THE FLOCK NEWSLETTER

Featured Product:

Peanut Hut Feeder

As cooler weather approaches, birds need to have a reliable source of fat in their diet and peanuts are the perfect supplement for them! Whole peanuts attract birds like the white-breasted nuthatch, blue jays, tufted titmice, and woodpeckers. Most of them will cache peanuts throughout their territory so they can find them later. Did you know that their brains actually increase in size to remember where they hide everything? You can order the Peanut Hut online HERE or stop in and see us at the store. 

What's been happening in our yards:

Caching

Caching is important for many birds, but some birds outsmart all of the others. Our store manager Summer witnessed a Red-bellied woodpecker hiding seeds under the shingles on her shed, but a crafty Blue jay was watching the whole time. Once the woodpecker flew off for a refill, the jay would sneak in and steal the seed or nut the woodpecker had just hidden. Backyard bird feeding gives everyone a chance to see some fun activity around the yard.

Bird Nerd Corner:

Molting

Our customer James B. emailed us a picture of his American Goldfinches in the midst of their summer to winter molt. All birds undergo a full or partial shedding and re-growing of feathers at the change of the seasons. In winter, they need clean feathers to ensure they retain as much body heat as possible in the cold weather. If you have any fun bird experiences or pictures you want to share with us, please send them to our email at [email protected].

Save the Songbird:

Fall Migration and Bird Cast

Why do birds take the risk of traveling such long distances? They face many hazards during their trips north and south like bad weather, predators, exhaustion, collisions, and starvation. But, the reward is much greater than you think! By nesting in the northern hemisphere, the longer days during summer allows birds to collect more food for their young and shorten the nesting period by 2-3 days. There is also more land mass and space in the north, so more birds can spread out and claim territory for the breeding season. Overall, migration benefits the species as a whole, even though some might not survive the trip.

There are some ways you can make the journey safer for our feathered friends. Turning off lights at night will lower the amount of window strikes and fatalities for nocturnal migrating birds. Many birds use the sun, stars, and the earth’s magnetic field to guide them southwards, so the light they see in our homes can disrupt their senses and make their journey tougher. During the day, if your windows have UV-reflective stickers, bird collision tape, window screens, paint, or film on them - these measures will help break up the landscape reflections to reduce window strikes.

Bird Cast is a useful tool that you can use to help you understand how many birds are traveling at night over your house, and when are the best nights for lights out. This forecasting system is updated every few hours by the Cornell Lab of Ornithology and Colorado State University. All the website needs is what state or county you live in for accurate predictions.

Source: https://birdcast.info/