Duncraft has announced their Winged Wonders of Winter Photo Contest, where if your winter bird photo is selected you can win a backyard birding prize package valued at $240.
Winter is a great time to capture photographs of birds in the beauty of the season. Email Duncraft your favorite photo of backyard birds in a winter setting and you could be the winner.
Permanent link to this article: http://blog.newenglandbirdhouse.com/backyard-birding/duncraft-winter-photo-contest/
If you hang bird feeders, have you figured out which birds are visiting? If you buy your birdseed mix from the grocery or dollar store, have you ever noticed that only a few types of bird visit and hog all the food? If so, it’s very likely that you’re hosting House Sparrows, whose presence in New England and the Northeast is being blamed for declines in some native songbird species. If you are concerned about the welfare of our bird populations, you do not want to feed, house or otherwise encourage House Sparrows!
It may seem cruel to single out certain types of birds to discourage, but House Sparrows (also called English Sparrows) are an invasive species in the US. Brought to this country from Europe in the 20th century, they quickly established large populations that have spiralled out of control, outcompeting native songbirds for food, shelter and space. Along with European Starlings (another invasive bird in the US), House Sparrows are considered a threat to many bird species already at risk due to habitat loss and pollution. In fact, these birds are among the very few species in the US not protected under Federal species protection laws.
Since the mid-1990s, populations of invasive birds have increased significantly. House Sparrows thrive around human habitation, and you can often see them picking at food scraps in parking lots of fast-food joints or big-box stores (where they also find safe housing inside). They are quick to find a residential bird feeder, and will gobble up large amounts of birdseed, leaving little to the less aggressive birds indigenous to New England.
Permanent link to this article: http://blog.newenglandbirdhouse.com/backyard-birding/house-sparrows-bird-feeder-thugs/
There are over 365 species of squirrels in seven families. They include the tree squirrel, ground squirrel, and flying squirrel, plus many squirrel-like mammals such as the gopher, ground hog, and prairie dog. It is the largest group of living mammals on Earth.
Across the United States, the squirrels that most often frequent backyards include: gray, brown, fox and red squirrels.
An adult squirrel normally lives alone. But will, in severe cold, share its nest with other squirrels to conserve body heat. Once the temperature rises, the guests will be on their way.
In the summer, squirrels are most active two to three hours after sunrise, and then they rest in the afternoon, resuming activity again two hours before sunset. A squirrel will retire to its nest well before dark and rarely leave the nest in the dark. In the winter, a squirrel will complete activities between dawn and midday, and remain around the nest until the next day.
Permanent link to this article: http://blog.newenglandbirdhouse.com/backyard-birding/squirrel-tips/
Think of topiary and you may envision a whimsical ivy sculpture of a Mickey Mouse or Cinderella at Disneyworld. But the art of topiary has been around for ages and was actually practiced in early Roman and Greek gardens and courtyards. Shaped wire cages are sometimes employed in modern topiary to help guide pruning, whereas traditional topiary depends on a trained eye, skilled patience and a steady hand.
Latin for an ornamental landscape gardener, topiary is the art of creating sculptures using clipped trees, shrubs and plants. The shrubs and plants used in topiary are evergreen, have small leaves or needles, produce dense foliage, and have compact and columnar growth. Common plants used in topiary include boxwood, arborvitae, bay laurel, holly, myrtle, yew, and privet. Shaped wire cages or frames are used in modern topiary to guide plants. Wire frames can be homemade by bending wire to form shapes, or purchased commercially in many unique styles and sizes.
Dinosaur topiary
Dinosaur topiary
Using frames for topiary, or American Portable style topiary, was introduced to the US at Disneyland around 1962. Walt Disney helped bring this new medium into being – recreating his cartoon characters throughout his theme park in landscape shrubbery.
Permanent link to this article: http://blog.newenglandbirdhouse.com/backyard-birding/topiary-garden-character/
Water is a vital resource in the day to day life of birds, and during the winter unfrozen water can be scarce. Birdbath heaters allow you to offer unfrozen water during the cold winter months. When all of the water in and around your yard is frozen, your heated bath will attract birds like a magnet.
