9610 Village Place Boulevard
Brighton, MI 48116
January 2025
If you are looking to attract more Northern Cardinals and Grosbeak species this is the blend for you! It is a blend of every food they enjoy like safflower, black oil sunflower, Bark Butter ® bits, peanuts, mealworms, and striped sunflower. We recommend serving this in a feeder that has large perching areas, so these larger birds can eat comfortably, so consider a tray, hopper, or tube style feeder. Northern Cardinals are a stunning sight to see in the yard, because the males are bright red, and the females are a vibrant buff yellow. So, keep an eye out for these common feeder visitors, and some other species like American Goldfinches or Carolina Wrens that will enjoy this blend.
Winter is such a great time to watch birds in Michigan, because we get winter migrants too! Our sales associate Jamie had a juvenile Bald Eagle hunting for some fish on his lake. Bald Eagles will move southwards during colder weather for more resources and new territory. However, a murder of American Crows were pestering the Eagle and making it more difficult for it to enjoy its catch. American Crows are also known for this type of behavior called “mobbing”, which is when they defend their territory against other predators and reduce the likelihood that they will return.
Sunday, January 12th from 4 PM to 5 PM (in-store): All About Squirrels. Learn about these furry critters and how to attract them or deter them.
Thursday, January 23rd from 7 PM to 8 PM (in- store): Ornitherapy. A class that teaches you the health benefits of watching birds and enjoying nature.
Contact the store for class registration at 810-522-5520.
The name of the game for January is teaching! Owner Laurel will be out and about in the community a lot this month. She has eleven educational programs scheduled for January, two in the store and nine others offsite at preschools, libraries, garden clubs, and Howell Parks and Recreation.
As Vice President for the Friends of Island Lake State Recreation Area, she will also be working on writing a grant to help re-vamp and refresh the Bluebird Nest Box Trail located inside the park so that every nursery box is in tip-top shape for the 2025 nesting season.
The month will wrap up with making plans for National Bird Feeding Month in February, so stay tuned for upcoming events in your email!
Water is such an important resource for our backyard birds, and our customer D.Z. got to enjoy a party of Eastern Bluebirds enjoying her heated birdbath! Eastern Bluebirds do stay in Michigan for the season, as long as they have enough resources. However, they do tend to be more nomadic during winter and forage in Southern Michigan, feeding on winter berries. Having a birdbath will increase your chances of seeing them on their “off season”. If you have any pictures or fun stories you would like to share, send us an email at [email protected].
Many of our lovable summer visitors migrate to Central and South America to enjoy warmer weather and reliable food sources like fruits and insects that Michigan cannot provide in cold temperatures. These birds are out of sight until May, but that does not mean they should be out of mind, especially when thinking about your daily cup-o’-joe.
Coffee farms are concentrated in a lot of these areas that orioles, warblers, and thrushes depend on. About 75% of these companies grow their plants in the sun, effectively eliminating the native habitat that these birds, and native species rely on for surviving. Without natural habitat there is a lack of food, shelter, and water for them as more of the landscape is used up for these large-scale farming endeavors. Pesticides and fertilizers are heavily used and that directly impacts birds since they feast on insects.
Drinking shade-grown coffee is a way that we can help our songbirds, because coffee that is grown in the understory of tropical rainforests benefits the natural ecology of the habitat and is more environmentally sustainable. More than 42 species of North American migratory songbirds can be impacted if we take a closer look at our cup of coffee in the morning. Look for a symbol on your coffee’s packaging that verifies it has been certified as bird friendly by the Smithsonian Migratory Bird Center, or visit our store and stock up on our award-winning Songbird Coffee.
At our store we carry ground or bean Thanksgiving Coffee in a light, medium, or dark roast. In addition, these coffees are certified as organic and meet fair trade standards! Make an impact on your birds and try bird-friendly coffee, our feathered friends will appreciate it and so will your taste buds! Source: https://nationalzoo.si.edu/migratory-birds/bird-friendly
Look for this symbol on coffee to see if your brand is bird-friendly.
