Bird Watching - The Outdoor Directory for Birding

On a hot Sunday morning(the temperature eventually reached 106 F. that day) we strapped three small rafts and a canoe to the trailer and drove to a small boat ramp on the Willamette River east of Eugene, Oregon for a day of river floating and birding. When the weather is so hot birding in the woods can be poor. The birds are often quiet and unobservable while waiting for the cooler temperatures of the evening. And the birders hot and miserable. But on the river is a different story! The osprey have not left yet though the young are adult size. We were never out of sight of an osprey nest nor out of range of the calls of osprey the entire day. It is always a exciting sight to watch osprey dive into the river after a meal. Clusters of common mergansers let our group approach close enough for a good view before they rose up on the water and paddled away. The small green-backed herons are not uncommon but they can be elusive when birding from shore. We spotted several from the water. An occasional bald eagle, many violet-green swallows, several families of ducks and more Canada geese with their goslings than we could count

rounded out our day on the river. We left our good birding binoculars at home and took our compact waterproof binoculars. Ones like the Brunton waterproof compacts are less than a $100.00 and if lost to the river goblins not a disaster. A round of Parrot Ices at the Plaid Pantry were appreciated by all.
Bill@birdingguide.com

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Our violet-green swallows fledged this week from the bird boxes I placed on our house. The young swallows spent three days on and sometimes under the deck of our house before getting strong enough to fly on their own. The adults kept feeding them insects and watching over them. Spending several days on the ground not yet able to fly is typical for many species of birds. This is a very vulnerable time with the young birds open to predation from natural predators and house cats, who kill millions of birds each year.

Unfortunately there is another hazard these young birds face. Well meaning people often notice these fledglings on the ground and "rescue" them. By removing the baby birds from the natural cycle of events in a bird's life these "rescued" birds are usuallly condemned to death. I get many e-mails this time of year and Audubon Chapters all across the country get many phone calls from well intentioned

people who have picked up a baby bird and want to know if there is a rescue organization to care for the bird. Most of the time the best thing to do is leave any young birds on the ground where you found them. If you have dogs or cats you can help the birds by keeping your pets indoors for 2 or 3 days. If you find injured birds like a hawk, an owl or an eagle your nearest Audubon Chapter or State Dept of Wildlife can help advise you in finding a bird hospital.

Bill@birdinguide.com

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This year I mounted two swallow nesting boxes on our house and garage on the east side of the buildings so the boxes would have afternoon shade. Both are occupied by Violet-Green Swallow families. The young swallows will leave the nest after 23-24 days after hatching; a longer time in the nest than many birds of this size which is a delight to us. The activity of the parents gracefully flying in and out of the nest boxes in response to the begging sounds of their young gives us much pleasure on these summer evenings. Normally they nest in an old woodpecker hole or a natural cavity in an old tree but they respond well to birdhouses too especially when there are not enough natural tree cavities for them. In the south west they will nest in holes in large cactus. I shall miss them when they fledge and migrate south for the winter, but for now they are great company circling our yard gathering insects and swooping across our deck in the twilight.

When you put up nest boxes for birds you should always know what kind of bird the nest box is designed for. Each bird has different requirements in terms of the size of the nest box and the size of the entry hole and the proper location for placement. The size of the entry hole is very important. If it is too small for the particular bird you want to attract it will not be of use and if too large the nest site will be open to predation. Buy nesting boxes from Audubon centers or local nature store that are knowledgable about birds and are selling nest boxes designed for specific species of birds. Bird boxes sold at many garden centers and big box stores while cute and decorative are often are not suitable for our feathered friends and may do more harm than good by leaving the birds easy prey to predators. For the do-it-yourselfer who wants to build bird boxes there are also good books that give instructions and dimensons for individual species of birds.

Bill@birdingguide.com

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We were sitting undeer a shade tree eating watermelon this warm afternoon. An evening Grosbeak was
munching away at a hanging sunflower seed feeder. I had a few thoughts on feeding our feathered friends I'd like to share. Black oil sunflower seeds are the number one favorite bird seed at my feeders. I buy it in economical 50 pound bags and all my feeder birds are happy. Some people have success as well with millet and thistle seed. If you want additional seed to the sunflower seed set it out in seperate feeders. I do not like the mixed seed bags of bird food that are commonly sold. Birds will often pick through the seed mixes looking for their favorite and tossing out the other seeds in the mix. That is wasteful of seed, the mixes are often much more expensive than buying different seed seperately and you never get to learn what is really prefered by the kinds of birds coming to your feeders.

For our hummingbirds I dissolve 2 tablespoons of white sugar for every 5 oz. of warm filtered water. Warming the water helps the sugar dissolve. Never add food coloring to your mix. Hummingbird feeders are colorful enough to attract them without the addition of food colorings which are not safe any claims to the contrary. Also no brown sugar and absolutely no honey.

In the fall, winter and spring I have suet out which brings in woodpeckers and sapsuckers, always a delight, as well as the chickadees and nuthatches. Summers are so hot I do not put out suet which spoils in the heat. It is in the colder months that the birds need the energy of the fat. Buy the suet without millet and sunflower seeds. Its a waste of your money. Manufactuers of suet can bulk up the suet with seeds and give you less suet for your money. I have a great recipe for homemade suet I found in a birding magizine I can post if there is interest. I actually do not use it anymore because the homemade suet was so popluar with our birds in the winter I suspected the chickadees were hauling the suet away for sale to neighboring birds. It became too time consuming to make suet and have it disappear so quickly. A great treat for the birds though! A final thought. Do not feed the waterfowl in your local park stale bread. Bad for the birds and a serious cause of algae pollution. Cracked corn is great.!

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