attack is becoming more common. If that is your case then you should consider a squirrel proof feeder. While we have several good models, the Squirrel Buster Plus from Brome has become one of our best sellers. Woodpecker Treat from C&S is high quality suet. $2.29 Is there a difference in suets? There are a couple of big differences in suet. First is the difference between summer and winter formulas. The no melt formulas for summer are doughier and have less fat in them. The other difference is (as always) quality. Cheap suet cakes are generally filled with “fillers”, usually a cheap bag of bird seed. The birds that feed on suet cakes do it for the suet, not the millet seed in the cake. Better suet cakes cost a little more but contain only the basic ingredients that the birds want. My choices for the best winter cakes #1 Pure Suets, #2 Woodpecker Treat and #3 Peanut Treat. I have been hearing a lot about the Bird Flu. Should I stop feeding birds? No. I have been trying to keep up with the latest on the Bird Flu and have found good information on the Cornell Web site among others. There is absolutely no record of the flu strain being passed from wild birds to humans. In fact all cases to date have been linked to people who work closely with the poultry industry. I also understand the wild birds it has been recorded in are mainly waterfowl and shorebirds (perhaps because of run off into wetlands from infected poultry operations). This extremely rare flu is really being hyped by the media.
	From Summer of 2005… How do I attract Gray Catbirds? A lot of people noticed that I recently wrote that catbirds are attracted to grape jelly. Like a lot of birds, placing a particular kind of food out isn’t always enough. Habitat, habitat, habitat. Catbirds are fond of thick, shrubby areas. You will have far greater luck attracting a lot of birds if you leave part of your yard “wild.” I chuckle when people talk about clearing out all of the “snakey” looking places. It doesn’t have to be a jungle, but leaving an area of natural ground cover and a shrub layer is very important to wildlife. Gray Catbirds, Eastern Towhees, Brown Thrashers, Wrens and many of the native sparrows are especially attracted to these areas. Would it do me any good to put up a Purple Martin house this late? You would not get any nesting activity this late, but many theorize that as martins gather to migrate south in the fall, they are scouting out potential nesting sites for next year. If you do, be careful to keep sparrows from setting up nest. Some of the bird names in my field guide are wrong. Who decides on bird names and why do they change them? This can be frustrating, especially if your field guide is an older one. A group of experts known as the American Ornithologist Union (AOU) sets the “standard” names for birds. Researchers submit recommendations for changing names, lumping bird species together (the orioles a few years ago), splitting species apart (the orioles more recently), etc. The AOU then rules on those recommendations. In the past many name changes were associated with aligning more accurately “our names” with other birds on the planet. A good example was the changing of our Sparrow Hawk to American Kestrel because the European species have had the more accurate names far longer. While it can be confusing, in the end the system works. Should I store my birdseed inside or outside? I am a firm believer in storing my seed outside in aluminum cans with a good bungy cord holding the lid on. Late summer is the time we see the worst of the insects in bird seed. Sunflower, corn, peanuts and any grain product are naturally vulnerable to meal (or pantry) moths. The prime hatching time for the small white caterpillars is in late summer. They will find a tight hiding spot, “silk up” and soon emerge as a moth. The absolute best way to prevent this is to keep your seed in the freezer. The alternative method is to, at least during late summer, buy smaller quantities and keep it outside. If you do have problems with the moths, the pheromone traps by Spring Star work very well. I keep them out at the store and our house at all times.
	From Spring of 2005… Do you ever hear from Dale of the old Dale’s For The Birds store? Yes. Many people ask about Dale and I am glad to report that his enjoying his retirement in sunny Arizona. We recently traded a couple of e-mails and he wanted me to send his best wishes to everyone. He was happy to know the store was still “going” and was tickled to know that people are still asking about him. What is your favorite bird song CD? There are many good ones on the market today. The only one I had access to when I was learning was Roger Tory Peterson’s Bird Songs East. It is still a great resource. If you really want to learn bird songs “on your own” the best CD’s available are the Birding By Ear I & II. Perhaps the fastest bird song learner I know, Doug Willis, greatly credits these discs with his rapid learning - especially the warblers. Male Baltimore Oriole on a Holland Hill Fruit & Jelly I know that orioles like grape jelly. What other birds can I expect to see feeding from it? Just a few of the birds that our customers regularly report visiting jelly are: Orchard Orioles (burnt orange and black cousins of the Baltimore), House Finches, Red-bellied Woodpeckers, Downy Woodpeckers and far less commonly Summer Tanagers, Northern Mockingbird and Yellow-bellied Sapsucker. I suspect the longer we offer the jelly as a food source, the longer this list will become. Let me know if you have seen others and please send action photos! How many times do birds nest during a year? Larger birds such a hawks and owls will only nest once per year but many smaller birds in our region will nest two to three times. Morning Doves on the other hand will nest up to six or seven times. Make sure you clean out your nest boxes after each nesting. How often should I change my hummingbird nectar? If your nectar feeder (hummingbird or oriole) is in the shade and temperatures are consistently below 75, you can get by with changing your nectar once every 5 days or so. When the temperatures rise to the 80 degree and higher average and especially if your feeder is in direct sunlight for most of the day, change it every other day or more.
	From Winter of 2005… I hear the cage feeders are great at keeping out squirrels and starlings. Is there a way to easily make a cage feeder out of one of my tube feeders I already have? Yes. Duncraft makes a great little cage called the Create-A-Haven. Most flat top tube feeders that are 18 inches or less will slide inside it. I have seen a hawk hanging around my backyard. What kind is it and what can I do to protect my birds? If your read last issue’s Hawk Gawking article, you know that there are a few species of hawks that live here in winter, but the most common “bird feeder” hawks are the Coopers and Sharp-shinned Hawks. I always struggle with telling people to do anything to discourage hawks because they have to eat too, but…First, make sure your feeders are close to some type of escape cover (trees, bushes, etc.). If this isn’t convenient for viewing your feeders, consider building a temporary brush pile. This year’s Christmas tree works great. While it is rare for a raptor to “stay” at a feeder station for an extended period, you can try bringing in your feeders for a couple of days to get them to move on. I have so many house finches at my feeders, my goldfinches can’t seem to get a turn at the feeders. What can I do? There are two things that I have found effective. Since House Finches do not like to hang upside down to feed, the feeders from Perky-Pet that have the ports beneath the perches are effective. I have also found that House Finches heavily prefer Safflower, so if I have Safflower available they leave the Nyjer and Black Tie Mix for my goldfinches. I love Blue Jays. What should I be feeding them? I like Blue Jays too. They have a wide diet but love acorns in the wild. At my feeders, I treat them to peanuts in the shell. I love watching them cart them off one or two at a time. The ones they don’t eat, they will store away for later. Do they ever find them all? Probably not.

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