Birds Ideas, Tips & Guides

Collaborative post

These homemade bird feeders are a great way to give your local wild birds a real treat. You can make a bird feeder at any time of year, but it’s particularly important to support wild birds in winter.

If you’re looking for easy seeds to grow with children, it’s hard to beat growing sunflowers in pots. If you’re not gardening with children, sunflowers are still fantastic plants to grow, and they make wonderful cut sunflowers too.

Yesterday evening my plan to harvest purple sprouting broccoli for dinner met with an unexpected obstacle. One of our local blackbird couples had brought their twin fledglings into the garden for a feeding lesson. As you can see in the video, dad was doing a lot of digging about in the raised beds, looking for worms and other tasty things (a lot of which he ate himself! but baby did get fed). The other fledgling was following mum around, as she did much the same. One of the fledglings was quite proactive, getting involved a bit in digging for itself (although half-heartedly). The other one seemed a bit more uncertain, and was content to wait until it was fed. It was also less steady on its feet as it hopped around the raised beds.

I’ve wanted a bird bath for the garden for a long time, but I’ve never found one I liked. They’re usually great gothic monstrosities, or horribly twee, or just plain ugly. But last year we had an unfortunate incident where a fledgling got stuck in a collection of upturned pots that had filled with water, and drowned. This year, when I saw birds drinking out of a deep plant pot that’s filled with water (it holds a water plant), I covered it with chicken wire to prevent any accidents.

I’ve talked before about how much Ryan and I enjoy watching the various birds that come into the garden, and we feed them to encourage them to visit. At my last house, I had house sparrows and starlings along with wood pigeons and blackbirds and robins.

“Like the week in Lake Wobegon, it’s been mostly quiet,” says Ellen. “For the most part, the birds have stopped singing.” Turning their attention away from establishing territories, finding mates and having families—what the songs were mostly about—they’ve shifted focus. “Some birds even lose the ability to sing after the breeding season is over,” she adds (learn more about that in this BirdNote show and transcript).In the Q&A that follows, Ellen’s answers contain green links to audio files from BirdNote’s archive that you won’t want to miss. A recap of earlier stories in our series is at the bottom of the page, along with information on how to get BirdNote daily.the midsummer bird q&a with ellen blackstoneQ. So what are the birds doing as we enter midsummer?A. Many birds–wrens, robins, and others–may raise more than one brood in a breeding season. Depending on what part of the country you call h

Garden visitors, average early January 2015 day:30 dark-eyed juncos 11 goldfinches 1 male Eastern bluebird 3 Northern cardinals 5 white-throated sparrows 12 American robins 7 mourning doves 9 blue jays 3 tufted titmice 6 black-capped chickadees 2 white-breasted nuthatches 1 red-bellied woodpecker 2 downy woodpeckers 1 hairy woodpecker 1 yellow-belli

I count birds on ebird and with projects like FeederWatch (which runs every November through early April) because being a citizen scientist—that is being a real person without scientific training who collects and shares data so it can be used by scientists—is the only way the vast work of observing and recording the goings-on of the earth’s species can ever happen. Efforts by citizen scientists give experts a population baseline to work against to gauge impact when an oil spill or other catastrophe occurs. Data from citizen scientists has provided a basis for evaluating declines in populations and identifying which species are at highest risk (on the so-called watch list or in the annual State of the Birds report). It is important (and also immensely pleasurable).Which points to the fact that some of the reasons I count birds are entirely selfish. I count birds because I find it relaxing and also exhilarating: the meditative aspect of just staring out the window or up into the trees from below; the ever-present possibility something unusual will happen

Spring, and also fall, are perfect times to add some bird-friendly plantings, since many are woody plants, and also to provide for the most important thing off all: water. Big surprise–it’s all about keeping them fed, watered and sheltered in every season. Here are the essentials:1. water needed 12 months a yearWater is required 12 months a year, preferably moving water; curious birds cannot resist a drip or spillway, such as the little waterfalls in each of my two small garden pools. Even when those are shut down due

In the Q&A that follows, Ellen’s answers contain green links to audio files from BirdNote’s archive that you won’t want to miss. A recap of earlier stories in our ongoing series is at the bottom of the page, along with information on how to hear BirdNote daily. Easiest of all: browse all the BirdNote series stories at this link.winter bird q&a with ellen blackstoneQ. How far south do migratory birds go for the winter? A. They cover a very wide range of distances, but here’s a hint at some of the impressive extremes:Our humble barn swallow is a true long-distance migrant, and may winter as far south as southern South America, often returning to the same area year after year. Imagine: the sprightly bird that nested in the eav

