Updated January 17, 2010
The two most common hummingbirds that we have in Price, UT.
5 Great Birdfeeding Tips:
1. Provide a Variety of Different Bird Feeders. A hanging feeder will appeal most to seed-eating birds such as chickadees that feed naturally at tree level. Ground level platforms or those just a few feet off the ground --- will appeal to towhees and cardinals. Suet feeders will bring woodpeckers --- and many others, too! So a variety of feeders, with a variety of foods will bring the greatest variety of birds. 2. Offer Shelter. Shelter on a cold winters night can be a life- saver for wild birds. Your spring nest box, if cleaned out, can provide such shelter. And winter roosting boxes are available. Another backyard haven can be a pile of brush where birds can take refuge from the elements. This is just as important in summer time because of chilly nights, rain storms and don't forget that owls prey on birds at night! 3. "Best" Seed: Black Oil Sunflower Seed. Not appealing to pigeons, sparrows and blackbirds, and accepted eagerly by the small songbirds. There are many good seed blends --- but your birds will always love this pure favorite! 4. Deal with Squirrels. You can baffle them, and/or install the squirrel-proof feeders. Because the fact is: if there is a squirrel on your feeder -- the birds won't come. In addition, though, you may start a distraction feeding area just for them in another part of your yard - keep them busy with their own squirrel toys and corn-cobs! But if your like me and do not have any squirrels, you beg for them! LOL 5. Provide Ice-Free Water. Water is a necessity. In hot or cold weather it is a life saver but in the winter, natural water sources freeze over. A heater in your bath or a heated bird- bath create a winter oasis --- drawing birds from neighboring areas. During the summertime don't forget to regularly clean your bird bath with soap and water and rinse it well before refilling it.Quick note: Today, October 10, 2004 I noticed that my little sharp-shinned hawk is back. While I was taking pics of a few of the feeders in action, I seen a fast moving bird dart into the lilac bush. At first I thought it was an english sparrow joining its friends until I real- ized it "crashed" into the bush. Just as I turned to see, the sharp-shinn darted back out of the bush with a sparrow in its talons and it flew directly over my head to enjoy its meal. While this may seem cruel to some people, it isn't. It IS Mother Nature at work. As with every- thing else in life, one thing must die in order for another to survive. For all of us back yard bird enthusiasts, it's the highlight of our time and effort to att- ract a sharp-shinned or cooper's hawk. Sometimes we are even fortunate enough to get an American kestrel or a Merlin to join our flock of birds to watch!
Hopefully none of you belong to PETA (People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals) or what I like to call (People Eating Tasty Animals). If you are I'm sure you are disgusted with the above story but you have to remember one thing about your vegetarian group.......you kill and eat vegetables! What's the difference? Animals die for others to live and the last I knew vegetables are alive until you kill them by dig- ging them up or ripping their ripe bodies off of the vine or branch! It is NATURE everyone....just Nature and our right to survive!
Back Yard Wild Birds & Their Feeding
Springtime Tips
Spring migration season brings many species of birds migrating northward. Invite them to stop over in your yard for refueling on their journey. You will have a chance to see and enjoy many new birds, if only for a short while! Keep feeders up and filled, and I suggest that you scatter seed on the ground to catch birds' attention as they fly over. Serve high coloric foods to replenish their energy reserves depleted from their strenuous voyage. Foods like black oil sunflower or mixed seed blends with nuts are extra rich for added energy.Goldfinches are getting their gold! A wonder- ful sign of spring is the transformation of male goldfinches' coloring from their winter olive-drab to brilliant lemon yellow (their gold) with dramatic white and black markings. Female goldfinches keep their muted coloring year-round. Taveling in flocks called charms, goldfinches have an undulating flight, with several quick-wing ascending wing flaps, then coasting down, so they seem to stitch the sky. Keep plenty of thistle seed on hand for these golden beauties; well known for ar- riving at feeders in large numbers. Thistle seeds are best served from a thistle feeder or mix with your regular seed for use in a standard feeder.
About the Classic Bird Feeder: This is the original, classic design for wild bird feeders. It is specifically designed for a wild bird seed mix or sunflower seeds. It is easy to fill and clean and holds almost 2 pounds of seed. It comes with the unique comfort grip perches which invites birds to sit and dine longer. This is the perfect feeder for someone who is just be- ginning to feed wild birds and is GREAT for children! Put out yarn, string & other nesting material. Birds welcome all your donations for their nest-building. Yarn and string should be about 3 inches in length--longer lengths jeopordize bird safety. Put out your yarn, dry grasses, dog and cat combings in an onion bag, a suet cage or drape them on your shrubs. For a convenient and decorative solution purchase a ready made nesting ball, basket or tower. These come pre-filled with soft materials perfect for nest building activites. Enjoy the fun of watching birds tease out their selections and fly off to incorporate them in the nest.
