Birds DunRite

This creation by Clair Murray of a classic wind swept cottage on the high ground of “Siasconset”, affectionately known as Sconset, the beloved island of Nantucket, features architecture of this area.  These decorative bird houses are constructed of only the finest exterior grade ply-board with two separate nest boxes.  Kiln dried hardwoods, pine and polyresin are used for details.  All the finishing is done with non-toxic exterior paint but the interior is left unpainted for the birds.  The bird house is grey surrounded with a white picket fence.  With proper maintenance, this decorative bird house will provide years of enjoyment.

With such a work of art, many people prefer to use these decorative bird houses as indoor decor.  Let your imagination go wild and start or add to your Clair Murray collection!

What a pleasure to make a cozy bird house for the tiny little wren!  The house wren is common throughout most of North America and they are quick to accept bird houses for a home.  Bird houses with a small entrance will protect this little bird from the dangers of most predators.

Using this wren house kit to build a perfect house for these delightful little birds will be so satisfying to know that you helped then start a new family.  With their friendly nature, they like to be near human habitation.

This kit is recommended for ages 8 and up.

These active, agile little birds dine primarily on insects, seeds and berries.  The constantly active chickadee will hop around and cling to twigs, branches and foliage, gleaning huge quantities of insect eggs and larvae.  How much better bug control than using insecticides!

Chickadees also enjoy a variety of seeds and berries.  Seeds and nuts of pine, hemlock, birch, walnut, ragweed and sunflower are all important natural vegetable food.  They especially love black oil sunflower seed presented at your bird feeders.  They typically take one seed from the birdfeeder, fly away and perch nearby to eat it.  Chickadees will visit your bird feeders one at a time, while the others wait nearby for their turn.  They also enjoy peanut kernels, peanut butter mixes, hulled sunflower seeds and suet.  Offer plenty of suet, a high energy food, which can help support their constant motion.  Place suet feeders near the trunk of a tree.  Smear peanut butter onto tree trunks and branches.

The chickadees will be a frequent visitor to your bird feeders in the winter.  Fill your tube bird feeders or your window bird feeders with black oil sunflower seed or peanut kernels.  Platform bird feeders are great for fresh or dried blueberries and various other berries.

As with all wildlife, water is an absolute necessity so have at least one bird bath for drinking and bathing.  Heated bird baths are especially important for birds like the chickadees who keep you company all winter and give you special dreary day enjoyment.

Just think how hard they work to stay alive in the cold winter weather so let’s give them all the help we can and they will reward us by appearing as little puff balls at our bird feeders to brighten our days.

The mating habits of the chickadees is minimal.  There is no real major courtship display.  Pairs generally break away from the small winter flocks that have been feeding together through the cold months and begin selecting mates.  Being cavity nesters, the chickadees excavate their nest in the soft,  partially rotted wood of a tree trunk or broken limb.  These birds are excellent candidates for man-made bird houses.  The nesting season is from April through June.

Locate chickadee bird houses 4 to 15 feet high.  The orientation of the entrance hole should provide the most shelter and a clear flight path to the opening.  You can encourage them to nest by placing a few wood chips in the bird house or filling the box with sawdust up to the entrance hole which gives the birds something to excavate while nest building.  The female will build the nest using moss and soft materials, taking about 4-5 days to complete. She will then lay about six white with speckles eggs and she alone will incubate them for about 12 days.  During this period the male feeds her.

The male calls her from the nest, at which time she leaves the nest and he feeds her.  Sometimes she will leave the nest and call him, and he will bring food to her.  Occasionally the female will feed on her own.

After the young hatch,  the female will brood the newborns for the first few days.  During this time the male will continue to bring food.  After brooding, both will share equally in feeding the babies.  The young will leave the nest in about 16 days.  For the next 2-4 weeks the young birds will be fed by the parents.  Then the kids are on their own!!

Bird feeders are an important ingredient in creating a successful bird garden.  When properly selected and placed, they can greatly expand the number and types of birds that will visit your backyard.

The placement of bird feeders is critical in two respects.  First, they need to be located near cover in which the birds can  escape if they feel threatened.  The second consideration is to place the bird feeders close to windows where you can have a good view of them.
Goldfinches add remarkable color to your backyard as well as delightful activity.    Tube bird feeders are perfect for thistle (nyjer) seed and another favorite of the goldfinches  is black oil sunflower seeds.  Hang tube bird feeders just outside your bedroom, kitchen or den window.  The finches are not shy and timid and will come to the feeders as long as there is not a lot of noise to spook them.  These various tube bird feeders can be placed around the yard which will also attract other finches.  You want a birdfeeder that has plenty of perches for the birds to sit on while they are busy eating and playing with each other.

