http://74.54.119.50/index.php/site/index/ en mollye@comcast.net Copyright 2008 2008-03-31T04:47:00-08:00 http://backyardbirdshop.com/index.php/site/archives/visit_nprs_ketzel_levines_blog_about_the_nesting_hummingbirds_in_her_yard/ http://backyardbirdshop.com/index.php/site/archives/visit_nprs_ketzel_levines_blog_about_the_nesting_hummingbirds_in_her_yard/#When:03:47:00Z 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.Ketzel Levine’s Talking Plants blog is currently talking hummingbirds!  Click here to have a look:  Ketzel Levine’s Talking Plants blog. News 2008-03-31T03:47:00-08:00 http://backyardbirdshop.com/index.php/site/archives/window_and_mirror_combat/ http://backyardbirdshop.com/index.php/site/archives/window_and_mirror_combat/#When:00:12:00Z 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!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.  Loudly he sings a melodious solo, and then flies forward and thumps against the window.  Then he does it again, and again, and again!  Finally he flies to a high branch in our backyard, and sings another solo!  The window strikes must be harmless because he’s done it at least two weeks straight.  This little guy mistakes his reflection for another male song sparrow – a competitor for the attention of a female.  He’s singing to signal his territorial boundaries.  He flies against our window to frighten away the “other male” he sees in the reflection.  American Robins are notorious for this behavior, too.  The good news is that when nesting season is over, the males seem to settle down substantially.  As for our Song Sparrow, this is his third season of being a first-class alarm clock, and a very entertaining one at that. Our Song Sparrow’s antics are just one of many spring experiences customers like you notice and talk about in our stores.  In this newsletter we’ll discuss common concerns and offer a few tips to make this spring a great one for enjoying the wildlife if your backyard. Now in Your Backyard 2008-03-31T00:12:00-08:00 http://backyardbirdshop.com/index.php/site/archives/dont_save_that_baby_bird_just_yet/ http://backyardbirdshop.com/index.php/site/archives/dont_save_that_baby_bird_just_yet/#When:23:22:00Z 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.On page 5 of Audubon Society of Portland’s April newsletter is a timely and informative article on what to do if you see a baby bird in your backyard.  So many well-intentioned backyard naturalists make the mistake of “rescuing” a baby bird that is actually being cared for and protected by its parents.  Once you remove a baby bird from its parents, you deprive the bird of the opportunity to learn skills it needs to survive in the wild.  Please read the article, to be fully prepared for the drama that could unfold in your backyard!  Click here on Audubon Society of Portland’s Newsletter page and then select April 2008 newsletter to read it. News 2008-03-30T23:22:00-08:00 http://backyardbirdshop.com/index.php/site/archives/spring_birding_radio_program_ira_flatows_science_friday_march_28_2008/ http://backyardbirdshop.com/index.php/site/archives/spring_birding_radio_program_ira_flatows_science_friday_march_28_2008/#When:04:48:00Z Oregon Public Radio aired an interesting program on wild birds today. Ira covered many topics with birding experts, including migration, nesting, bird songs, and the effect of climate change on wild birds. There was a discussion of a call by the American Bird Conservancy to turn off lights starting at 9:00 p.m. to help migrating birds. Visit the Science Friday Archives .  Click on the “Listen” button on the upper left side of the page, and listen to some experts discuss migration, Birder’s Life Lists, Sandhill Cranes and other interesting topics.  It’s a little skewed toward East Coast bird happenings, but there are good tips for all people interested in backyard birding! News 2008-03-29T04:48:00-08:00 http://backyardbirdshop.com/index.php/site/archives/spring_is_hummertime/ http://backyardbirdshop.com/index.php/site/archives/spring_is_hummertime/#When:03:14:00Z 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.Of the 15 species of hummingbirds in the western U.S., two are common to our area.  The Rufous Hummingbird may migrate over 2,000 miles form southern Mexico to its summer home in the Pacific Northwest.  The Anna’s Hummingbird ventures no farther than it has to to find food, so many are year ‘round residents.  Hummingbirds are amazing aerial acrobats, hovering, flying backward, upside down, or rocketing off with breathtaking speed – whether feeding, defending territory, or maybe just showing off!  All that fancy stuff takes energy.  A hummer can consume half its weight in sugar each day, so your feeder will be a welcome supplement to the natural food supply.  Backyard Bird Shop features modern, easy-to-clean, drip-free feeders like the Hummzinger line of U.S.-made feeders, ant resistant, with a continuous perch for great viewing.  The Little Flyer and Nature’s Best feeders are other great choices for carefree hummingbird feeding. Make your own nectar by dissolving ½ cup of sugar in two cups of boiling water.  Cool before filling your feeder.  You can keep the unused nectar in the refrigerator up to two weeks.  Be sure to clean and refill feeders at least once a week to prevent harmful fermentation.  The birds will find it more readily if you hang it near red, tubular flowers, like fuschia, salvia or trumpet vine. 2008-03-28T03:14:00-08:00 http://backyardbirdshop.com/index.php/site/archives/connecting_families_with_nature/ http://backyardbirdshop.com/index.php/site/archives/connecting_families_with_nature/#When:20:33:00Z 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. This year, mounting the bat house that I bought last year but didn’t find the perfect place to mount tops the list.  After all, I’ve been assured that my backyard will be home to thousands fewer mosquitoes if I provide housing for little brown bats.  Next is hanging a second hummingbird feeder.  It’s only March and already the turf battles have begun.  I must do what I can to keep peace and harmony in the haven.

I know that May is the perfect time to apply nematodes. The soil is damp and the temperatures not too hot for these beneficial creatures to go to work devouring the larvae of crane flies and root weevils.  I won’t miss the window of opportunity this year. 

