THE FLOCK NEWSLETTER

Our Nesting SuperBlend is Back!

Stay seasonally savvy and give your birds what they need when they need it most. Our nesting blend is specially formulated with essential protein and calcium for your feathered friends to be in tip-top shape during the pre-nesting, nesting, and molting times. This blend is what your birds need from early Spring through early Fall to be healthy and support nesting and all the feather changes that come throughout the season. Protein helps feathers grow in, calcium supports healthy eggshell and bone growth, and fat-rich foods provide high energy for busy bird parents providing for their brood. The loose seed can be added in with your favorite blend, or you can rotate between your regular seed cylinder and the nesting cylinder. Many birds nest multiple times over the summer, so none of it will go to waste!

The Creative Hairy Woodpecker

If there’s a will, there’s a way! Our store manager, Summer, got this great snapshot of her Hairy Woodpecker contorting its body to feed from this finch feeder. Woodpeckers have very long tongues, so they can easily access the small ports on this specialty feeder. During this time of year, many birds might eat food they don’t normally eat. If they cache food, their storage is running low and they haven’t had a chance to restock because nothing has gone to seed. Also, many birds begin changing their feeding habits as it gets warmer to a more protein-rich, insect-heavy diet, and they may become sparse at feeders as they begin raising a family.

Nature Nerd Corner:

Nesting Eastern Screech Owl

Our customer P.C. has been observing a gray morph Eastern Screech Owl checking out her nesting box for the past couple of weeks. They are primarily nocturnal hunters, so they will sleep in nest boxes during the day and leave at night. Now is the perfect time to install one, because their breeding season goes through June and the fledglings will stay through the summer as they learn how to hunt on their own. The Eastern Screech Owl has a unique call that sounds like a low, even-pitched whinny and it lasts only a few seconds, so you really must listen for it. If you want to hear more owl calls, check out All About Owls - Screech Owls

Save the Songbirds:

Journey North - Migration Tracker

Are you anxiously waiting for your hummingbirds and orioles like we are? There are plenty of websites and resources that help track what species have been spotted in your area during migration season. Many of the sites gather their data from citizen scientists and use it to understand more about these species and what can be done to protect them.

Journey North is a non-profit organization that focuses on spring indicator species such as the Ruby- throated Hummingbird, Baltimore Orioles, Monarch Butterflies, and several others. Their maps are interactive and include both initial sighting information and other observations. This migration tracking website gives you a full look at the journey and can help you predict when your favorites will show up at your feeders again.

Typically, in Michigan the earliest Ruby-throated Hummingbirds arrive during the middle of April, and these are the ones that continue travelling north into the Upper Peninsula and Canada. By mid- June our resident Hummingbirds are here for the season and should be enjoying the nectar feeders that are out for them. It is likely that the birds you see in your backyard are the same ones as last year, they continue to return to the same area every year.

Baltimore Orioles are another favorite songbird that many people look forward to seeing every year, and they normally arrive just after the Hummingbirds. We recommend putting out your jelly and orange feeders before they are expected, to attract them before the move on. They are quite ravenous in the beginning and want those high-carb foods to refuel after their long journey. By late June, the Orioles are raising a family and are more interested in high-protein foods like insects.

If you want to keep up with tracking your favorite species and learn how to help Journey North with their projects visit Journey North.