In the Q&A that follows, Ellen’s answers contain green links to audio files from BirdNote’s archive that you won’t want to miss. A recap of earlier stories in our ongoing series is at the bottom of the page, along with information on how to get BirdNote daily.fall bird tasks: my q&a with ellen blackstoneQ. Obviously nobody’s using my nestboxes to raise a family right now—should I take them down? A. Yes, it’s time to take down your nestbox, at least temporarily, and clean it out. It’s a good idea to wear gloves and a dust mask while you do this. Use hot soapy water and a scrub brush, and rinse it with a pot

IT’S ALMOST TIME—for seeds, that is; to delve into catalogs, order, and then try to be patient till it’s time to sow. To that end—the timing part—I’m suddenly taken in bya $4 companion from the all-organic Seattle Seed Company (above) whose job it is to keep me on schedule, and not jumping the gun (or forgetting something till it’s too late). With a low-tech pullout format, you “set” your first and last frost dates and then the “when to sow what” falls into place. At this price, how can I resist the promise of feeling like I finally have it all together?smart birds: recycling butts into nestsYES, BIRDS USE the usual twigs, grasses, and feathers. But apparently they use cigarette butts, too—or so scientists at Scotland’s St. Andrews University have reported after studying house finch and house sparrow nests in Mexico

THEY’RE LEAVING (OR COMING BACK) in increasing numbers these days. The birds, I mean.

AS I HAVE MENTIONED: Forget about Angry Birds; my yard is full of Horny Birds this spring. And when I told that to the Mad Doodler of South-Dakota-via-Britain, dear transplanted Andre Jordan, apparently I hit a chord. I know there are offcolor jokes in this vein involving words like woody and suffixes like -pecker, but I’m no dirty-minded trash mouth, you know.

WHAT A WORLD, for better or for worse.  That’s what I think when I click around the internet: that you couldn’t make this stuff up. Here are some of the highlights (and lowlights) of what I’ve been struck by lately in my incessant online travels–a list of links you might want to ponder, too, from the state of the birds to Congress’ latest mental lapse (huh? pizza is a vegetable?), frugal gardening ideas, and more.

I KNOW: This week’s reading list is heavy on news of the natural world, because that’s where my mind is: outdoors. Snow is shrinking fast in these first few sunny, above-freezing days–so stories of birds, butterflies, toads and even the planets caught my attention. The links:

In the Q&A that follows, Ellen’s answers contain green links to audio files from BirdNote’s archive that you won’t want to miss. A recap of earlier stories in our ongoing series is at the bottom of the page, along with information on how to get BirdNote daily–and if you want to give thanks to nonprofit BirdNote for all their wonderful avian “aha’s,” you can do so at this link.Q. I’ve read that flamingoes’ plumage may be more or less colorful depending on their diet, but is this true of other bird species, too?A. What on earth does the lowly house finch have in common with the elegant, long-legged flamingo? They are what they eat. In color, that is. The carotenoids in their diets affect what color they are.  Carotenoids are the same pigments that give oranges and carrots–and brine shrimp–their color

My visitors are white throated sparrows, Zonotrichia albicollis, distinctive for their (surprise!) white throats and clean, crisp markings around the face. All I had to do was really look instead of saying to myself just “sparrow” and failing to take the time—in this case through a pair of binoculars–and then do a little reading in the Sibley book and online as well, because part of what had confused me was how some among them were differently marked than others, sort of same-but-different.Apparently it’s just the normal variation in the species, which has two distinct “morphs.” Or so says the website of David Sibley, whose “The Sibley Guide to Birds” you can win by following the details in the box at the bottom of this story.Among other sparrow-ID tips, this page on keeping the chipping sparrow and American tree sparrow straight might also help, or search All About Birds (from Cornell) for all the sparrow portraits.learning about birds: some resourcesBUT BEFORE YOU ENTER the giveaway, some other ways to connect and learn about all birds, and especially those most familiar ones,

