Featured Feeder:

Quick-Clean® Small Mesh Peanut Feeder

It is almost time for our birds to start caching seeds and nuts away for the colder months. High fat foods are important for their survival through fall and winter, so peanuts are an amazing source of food to provide what they need. This peanut feeder can be easily cleaned and refilled with peanut splits or Bark Butter® Bits. Tufted Titmice love this feeder, and so will woodpeckers, chickadees, and nuthatches. Our tube feeder accessories also work with this one, so you can add a catch tray or weather guard to it, too! Stop by the store or order online at https://order.wbu.com/brighton to get stocked up on all your bird necessities for your feathered friends.

What have we been seeing?

Molting Mania!

Molting season is so important for our backyard visitors and their survival. Feathers are composed of keratin, just like our hair and fingernails, and the regrowth process can take a few weeks or months. Don’t be surprised if you see a Blue Jay looking rough around the edges! They will be losing old feathers and re-growing new, healthy ones in preparation for the colder temperatures of autumn and winter. Keep your feeders stocked up with high- protein foods like mealworms, sunflower seed, or safflower seed, so they have all the extra nutrients they need!

Bird Nerd Corner:

The End of Fledgling Season

Very few birds will nest in September, since food and temperatures are beginning to decrease. But you might still catch a glimpse of parents teaching their young the ways to becoming an adult. Our customer J.B. submitted this photo of a Red-headed Woodpecker and its baby! The left one is an adult, and the right one is a juvenile. Usually, within the first year of life their head feathers will begin turning red in preparation for breeding season next spring. These beautiful woodpeckers love suet, peanuts, and Bark Butter® products. If you have any pictures or fun stories you would like to be featured in the next copy of the Newsletter, send us an email at [email protected].

Save the Songbirds:

Planting A Tree Makes A Difference

Trees are an integral part of having a healthy ecosystem for a variety of birds. Most importantly, they are used for hiding, raising families, providing food, and storing food for many different bird species. Native trees are hosts for native insects too, whose larvae and caterpillars supply nestlings with protein and migrants with fuel to continue their trips to their over-wintering grounds.

More than 10 million acres of land in the United States was developed from 1982 to 1997, and currently, there are 63 million acres of lawn throughout the United States. Both of these dramatically impact many of our backyard birds’ populations, because it reduces their nesting grounds and food supply. The most effective way to combat this is to plant native and plant more trees. That is why the Wild Birds Unlimited Franchise has partnered with the Arbor Day Foundation to plant trees across North America. This partnership has helped support our vision to Save the Songbirds and provide more habitat for native birds and other wildlife.

One of the tree planting sites that has received our trees is in the Hiawatha National Forest which is managed by the Michigan State Forests and Good Neighbor Authority. The focus at this location is to increase the acreage of habitat and create more biodiversity. Red Pines and Jack Pines are the focus of this project and increase the amount of nesting possibilities for Mourning Doves, Ruby- throated Hummingbirds, Woodpeckers, Sapsuckers, Blue Jays, Black-capped Chickadees, Kinglets, Nuthatches, Brown Creepers, Wrens, Eastern Bluebirds, Grosbeaks, Finches, Pine Siskins, and Northern Cardinals. One of the more specific bird species that relies on the Jack Pine for success is the Kirtland’s Warbler; a bird that only nests in Michigan where young stands of this tree are located. Reforestation is important, and can impact our feathered friends, so join us in our mission to plant more native trees!