Bird_Feeding

Yes, we all would love the look of birds happily perched on feeders hanging from trees, but reality dictates that you should use a baffled pole system. Baffled by what this is? Read on!

What is Nyjer® Seed? Is it thistle seed?

For years Nyjer® seed (pronounded NI-Jer) was in fact referred to as "thistle." But people made the mistake of linking "thistle" to the thorny noxious weed and the Wild Bird Feeding Industry adapted the official name of "Nyjer"® seed to refer to the tiny, shiny black seed preferred by goldfinches. The best part? Squirrels don't care for its taste so this is one seed you may offer in feeders located in trees! It is grown overseas and is sterilized before it hits American store shelves so it will not sprout in your yard. Of interest though: goldfinches don't nest until thistle plants have gone to seed - they use the downy white seed pods to line their nests! Learn more about your goldfinches.

What's the best seed to use for my birds?

Black oil sunflower seeds (oilers), whether it's in the shell or just the meats (oftentimes called "hearts" or "chips"), is nearly always a safe bet for birds. Everything from finches to chickadees, nuthatches, titmice, cardinals and grosbeaks love them. Nyjer® seed is always a good bet with finches, too. And squirrels don't like Nyjer® which is an added benefit. If you have problems with grackles and starlings, we recommend using safflower seed. Cardinals will eat the seed, and finches actualy enjoy it too, but the grackles and starlings (and even most squirrels) don't find it tasty. If you're having problems with red-winged blackbirds though, they will eat the safflower. It's best to just use a feeder they cannot perch on. Note that in some areas the grackles and starlings eat the golden safflower. We think it's due to the thinner hull.

More questions? Just take a look at our handy-dandy seed chart!

What are the moths I keep finding in my birdseed?

Indian Meal Moths are found in nearly any type of grain (even flour, cereal and cracker boxes) and are a nuisance to get rid of. You don't want them in your house. The first rule of thumb is to always keep your birdseed out in your garage. They do not reproduce in Nyjer seed, but they love sunflower seeds. We recommend that you always use fresh seed (the older the bag, the more bugs in it) and that you keep the seed in an airtight container in your garage or outside. Metal garbage cans with tight lids are a great option if you can't keep it in your garage.

Freezing the seed will kill any larvae, so if you purchase seed that you suspect has bugs in it, store it in your freezer for 72 hours.

If you do get moths in your house follow these steps:

1) carefully examine all packages of rice, flour, crackers, cereal, etc. Even if they appear sealed, the larvae may be in them. Toss any opened containers.

2) purchase a moth trap from one of our stores. It is safe to use in your house and attracts the male moths to a sticky substance, preventing fertilization of the female. After 2-3 months, the cycle should be broken and you'll be moth free.

In a related question: yes, you can still offer the mealie seed to your birds - it will not hurt them. But, if the larvae have consumed a large portion of the seed, the birds won't waste time cracking it open.

How do I attract specific birds?

Attracting Eastern Bluebirds
Attracting Ruby-throated Hummingbirds

Ruby-throated Hummingbird PDF

Attracting Orioles (PDF. Don't have Acrobat Reader? Click here.)

And, how to do I keep certain birds from emptying my feeders?

Flocks of starlings, grackles and other blackbirds will quickly empty your feeders and deter other birds from coming in to feed. We have some suggestions, but preventing all these birds from coming to your yard may not be feasible.

1) to prevent starlings: use a mix like Bye-Bye Starling instead of a standard wild bird seed. Starlings have relatively soft beaks and cannot crack open sunflower and safflower seeds. But, any seeds out of the hull or millet is fair game - avoid seeds with these in them during peak starling times.

2) to deter other blackbirds: this is a much more difficult task and one that we recommend focusing on your feeder selection. You can purchase weight-activated feeders and set them low enough so that they close when heavier birds land on them. The problem with this is that cardinals and jays will also trigger the mechanism. You may also want to try offering just tube feeders and trimming down the length of the perches so larger birds cannot easily perch. Again, problematic if you'd also like to attract jays, cardinals, grosbeaks and other larger songbirds. With both of these approaches, we recommend slowly re-introducing your traditional feeders and pulling them instantly when the blackbirds re-appear. These are flock birds and will usually abandon an area if there is consistently a lack of food available. On the bright side: they do not eat Nyjer© seed, so offer all the finch feeders you can!

3) to deter flocks of house sparrows: we recommend offering oilers which house sparrows cannot easily crack open. They also do not like Nyjer© seed, so offering finch feeders containing only Nyjer© (no finch mixes) is a great way of attracting more birds to your yard.

How Do I Identify A New Bird?
Peterson. Sibley. Stokes. Kaufmann. Bird lovers often refer to their field guides as if they are referring to an old friend. Understandably so, as a good field guide in hand is like having that expert at your fingertips. Indispensible for identifying the bird, whether it's a backyard visitor or a check off your life list; a field guide will also tell us a lot about the bird, its habits, diets, unique behaviors, summer and winter ranges, etc.

Roger Tory Peterson’s "Field Guide to Birds of North America" was one of the first and is still considered by many the best. This guide introduced many to the best techniques to bird identification by pointing out what field marks differentiate similar birds.

Here in Minnesota, the go-to book for many birders is "Birds of Minnesota and Wisconsin" by Minnesota bird expert Bob Janssen, Wisconsin bird expert Daryl Tessen, and naturalist George Kennedy. Additional information in this book specific to our area includes migration windows. This one’s only available in our local stores.

