IT'S SPRING!!!!

Okay, so if you live in the northeastern part of the U.S. you've probably heard all the hoopla about the really wild winter, that it's been the worst winter on record, how NO ONE on the face of the earth has felt cold quite like it, blah blah blah. Whatever. We all know how hard this winter was for everyone, and now we can all leave the past behind us and say, "I DID IT!!!!!!" - and so can the birds!

In the winter, birds have a harder time finding food. The worm-slurpers have a hard time because the ground's frozen and it's hard for them to dig around for food. While the berry-gulpers have it hard because not much grows in the winter! Birds can still find food in the winter, but it's harder and takes longer. One way for you to help out is to put out a suet feeder, which is available at most grocery stores and wild bird stores (if you have one of those in your area then YOU ARE SO LUCKY! Those stores are awesome). When buying suet for your feeder you should take into consideration which birds you have in your area. If more of them are herbivores, goal for some suet with berries and seeds. Most packaging on pretty much all bird feed will have a list of what birds it's geared for and what it will attract. Suet gives birds good fat to help insulate them and keep them warmer in the cold winter months.

Anywho, let's talk about SPRING! Ah, spring... brings joy to me just hearing the word. Spring spring spring spring spring... hits the spot, sets the mood, brings warm weather and more birds! My mom absolutely loves plants and flowers and was eager to "spring up" the garden. Yesterday She hung a hanging basket overflowing with beautiful coral-colored flowers over the front porch. I thought it looked wonderful and really brightened up the place - but apparently I wasn't the only one who thought that. This morning I was just sorta staring out the window just for the fun of it and the yard was filled with birds - from robins, to barn swallows, to bluebirds, to crows. It was a beautiful spring day. But then my gaze moseyed on over to the hanging basket. And just for a second I got a glimpse of a female ruby-throated hummingbird. I watched it fly off and then I started jumping up and down all excited because I've only seen them once or twice. My mom went out and hung up our hummingbird feeder next to the basket and sure enough, a few hours later, I saw that same hummingbird drink from the feeder, then move over to the basket, then it shot off in the other direction. I was so excited.

Pretty exciting, right? My advice: If you wanna attract hummingbirds get a feeder with red flowers on it, and fill it with nectar (this can be bought from most grocery stores and wild bird stores), and if you don't want to buy the nectar, sugar water will work just fine. Also fill your garden with lots and LOTS of bright pink or red flowers, as hummingbirds seem most drawn to them. These little birds are so adorable and graceful and really pretty and they're really fun to attract.

Have an AWESOME spring with the warm weather and birds returning from their relaxing vacation in Florida :P!

Happy Birding!

How Much Do You Know About Birds: The Answers

Here are the answers for the quiz in the previous post:

Answers:

1. True or False? Ruby-throated Hummingbirds have the ability to fly backwards. ... True. All hummingbirds can fly backwards. They are the only types of birds in the world have can do so.

2.  What color are American Robin eggs? ... Blue, green, robin's egg blue.

3. What is the Northern Cardinal named after? ... The Catholic Cardinals.

4. The Carolina Chickadee is often confused with what type of bird? ... The Black-capped Chickadee.

5. True or False? Blue Jays are very gentle and graceful birds. ... False. Blue Jays are know for being one of the most aggressive birds.

6. About how big does a Ruby-throated Hummingbird get? ... About 31/2 inches - about the size of your middle finger!

7. How does the Galapagos Woodpecker Finch get its food? ... They peck at the wood with a stick to get the insects out.

8. How do female killdeer keep humans away from their nests? ... They pretend to be injured and limp away from the nest, trying to lure the human away.

9. Name two things bald eagles eat. ... Carrion and fish.

10. Just for fun: What's your favorite type of bird? ... There's no right or wrong answer (but I like hummingbirds and cardinals. I also find the Galapagos woodpecker finch quite fascinating!).

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Results:

If you got...
7 or more correct: Congratulations! You know a lot about birds! Keep it up!
4, 5, or 6 correct: You know quite a bit about birds! But there's so much more to discover!
Less that 4 correct: You may just be a beginner, but that means you can enjoy the fun of studying, solving mysteries, and discovering and soon you'll be a real bird expert! Keep going and don't give up!

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So how did you do? Remember no matter how well you did it's important that you keep caring for birds and fixing problems and discovering and learning more and more every day!

Happy Birding!

How Much Do You Know About Birds?