During winter birds need water not only for drinking but for bathing as well. Why would a bird want to get wet in freezing temperatures? Because when their feathers get dirty and they don’t insulate as well. A dip and splash in the bath will get their feathers back to optimum performance.
Deck Mounted Heated Bird Bath
Deck Mounted Heated Bird Bath
There are two approaches to heated setups, a dish with the heater built in or adding a heater to an existing birdbath. Most of these have built in thermostats that conserve energy by only turning on when needed to keep the water ice free. Use a heavy duty outdoor extension cord to plug them in.
Permanent link to this article: http://blog.newenglandbirdhouse.com/backyard-birding/water-for-winter-birds/
Good informational video about the benefits of the 2010 Great Backyard Bird Count, and how you can participate.
Permanent link to this article: http://blog.newenglandbirdhouse.com/backyard-birding/great-backyard-bird-count-2010/
It may be deepest winter, but there is still lots of bird activity on the Turkey Hill Brook Farm. Generally (except for nectar feeders for the hummingbirds) we don’t keep many birdfeeders here. Most of the year, there are plenty of natural food sources for them (seeds, berries, insects, worms, etc). But in winter, we always hang a few feeders just outside our windows so we can watch the bird action from our hibernation state indoors! And judging by the number of visitors, the birds really do appreciate an easy snack at a time when insect populations are at their lowest and many seed plants are deep under snow.
Chickadees are probably our most common visitors, and we love watching them develop “superhighway” flight paths to and from the feeders. Those visiting the feeder always fly the low route, while those returning to nearby tree perches always take the high road out. Amazing how well organized they are, and we never see collisions…
We always keep a winter feeder filled with Thistle seed. Tiny seed-eating birds such as American Goldfinches, Chickadees and Tufted Titmice all feed from it, and the small holes of the feeder prevent squirrels from ravaging the seed supply…
Permanent link to this article: http://blog.newenglandbirdhouse.com/backyard-birding/action-at-the-winter-bird-feeder/
Project Feeder Watch is a winter-long survey of birds that visit bird feeders at backyards, nature centers, community areas, and other locations in North America. It is operated by the Cornell Lab of Ornithology and Bird Studies Canada.
Feeder Watchers periodically count the birds they see at their feeders from November through early April and send their counts to the Cornell Lab of Ornithology Project FeederWatch.
FeederWatch data help scientists track broadscale movements of winter bird populations and long-term trends in bird distribution and abundance. As a Feeder Watcher, you will learn more about winter birds and how their populations are faring.
Permanent link to this article: http://blog.newenglandbirdhouse.com/backyard-birding/sign-up-for-project-feeder-watch/
On a small rocky island off the Maine coast two adversarial species of gulls coexist in relative peace, despite each being a potential predator of the other.
Thousands of Greater Black-backed and Herring gulls have evolved a complex system of social signals that keep violence on the island to a minimum. The gulls use these signals to carve out and hold small territories spread just 4.5 meters apart across the 95 acre island.
In their 3 short months on Appledore island, the gulls court, mate, nest, fledge young all within the same patch of rocks that they have held for years.
Territoriality begins when males arrive in spring followed closely by their mates. These experienced pairs of gulls strut about inspecting their site for appropriate nest locations and reinforcing territorial boundaries. Boundaries must be constantly defended from rivals. An interloper or loafer approaching a neighbors territory, is met with a series of displays or signals intended to drive him away.
Permanent link to this article: http://blog.newenglandbirdhouse.com/new-england-living/signals-for-survival/
Each year, thousands of birds are injured or killed after flying into or attacking a window. Birds fly into windows either because they are unable to tell that the window is there or their reflection causes them to try to …
Permanent link to this article: http://blog.newenglandbirdhouse.com/backyard-birding/about-birds-flying-into-windows/
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