THE FLOCK NEWSLETTER

Featured Product:

Squirrel-proof Eliminator

Baby squirrels are out learning where all the best food sources are, and their activity might be increasing around bird feeders. These furry friends can become a nemesis quickly, and that is where the Eliminator™ comes in handy! This is our most popular squirrel-proof feeder because it has an adjustable weight trigger and a limited lifetime warranty against squirrel damage. Almost any type of food can be served in it, but you should steer clear of any blends that have dried fruit or suet nuggets, which can prevent the weight mechanism from working properly. If you are trying to beat the critters stop by the store or shop online with us at https://order.wbu.com/brighton.

What have we been seeing?

Baby Chickadees!

Nesting season is in full-swing as insects have started emerging and the weather has warmed up. Assistant manager, Megan has her first nest of Black-capped Chickadees! The mom laid 8 eggs, and then a few days later she checked and all 8 babies had hatched. The babies are a few days old in this picture, and they should fledge in 14-18 days. Black- capped Chickadees only have one nest a season, and the whole cycle can last 30-40 days. When monitoring nests, it is better to check on them later in the afternoon when mom is off to feed or relieve herself, and only check every 3-4 days, to reduce the amount of stress on them.

Bird Nerd Corner:

Bird Identification

Identifying birds can be hard especially in low light conditions, or if you are looking at a juvenile. Our customer K.P. sent us this picture in hopes we could help her with this species. This is a male Rose-breasted Grosbeak, but he his missing a key identifier: his red V-neck! Sometimes, birds and other animals can have a condition called “leucism”, which is when some feathers or fur do not produce pigment, so they grow in white. American Robins are another species that leucism is commonly found in. Thank you K.P. for sharing this cool find! If you are interested in sharing a story or picture with us, send an email to [email protected].

Save the Songbirds:

The Ultimate Bird Feeding Set-up

The first step in creating the best experience for the hobby of backyard bird feeding is beginning with a foundational feeder. A great example of this would be a hopper-style that can be filled with a seed blend which caters to several species of seed- and nut-eating birds. Typically, something that contains a mixture of sunflower, safflower, peanuts, and millet will work for the Great Lakes region. Most of the time Black-capped Chickadees or Downy Woodpeckers are the initial species to find a new bird feeder.

It is essential to have a strong base for your bird feeders, because if you don’t, it could lead to damaged or broken feeders. Our hardware is unique to the Wild Birds Unlimited franchise and is called the Advanced Pole System® (APS). There are so many ideas that you can bring to life with our set-up, since it is so customizable we refer to it as “adult LEGOs”. We have three box sets available to get you started, or the ability to build your set-up from scratch.

Another important thing to consider would be adding a source of water. The APS system has an EZ-attach bird bath bracket that can be placed on the same set-up as some of your bird feeders. Some birds are more attracted to water than food, so it increases the likelihood of seeing other birds like American Robins or Gray Catbirds.
We are here to get you set-up for success, so if you have questions or need feedback on what will work in your backyard, we are your people! It is even more helpful if you bring pictures, so we know what we are working with. Stop by the store or give us call for all you bird-loving needs!