Welcome to my personal page on back yard wild birds and their feeding. I'm sure you will find useful info- rmation here and I have also listed my very own, perso- nal recipe for no-melt, home made suet that all my wild birds fancy. I'm just getting this page up so please check back weekly while it is under construction. Put your mouse pointer on each pic for a description! A bit about me and where I live. I live in Price, Utah. Our weather changes quickly here from hot to cold and cold to hot. We also receive a lot of wind. We always joke that if you don't like our weather, wait 15 minutes.
I have been feeding wild birds in my back yard for many, many years. I have a deep love for animals but birds are my favorites. I began as a young boy raising budgies (parakeets) and then cockatiels and then larger species of parrots. Currently I raise several species and there is a link on the bottom of this page which you can check out or you can click here.
While growing up I was also really interested in raptors; hawks, eagles, owls and falcons. Because of that interest I also became a falconer. I have captur- ed, taken from the nest, trained, flown and hunted with nearly every species of raptor found in Utah except the Peregrine Falcon and the Merlin. All of my birds are released back into the wild after I am done training and flying them. I do not believe in captive breeding for a profit so I only take my birds from nature and then return them to fulfill their biological function. To see some of my falconry birds that I've flown you can click the link at the bottom of the page or you can click here.
By trade I am a Master Body Piercer and own my studio. I also hire tattoo artists that are traveling around the country looking for work to help them get their name out there in the tattoo world. To see more on my studio you can use the link below or click here. As if I have nothing to do with my spare time to which I have very little of, I also raise carnivorous plants. While I like all of them I am unable to keep the venus fly traps alive so I pretty much only raise the Nepenthes species. To see them you can click the link at the the bottom of the page or you can click here.
Suet Recipe
Now, since suet is so important for birds during winter months to keep warm and important in the summer for raising babies, here is my tried-and-true suet recipe. Please keep in mind that birds are like us...... they don't know the difference between Brand name and generic. Use the cheap stuff! This may seem like a lot of ingredients but it only makes about 6 small plastic containers of suit. What you will need: Amount Ingredient 6 cups rendered suet (I usually use lard) 18 oz. jar of crunchy peanut butter 2 cups peanuts, chopped in blender (no shells) 2 cups quick cook oats 2 cups corn meal 1 cup sugar 2 cups any Healthy Cereal, non-sweetened 2 cups Corn Flakes, non-sweetened 16 oz. Trail Mix 1.5 cups Bakery Mix (or wheat flour) 1 can any canned fruit, pureed in blender 3 packs Pectin (summertime only)To prepare: Melt the suet (or lard) and peanut butter together in a large 6 quart pan over a low to medium heat to prevent scorching or boiling over. Remember to stir occasional- ly. While that is melting together I crush the Cereals into small bits and put them in a large mixing bowl. Now I break out that old blender that never gets used and I chop up the peanuts (some wich be chunks while the rest will be like a powder and then I place it into the large mixing bowl along with the cereals. Now I place a bag of trail mix into the blender and chop it into small pieces too and that goes into the mixing bowl. Now add the oats, corn meal, sugar and bakery mix. Mix all these dry ingredients together. When the suet (or lard) and peanut butter is thoroughly melted together add the pureed canned fruit (any kind will do), and mix it in. Remove from the heat and now add the dry ingredients all at once and then mix it all together. At first the mixture will be quite runny and that is fine because it'll begin to thicken quickly. After it's thoroughly mixed I usually let it stand for about 10 to 15 minutes to allow the dry ingredients to soak up the moisture. Once it begins to thicken you can place it into any type of container you want for freezing.
I like to use the cheap sandwich holders or sandwich size microwave bowls that you can get at Wal-Mart and K-Mart. They are usually about $3 for 5 of them. Spray the insides of them with a non-stick cooking spray so they don't stick to the insides and then fill them up to to little line on the side or measure the depth of your suet feeder so you don't fill them too full and have to cut some off to get it to fit in the feeder. Freeze all the way through (about 8 hours). When your ready to fill your suet holder pop out a block (if it doesn't want to just pop out, place the bottom of the container in warm water to loosen the bottom and sides).