Our mission at Backyard Bird Shop is to make you aware of and feed your hunger for information about the many ways to connect with nature in your backyard.  Our staff, many of whom have backgrounds in biology, gardening, and teaching, take pleasure in sharing information about attracting birds and enhancing your yard for nature.   We are passionate about nature in our personal lives and come to work with a desire to share our knowledge and appreciation for nature. Scott's Musings 2008-03-27T20:33:00-08:00 http://backyardbirdshop.com/index.php/site/archives/tune_up_bird_feeders_for_spring/ http://backyardbirdshop.com/index.php/site/archives/tune_up_bird_feeders_for_spring/#When:00:41:00Z 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. Spring bird feeders and birdhouses can set the stage for quite a show, as birds engage in intriguing courtship and family-rearing behavior right outside your windows! 6 Tips for Successful Spring Feeding: 1.  Offer only one type of seed per tubular feeder. Birds will drop unwanted seeds in search of a favorite. A seed-catching tray added to a tube feeder can further reduce the mess of shells or accidentally dropped seed! 2.  A quality mix works well if in a platform feeder on or near the ground.  Many birds regularly forage near the ground.  We offer excellent mixes that will broaden the range of birds you see!  3.  Black oil sunflower seed consumption will increase, millet decrease. A number of millet-loving sparrows migrate away leaving us with a large percentage of sunflower lovers like jays, chickadees, nuthatches, grosbeaks, and finches. 4.  Your suet feeder with be visited by woodpeckers and bushtits, and chickadee parents who’ll feed the soft food to their always-hungry young. 5.  Stock finch feeders with nyger “thistle” to enjoy beautiful American Goldfinches and arriving migratory Pine Siskins. 6.  Attract summer visitors with fruit feeders offering apples, bananas, raisins or orange halves.  Now in Your Backyard 2008-03-27T00:41:00-08:00 http://backyardbirdshop.com/index.php/site/archives/hummingbird_hospitality/ http://backyardbirdshop.com/index.php/site/archives/hummingbird_hospitality/#When:00:49:00Z 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. While the fledglings of many bird species must be coaxed or pushed from their nests for their first flights, hummingbird fledglings just do it!  Anyone feeding hummers can see how a bird will lay claim to a feeder, perching nearby and flying menacingly at bird rivals.  It’ll fly within inches of you, too—especially while you’re dutifully repositioning a full nectar feeder! This spring, watch for aerial courtship displays! The males perform a series of diving, pendulum-like maneuvers to woo a prospective mate.  These living helicopters will dazzle you with flashes of color, and astonish you with their aerodynamic maneuvers! Hummingbird Hospitality • Place a feeder near brightly colored, tubular flowers like fuchsias, begonias, and foxgloves. • After hummers find the feeder, you may be able to move it to the best spot for viewing.  If hummers are slow to follow, tie a red bandana to the hook. • To resolve territorial squabbling, introduce another feeder out of eyesight from the first. • Replace the nectar every 4 or 5 days. The Recipe: dissolve one part granulated sugar in four parts boiling water, stir well, cool completely. • Thoroughly rinse feeders as you refill.  For mold or algae buildup, use a solution of water and mild dish detergent, and if necessary, a few tablespoons of bleach.  Rinse, rinse, rinse!  A hummingbird feeder brush designed for small nooks and crannies can come in handy. • Ant Moats eliminate the ant problem.  We have a number of options, including a cute upside-down mini umbrella. • For wasp or bee problems, use a feeder with Nectar Guards.  Two popular hummingbird feeders, the Hummzinger Ultra and Droll Yankee’s Little Flyer, come with nectar guards as well. Now in Your Backyard 2008-03-15T00:49:00-08:00 http://backyardbirdshop.com/index.php/site/archives/whos_who_in_spring_backyards/ http://backyardbirdshop.com/index.php/site/archives/whos_who_in_spring_backyards/#When:00:47:01Z Look these birds up in your field guide, and watch for them in your backyard this spring!Bird House Tenants: Black-capped & Chestnut-backed Chickadees White-breasted & Red-breasted Nuthatches House & Bewick’s Wrens Northern Flicker Downy & Hairy Woodpeckers Tree & Violet-green Swallows Western Bluebird Wood Duck Other Backyard Diners: Anna’s & Rufous Hummingbirds American Goldfinch Brown Creeper Varied Thrush White-crowned & Golden-crowned Sparrows Song Sparrow Ruby-crowned Kinglet Rufous-sided Towhee Now in Your Backyard 2008-03-15T00:47:01-08:00 http://backyardbirdshop.com/index.php/site/archives/seed_but_not_weeds/ http://backyardbirdshop.com/index.php/site/archives/seed_but_not_weeds/#When:00:40:00Z 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! Oregon’s Department of Agriculture only recently gained the authority to test and set content standards for wild birdseed mixes, while Washington already has a similar law.  What prompted the change?  Commercial birdseed with weed seeds!  “Wild birdseed” mixes can contain seeds of noxious or invasive weeds that harm crops and natural habitats.  In 2006 Idaho’s Dept. of Agriculture sampled 92 birdseed mixes from 34 manufacturers to find that 50% contained weed seeds like buffalobur, jointed goatgrass, field bindweed, johnsongrass, Canada thistle and hoary cress.  Simply cleaning up under the feeder can’t solve this problem:  bad seed spreads when birds digest the seeds.  Buying “wild bird seed” mixes from local big-box stores can result in plenty of waste and not much of a bargain.  Cheap birdseed blends tend to have regionally inappropriate content, so they aren’t eaten readily by the birds of our area.  Scott's Musings 2008-03-15T00:40:00-08:00