Connect with Nature!
Connect with Nature!
Some of our customers find that their birdhouse residents are bees! Orange Rumped Bumblebees prefer to nest up high, unlike most species of bumblebees which prefer to nest in abandoned rodent holes. Bees in general are need of conservation -- they're the insects that provide the vital service of pollination, and are in decline. If you're hosting bumblebees, you're contributing to the health of our environment as well as enjoying the rare opportunity to observe these fascinating creatures! Read more...
Check out some of our Wingscapes BirdCam photos here! The BirdCam is a new product, so some of us are trying it now in our own backyards! It's an outdoor camera that can capture up-close digital photos and videos of your birds, squirrels, raccoons, etc. The Evening Grosbeak photo was BirdCam'ed in Scappoose. The Western Tanager pair visited Michele’s birdbath while she was at work in our Beaverton shop. Check out the American Goldfinches on a black oil sunflower feeder, a Rufous Hummingbird on a Nature's Best hummingbird feeder, and a Black-headed Grosbeak eating black oil sunflower seeds from a tube feeder. Read more...
Ketzel Levine, a Portland NPR contributor, has a wonderful blog, and her current entries are predominantly about nesting Anna’s hummingbirds in her yard. Her photos are great and so are her charming insights. Read more...
It’s 6:00 in the morning, and today is no different from other recent mornings. A male Song Sparrow has perched on our bedroom window sill and is scratching around and peering in. In a minute he'll sing at the top of his lungs, and then resume his constant flight right into the window! Read more...
The April 2008 edition of Audubon Society of Portland's newsletter has an excellent article about what we all should understand about baby birds! Unfortunately, well-meaning people can interfere with the natural development of baby birds, when they see them on or near the ground. Many fledglings normally spend 2 - 5 days on the ground before they can fly. Read more...
Look a little closer among the beautiful spring flowers, and maybe you will see them. Tiny, acrobatic, fearless little flying jewels, hummingbirds are the favorite birds of many Northwesterners. With a little luck, a little patience, and a hummingbird feeder in your yard, soon you could find out for yourself just why that is. Read more...
On my calendar, Spring, not January, begins the new year. I feel renewed energy and so do the trees, shrubs and perennials that are beginning to show signs of new life. The birds, squirrels, frogs and other backyard critters are full of new energy as well. Spring provides the perfect impetus to prioritize my backyard nature list. Read more...
Spring bird feeding provides a reliable supply of food for adults while they’re working hard to find insects for their young. As chicks mature, they’ll be taught to access the feeders. A generation ago, many people fed birds in the winter, but put away their feeders when spring arrived. Research revealed that this takes away the food supply at the very time that many birds need it most - when feeding broods of young. Read more...
March is double the fun for hummingbird watching as our hardy resident Anna’s Hummingbirds are joined by newly-arrived Rufous Hummingbirds, back from a winter spent as far south as southern Mexico. We admire these tiny birds for their stunning flying abilities and their feisty behavior! They zip around at 60 mph, flying up, down, sideways or backward with equal ease, or halting motionless in the air. Read more...
Look these birds up in your field guide, and watch for them in your backyard this spring! Read more...
In the last 16 years Backyard Bird Shop has always make it a top priority to offer only regionally appropriate seed that has been cleaned to the highest standards possible. And we’ve found that by working with regional seed processors, we can provide that seed to our customers at very reasonable prices. Sometimes you really can get what you pay for! Read more...
Does your watching birds, squirrels, and mason bees brighten your days and serve as an oasis from the pressures of modern life? Read more...
Running water foils mosquito reproduction! Read more...
Environmental concerns are trendy now, and even though I know it's not new, I'm glad the Green movement is gaining momentum! Read more...
It’s hard to find the words to describe my feelings eleven years ago when the first rail car from North Dakota with 130,000 pounds of sunflower seed rolled onto the siding next to our warehouse in northwest Portland. After all, we were still learning about retail, much less seed distribution! Read more...
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