Since it has been about a year since I started this blog, I thought I'd give you a quick quiz as a celebration. Submit the answers as a comment. Good Luck!

How Much Do You Know About Birds?

1. True or False? Ruby-throated hummingbirds have the ability to fly backwards.

2. What color are American Robin eggs?

3. What is the Northern Cardinal named after?

4. The Carolina Chickadee is often confused with what type of bird?

5. True or False? Blue Jays are very gentle and graceful birds.

6.  About how big does a Ruby-throated hummingbird get?

7. How does the Galapagos Woodpecker Finch get it's food?

8. How do female killdeer keep humans away from their nests?

9. Name two things bald eagles eat.

10. Just for fun: What's your favorite type of bird?


Answers will be reveled on August 31st, so submit your answers by then. Hope you had fun!

Happy Birding!

Springtime!

Spring is one of my favorite seasons of the year not only because all the leaves and flowers come back, but also because all the birds come back and mate. Mating season is my favorite time to bird watch because there are bird nests and babies everywhere! I love listening to the robins sing their cheerful morning song once again, and watch the geese and many other birds fly back home.

Remember to keep your feeders up! This time of year is a good time to temporarily take down the suet feeder and replace with a hummingbird feeder. Although suet is great for birds, it has a lot of fat in it that is only necessary for birds to have in the winter to help them stay warm. Nothing bad will happen to the birds if they eat suet when it is hot outside, but the birds will know that they don't need all that fat and will simply ignore the suet. I have a suet feeder in my yard still and the birds still eat it, but they just don't eat it as often as they do the regular bird seed. That's why you should try a hummingbird feeder in late spring to late summer. That is the peak time for humming birds.

Happy Birding! 

Safe & Sound For Winter

In the colder months birds find it more difficult to find food because plants go dormant and bugs stay deep underground, etc. If you live in a place where it snows I recommend setting up a couple feeders of any kind (except hummingbird feeders, hummingbirds fly south) for the winter. It's mostly cardinals and blue jays and other small birds like sparrows and chickadees that stay for winter. I suggest buying a feeder that holds seeds or scraps of meat. You can buy these at your local grocery or wild bird store (such as Meijer). I also recommend buying a feeder post. You can usually buy them wherever you buy bird food. A feeder post has several "branches" that allows you to hang up multiple feeders. You can leave all these feeders outside year-round but winter is the most important time of year to set up a feeder. Happy Feeding!

First Geese Flying South For The Winter

On September 15, 2012, I saw a flock of Canada Geese flying South. I figured they were beginning the long migration Southwards for the winter. Normally, Geese migrate down to Texas, parts of Louisiana, parts of Arizona and New Mexico, Southern parts of California, and some areas in Southern Oklahoma and Arkansas.

Last winter was a little warmer than usual so some of the Geese decided not to migrate but stay up North. Geese are common birds and can be found almost anywhere in North America. Usually they breed in the Springtime and lay about 4-8 white eggs in a large amount of grass usually on the ground near water. They'll sometimes breed in an abandoned Osprey or Bald Eagle nest.

To find out more about the Canada Goose visit http://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/canada_goose/id

How I came to love birds

I'm a bird lover. Some one who loves and studies birds is called a birder. I started birding when I saw a robin out the window. This got me very excited even though robins (the most common bird in my neck of the woods) had never gotten me so happy before. My brothers and I went outside and threw breadcrumbs onto the ground. After about 30 minutes of watching, I realized that not a single breadcrumb was eaten! 

A little while later a squirrel came and stole some breadcrumbs... no robins. In the evening, a couple of Mallards came to have a whole bread feast - still no robins.

The next morning a few House Sparrows, the same squirrel, and more ducks came by and took the rest of the crumbs. I observed the robins for a little while and saw what they really liked to eat - insects. I ended up writing a poem about it, too:

The Adventure With Breadcrumbs

We threw some breadcrumbs on the ground,

And then a squirrel came running down.

He stole some breadcrumbs from the birds,

And ran away to tell his herds.

So far the birds won't touch the crumbs,

But still realized the many sums.

We named the birds that flew along by,

It started to flurry, which caused them to fly.

Soon they came back to eat some worms,

One bird got a worm that wriggled and squirmed.

I'll have to remember whatever the sum,

That some birds don't like to eat breadcrumbs.

I learned a lot that day. After that we did research, got binoculars, and bird books. Ever since then I've been looking out the window all the time, keeping an eye on all of the birds.