Wild Bird Seed
Now we come to the wild bird seed section. There are many different brands of wild bird seed on the shelf in stores today and personally I have not found one to be better than the other. What I look for is the amount and the cost. As of right now I have 23 bird feeders in my yard and I go through 150 pounds of seed every 2 days. I get 2 of the 50 pound bags of wild bird seed and one 50 pound bag of sunflower seed and mix them all together as birds like sunflower seed over all others except proso millet. Those 3 bags of seed cost me about $30 at our local Wal-Mart.Because there is a lot of Milo in pre-mixed bags of seed, which birds here in Utah won't eat, I've decided to start mixing my own seed. I purchase it from IFA (Inter- mountain Farmers Association). Currently I get White Proso Millet, Sunflower seed, Safflower seed, Red Wheat and Whole Corn. I mix it equally except for the corn which is half of the other seeds/grains. For example: 2 scoops Millet, 2 scoops Sunflower, 2 scoops Safflower, 2 scoops Wheat and 1 scoop of corn. I mix it all by hand and then fill up empty, washed out plastic milk jugs for easy carrying to the feeders. Because I happen to like European Starlings, I have dedicated one large feeder for them which I only fill up the Whole Corn. Starlings love corn and are often the culprit in a farmers field.
Hummingbird Nectar
While you can buy hummingbird nectar in stores that's already made, I have personally found that the hummers don't seem to care for it much. I prefer to make my own. It is mixed at a ratio of 1 cup sugar to 3 cups of water. Here is what to do: 1. Use distilled water or boil water on the stove and let it cool down. 2. Mix the sugar and water and stir until it is fully disolved. 3. Do NOT add food coloring!!! Studies by some of the leading ornothologists have found many hummingbirds have cancer of the tongue due to the artificial food coloring that people put in their feeders. Since the feeders already have red and yellow on them there is no need for the coloring. Hummingbirds see in ultra- violet colors which red and yellow are which makes them really stand out to hummingbird's eyes. 4. Do you also have Orioles and Tanagers? Instead of buy- ing nectar for them, use the same recipe above for the oriole and tanager feeders too. You can also place piece of orange and apple out stuck onto small broken tree branches for them to eat along with other birds!Bird Feeders
As with bird seed, there is a large variety of wild bird feeders on the market for feeding backyard birds. I have purchased many, many feeders and have definately found some to be better than others. Some of them that I prefer I decided to carry in my business for sell to the public. Here are some that I recommend that I sell:Coach Lantern Style Feeder: This is one of the feeders that I sell at my business. This particular one is hanging in my front yard in a globe willow tree. With all of the next pictures the birds are mostly english sparrows with a few different finches mixed in. Please notice the nice action shots of the birds flying to and from the feeders...darn I'm good! About the Coach Lantern Feeder: This is an awesome bird feeder! It is a classic design of the old style coach lamps. It in- cludes a 5'8" mounting pole or it can be hung by a string which is also included. It is easy to fill with a twist off top, feeds 6 or more birds at once (I have had 12-15 on mine at a single time) and holds a large, 4 pounds of seed (either mixed, sunflower, saff- lower, or whatever you want to put in it)! The clear plastic will NOT yellow over time. Bring the color and song of wild birds to your home with this feeder!
Triple Tube Style Feeder: This is another feeder that I sell at my store. This one is on the West side of my house. Because of the potential mess from the bird seed & bird poop, I asked my neighbor if he cared if it was there and he said it was fine because he liked to see the dif- ferent birds! It is placed about two feet from the fence and there is a large ever- green tree to the right that is about 8 feet away for cover/shelter. About the Triple Tube Feeder: This is a large, triple tube style wild bird feeder. It has a large, 6 pound seed capacity which can feed 12 or more birds at a time. It has twist 'n lock, comfort grip, removable perches and can feed any type of wild bird seed such as a mix, sun- flower seed or thistle (niger). It also has an integrated funnel top which makes filling it easy and less messy since seed doesn't spill. Comes ready to hang or you can mount it on a pole (pole not included). I have already assembled it so it will be ready for you to fill and use!
Who Needs a Bird Feeder?
Well, actually no one really needs a bird feeder at all. I took the picture above at my home. I was inside the house with the window open and the screen off to get this pic of english sparrows and some finches on the ground in the grass eating the seed that had been pushed out of the feeder directly above them. This is the easiest way to feed birds with no added expense besides the seed itself! Most birds that eat at feeders will readily eat at ground level but most birds that only eat at ground level rarely will go to a feeder. An example of this is the Dark-Eye Junco like the one pictured above on the left side near the suet recipe. Most of the time doves, like the one pictured above will only feed from the ground but on occassion they do go up to my feeders to eat. Other Pics I Have Taken
This is a European Starling that's peaking into a hole in the roof of my neighbors house. They used to nest here but now it is boarded up.
Here are some nicely colored House Finches and some English Sparrows at the feeder in winter. I am amazed at the deep color of the finches considering it is winter and not breeding season! This may have something to do with the seed mixture I prepare daily for them consisting of equal parts sunflow- er seed, safflower seed, cracked corn, white proso millet and red wheat.
email ehorvath@sisna.com
My Other Pages
My Parrots I Raise Eddie's Falconry Page Eddie's Carnivorous Plants Diversity - My Piercing/Tattoo Studio