During the year, it is fun to watch the birds molt and change colors.  In springtime, the Goldfinches take on their remarkable colors.  You can also watch as they do their mating rituals to attract partners to start their families.

Backyard birding brings nature to your home for many hours of enjoyment and pleasure.

Water is essential to life.  Birds need it daily for drinking as well as bathing.  It is a joy to observe wild birds in water — a simple bath looks like such fun and how they do savor their sips of water.  Birdbaths are a simple solution for providing water.  Place birdbaths in view of windows in your home to watch the interactions and play of the birds as they come and go from the birdbaths.

The most popular birdbaths are shallow basins.  They require little maintenance and birds are comfortable in them.  A shallow birdbath, or one with a gentle slope to the middle, enables the birds to wade in.  The deepest level should not be more than three inches.  Rocks can be added to adjust water depths.  Textured surfaces are the most desirable since birds like to have secure footing.  Since they love moving water,  a nice addition to the birdbath is a water wiggler.  Another great advantage of the moving water is that it discourages mosquitoes.

Placed atop a pedestal, a birdbath offers a sense of security and stability.  Also popular are birdbaths designed to hang from a tree branch or those that can be clamped to a deck railing. These are especially good for people with very small yards or who live in buildings with no yards, giving them the opportunity to create a garden setting. 

A birdbath can be installed virtually anywhere so enhance your bird watching as well as providing a life essential for your feathered friends.

Backyard birding will bring nature to your home and give you many hours of enjoyment and pleasure.  Birdfeeders and birdbaths attract birds from all over and are very fun to watch.

When it comes to feeding backyard birds,  Goldfinches as well as other finches are crazy about thistle (nyjer) seed so hang a tube bird feeder designed for nyjer seed just outside your kitchen, den or bedroom window and enjoy the fun of watching them flock to the feeders.  The tube bird feeders can be placed around the yard–just make sure there are plenty of perches for the birds to sit on while they are busy eating and playing with one another.

It is fun to watch the birds molt and change colors in the spring time when they take on their remarkable colors.  Then they do their mating rituals to attract partners to start their families.

This is not the end of the pleasure.  It is a joy to watch mom and dad take care of the little nestlings and how those babies are demanding of the parents.  They squawk, flutter their wings and the mouth is wide open as they beg.  Those little ones are going to take their handouts as long as possible and sometimes the babies look larger than mom when she is still feeding them.  They’ll take it as long as they can get it!

Rather than battle with squirrels attempting to break into your bird feeders, why not succumb to a squirrel feeder?  This gives them somewhere to play and snack, discouraging them from inhaling food meant for the birds.

Despite their ongoing war with the backyard birds, squirrels can be a lot of fun to watch, particularly with their little ones.  All you need is a tree!

People who enjoy bird feeders are often extremely frustrated with a flock of “bully birds” descending upon their feeders, draining them of all the food and chasing away their favorite songbirds in the process.  Some of the most common varieties of “bully birds” are blackbirds, grackles, pigeons, and house sparrows.  These invaders are usually attracted to a bird feeder by readily available birdseed or suet on the ground or in easy-access feeders.

Some solutions are to lock out the bully birds, which are usually larger in size, by limiting the accessibility of feeding ports.  Keep the areas under your bird feeders as clean as possible to keep pigeons away.  Selecting only certain kinds of foods to dispense in your feeders can be beneficial, because bully birds tend to prefer bread, corn, wheat and sunflower seeds.  Finches will be drawn to hanging tube feeders with only nyjer (thistle) seeds.  Cardinals, chickadees, and nuthatches like safflower seed in hopper or tray feeders.

Tube bird feeders attract birds such as the titmice, woodpeckers, finches, chickadees and nuthatches.  They are long and cylindrical in shape.  They also have perches on the feeding ports.  Tube bird feeders usually discourage competing animals such as the squirrels.  The perches on the feeding ports also discourage the large birds from eating the bird seeds.  Some tube bird feeders are surrounded by metal wire “cages”that further encourage small birds to feed by excluding larger nuisance birds and squirrels.

You can hang your tube bird feeders from strong branches or use pole mountings.  Pick a location that is easy to get to and reach.  When the weather gets bad, which is also a time when birds need as much food as they can get,  it is much better if the feeder is in an easy-to-reach place.

So what are the best foods to feed the birds?  Seeds are your best option.  Offer one kind of seed to each feeder.  Sunflower seeds are an all time favorite of many birds — cracked corn and peanuts are a good option.  For the feeders with small ports,  nyjer seed is a favorite of the small songbirds.  This seed is commonly identified as “thistle” seed, but it is actually “nyjer” seed which is cultivated in Asia and Africa and is high in oil content.

The greatest reward of putting out bird feeders is the joy of watching these delightful little feathered friends eating and knowing you are contributing to their well being.