For hardcore birders one of the best is the "Sibley Guide to Birds." This is a large book written and illustrated by David Allen Sibley. It includes many views of each bird, very accurately rendered. Also available are smaller versions that split the continent into east and west using the Rockies as a dividing line. Many birders have one of each: carrying the smaller guide while in the field and using the original as a master guide as it does contain more information and illustrations of each bird.

If you're looking for an easy, online reference, we recommend using Cornell's Lab of Ornithology's site, All About Birds. This landing page will take you to the first step in ID'ing your bird: the basic shape of the bird.

Still can't ID it? Send us a photo - we'll do our best!

I'd like to offer a nesting spot to my birds.

Many of our backyard friends are cavity nesters and providing a safe home for them to raise their young is a wonderful experience for you and the birds. From bluebirds to wrens and chickadees, we have a sheet that details out everything you need to know. See our Nestbox Basics.

My cardinals are bald!

First, don't worry about the gorgeous male cardinal who now looks like he met up with Sylvester the Cat. Even cardinals have male-pattern baldness. It's typical for some to lose many, and sometimes even all of their head feathers, in late June/early July. They'll grow back over the next six weeks, but until then they're definitely a candidate for ugly bird of the month club. HOWEVER, if you see a bald cardinal during the fall or winter, you'll want to monitor its health; it could be a parasite infestation. Studies are still underway as to why this occurs (it also can happen to Blue Jays, scientists suspect the jays' baldness may be genetic). Cornell's Lab of Ornithology has a great article and photos of cardinals trying to impersonate vultures.

I've found an injured bird.

If it hit a window, wildlife rehabilitators recommend setting the bird in a safe, quiet location for approximately 2 hours then checking on it. If you don't have a protected area for it, you may put it inside a shoebox, move it to your garage and then take the box back outside before opening it after the two hours are up. One of three things will occur: most likely the bird will fly away. If the injuries were too severe the bird will have died and there's nothing a rehabber could have done to save the bird in that short amount of time (so you've saved yourself a trip across town and additional stress on the bird), or third: the bird's injuries will be more apparent and you can then transport it in the same box to a local rehab facility. Don't know where one is by you? Try the National Wildlife Rehabilitators Association (NWRA) site. In Minnesota, go to the Wildlife Rehabilitation Center of Minnesota (WRC) located in Roseville. They're open every day of the year and easy to access off of Hwy. 36 and Dale St.

Why do the robins and cardinals attack my windows?

Persistent window pecking is more common in the spring and early summer. Cardinals and robins are especially skilled at this. Why do they do it? Quite simple in their minds: they peck at windows because they see a reflection of themselves and think that it's a rival bird. These birds are very territorial at this time of year. Their hormones are raging and they are not about to let another bird encroach on their territory. They are defending their mate, their nest and their food supply.

These birds will usually go to a specific window and/or a specific area of the window. The best solution is to cover up that area, from the outside. You can use vinyl cling decals, soap the area, or even put up newspaper to cover the area, as long as they cannot see their reflection.

But, I'm also very happy to tell you about a brand new, and inexpensive product we're now carrying that helps prevent window attacks. It's called Cardinal Alert and it's made by the same people who make the translucent window decals. Unfortunately, this isn't translucent since it needs to disrupt the bird's reflection, but it's a 48" strip of semi-transparent decal that you can run along the bottom of your window. It has a Prairie School Design motif to it and is made as a static cling decal so you it's easy to mount and remove.

Just remember, as the birds' hormones subside, so will the window pecking. Until then, they will be persistent. You have to be just as persistent.

You may enjoy reading humorist's Al Batt's take on Mad Robins.

Woodpeckers keep drumming/pecking at my house!

There are two different behaviors and you'll want to identify which one it is to take preventative steps: Drumming and Drilling.

Drumming occurs in the spring and is a way to attract mates and define territories. The louder the sound, the more the woodpeckers like the drumming item (bad news for those of you with metal stovepipes!).

Drilling occurs in the late summer through fall as a result of the woodpeckers searching for wasp larvae.

Once you've determined the problem you're dealing with, you can take some steps to deter it. Here's a great article by one of our store managers on different options. Here's another informative sheet on woodpeckers.

How can I prevent window strikes?

Bird collisions are a different story. Birds see a reflection of the trees or the sky in your windows, and can't see that the window is a solid barrier. They only see more open space. Bird strikes often follow a pattern. Birds tend to run into the window in the same general area. Sometimes this area on the window shifts a bit with the changing position of the sun, but it's usually the same window. And, if there are any windows that, from the outside, have a clear view through the house to another window looking outside, the birds can mistake this as an open flyway.

Window strikes are usually migrants passing through your yard, that's why you seem to have more of them in the spring and fall. Your neighborhood birds know where your house is and in general won't hit the window unless they're in a panicked flight to escape an predator.

Why do my finches look poofy and die?

Finches are very susceptible to Salmonellosis and when we have mass irruptions of the winter finches (Pine Siskins and redpolls) there are so many congregated under your feeders that the disease spreads quickly. We recommend in addition to cleaning your feeders regularly, that you move your feeder locations twice a year: once in the spring and once in the fall. During the winter, when your feeder pole may be frozen into the ground, we recommend shoveling all those discarded Nyjer seed shells away from under your feeder. You've seen the birds massed under it, picking through the seed, just imagine how the disease spreads in that environment. Here's an interesting article on redpolls and Salmonellosis.