Helping Birds in Winter find Night-time Shelter

Helping Birds in Winter find Night-time Shelter

All winter long, a bird’s most difficult task is to continually forage enough food during the day to provide the calories they need to keep warm at night when they aren’t eating. Cold winter wind saps energy and warmth from birds, and this is especially so at night when their reserves aren’t being replenished. ...
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Attract More Backyard Birds with a Bird Bath or Fountain

Attract More Backyard Birds with a Bird Bath or Fountain

There is no better way to get birds flocking to your yard than a good source of fresh water. A bird’s need for water through every season of the year is so strong that even species you never expected will be attracted to a strategically placed water source. Having a birdbath or fountain is an...
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Choosing the Right Binoculars for Bird Watching in Your Backyard

Choosing the Right Binoculars for Bird Watching in Your Backyard

Birding optics help to bring birds closer and are a must have for every backyard birdwatcher. Binoculars and other optics allow birders to observe the behavior of the birds at the bird feeder. Amazing things are visible with binoculars that would likely go unnoticed without magnification. For example, optics allow a front-row view of the...
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Enter Duncraft’s Winter Photo Contest

Enter Duncraft’s Winter Photo Contest

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...
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House Sparrows – Bird Feeder Thugs

House Sparrows – Bird Feeder Thugs

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...
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Tips On Enjoying Squirrels In Your Backyard

Tips On Enjoying Squirrels In Your Backyard

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:...
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Wire Frame Topiary Gives a Garden Character

Wire Frame Topiary Gives a Garden Character

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...
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Providing Water for Birds in the Winter

Providing Water for Birds in the Winter

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...
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Great Backyard Bird Count 2010

Good informational video about the benefits of the 2010 Great Backyard Bird Count, and how you can participate.
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Action at the Winter Bird Feeder

Action at the Winter Bird Feeder

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,...
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Sign Up For Project Feeder Watch

Sign Up For Project Feeder Watch

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...
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Signals for survival – Adversaries Find a Way to Coexist

Signals for survival – Adversaries Find a Way to Coexist

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...
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How to Stop Birds from Flying into Windows and What to Do if a Bird Flies Into Your Window

How to Stop Birds from Flying into Windows and What to Do if a Bird Flies Into Your Window

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 defend their territory. What backyard birders can do to minimize window strikes Assess the bird’s-eye...
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Attracting and Keeping Bats in Your Backyard

Attracting and Keeping Bats in Your Backyard

There are over 40 species of bats in North America, and there's a good chance that there are currently bats visiting and living near your backyard. Bats are shy and gentle creatures, and will not try to get tangled in your hair or suck your blood. In fact, they'll perform a very beneficial...
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The Colonial Bird Bottle is a Yankee Doodle Dandy For Backyard Birders

The Colonial Bird Bottle is a Yankee Doodle Dandy For Backyard Birders

Backyard birding has been around a lot longer than you may have thought, as American colonists attracted birds with clay “bird bottles” placed under the eaves or near the windows of their homes.  Though it’s tempting to attribute their use to an enthusiasm for bird watching, these bird bottles likely served a more practical...
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Welcome

The New England Birdhouse Blog features original articles, videos and how-to guides about backyard birding, bird watching, building bird feeders and bird houses, gardening, and New England living.

I frequently post about a variety of topics including creating wildlife-attracting backyards, planning a New England leaf peeping bird watching trip, identifying common backyard birds, and plans and instructions for building simple and effective bird feeders and bird houses.

Also, please consider visiting our store for fine architectural bird houses and bird feeders, great backyard birding items, and custom handcrafted artisan wares.

I hope you find our articles helpful and useful. Please share your thoughts and experiences by posting your comments (located at the end of each article). If you have any questions or comments, please email me. Thank you for visiting and I hope you come back often.
Bill Askenburg - Owner New England Birdhouse
Bill Askenburg
New England Birdhouse

NewEnglandBirdhouse.com
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