First, the BirdNote backstory: In 2002, the then-executive director of Seattle Audubon heard a short public-radio show called StarDate. “We could do that with birds,” she thought. In 2005 the idea became a two-minute, seven-day-a-week public-radio “interstitial” (short program) that recently caught my ear. I asked BirdNote to help answer the recent questions you had asked me. (In case you missed installment Number 1, we tackled: How do birds make themselves at home—even in winter? Week 2 was about birds on the move: the miracle of hummingbird migration, and on flying in formation.)Parts of Ellen’s answers below are in 2-minute audio clips to stream (all in the green links–or you can read the transcripts at those links if you prefer). Here we go:mobbing the bigger guysQ. A lot of us have witnessed, and wondered about, much-smaller birds bravely chasing big raptors overhead, and also small songbirds who seem to mob owls. What’s up with these Davids chasing Goliaths in the

It’s certainly true that not all birds do well living with us—but some species have adapted and actually even thrived. So why is that, and what can we do as human neighbors to foster more such success stories?Marzluff is a renowned ornithologist and urban ecologist, and professor of wildlife sciences at the University of Washington.“Welcome to Subirdia: Sharing Our Neighborhoods With Wrens, Robins, Woodpeckers and Other Wildlife,” from Yale University Press is his fifth book. In his research, he applies a behavioral approach to conservation issues and has particular expertise in crows, ravens, jays and their relatives, as well as birds of prey, and also in so-called pest species of birds.He joined me on my public-radio show and podcast to talk about birds that do, and don

Before we get started, the BirdNote backstory: In 2002, the then-executive director of Seattle Audubon heard a short public-radio show called StarDate. “We could do that with birds,” she thought. In 2005 the idea became a two-minute, seven-day-a-week public-radio “interstitial” (short program) that recently caught my ear. I asked BirdNote to help answer the recent questions you had asked me. (In case you missed installment 1, we tackled How do birds make themselves at home—even in winter? Week 2 was about birds on the move: the miracle of hummingbird migration, and on flying in formation. Week 3: on daring behavior, such as when a mob of small birds chase after a bigger one, or a woodpecker drums on my house.)Parts of Ellen’s answers below are in 2-minute audio clips to stream (all in the green links–or you can read the transcripts at those links if you prefer):Q. How long do birds live? Can you give some examples that hint at their lifespans?A. A

How do birds get their food, and what do they eat, anyway? Well that depends on the bird, and Ellen Blackstone of BirdNote.org has some answers. A million people a day and more than 200 radio markets hear the 2-minute public radio show called BirdNote, and now “BirdNote” is a book too, which Ellen edited.Read along as you listen to the Aug. 20, 2018 edition of my public-radio show and podcast using the player below. You can subscribe to all future editions on iTunes or Stitcher (and browse my archive of podcasts here).how birds find foo

“A few species–like great horned owls–shuffle tentatively along the nearest branch and practice flapping their wings,” says Ellen. “But some take the ‘big leap,’ and there’s no going back.” Which path a bird takes when fledging, she says, depends upon its species and the location of its nest.In the Q&A that follows, Ellen’s answers contain green links to audio files from BirdNote’s archive that you won’t want to miss. A recap of earlier stories in our series is at this link; information on how to get BirdNote daily is at the bottom of this page.the q&a on fledging, with ellen blackstoneQ. As with eve

Before we get started, the BirdNote backstory: In 2002, the then-executive director of Seattle Audubon heard a short public-radio show called StarDate. “We could do that with birds,” she thought. In 2005 the idea became a two-minute daily public-radio “interstitial” (short program). I recently asked BirdNote to help answer the recent questions you’d asked me.Parts of Ellen’s answers below are in 2-minute audio clips to stream (all in the green links–or you can read the transcripts at those links if you prefer):what senses do birds use to hunt?Q. How do hawks and other hunters such as owls find their prey from such a distance–is it all about eyesight, or is smell i

Dennis’s recent blog post about pine siskins (top photo) in recent abundance–a favorite species here in my garden some lucky winters-of-plenty, too–detailed the relationship the birds have with red alder trees (Alnus rubra), and how their beaks are perfectly formed to fit into the tight spaces in the alder’s conelike structures and get at the little seeds.(I love such evidence of co-evoilutionary strategies between birds and plants.)Also appearing in greater-than-“normal” numbers this year, at least in the Pacific Northwest: snowy owls. “Voles. look out,” says Dennis (whom I told I have voles to spare should they run short out West; happy to dispatch a truckload from my garden anytime).my calendula feverI’M GROWING CALENDULA again, I reported recently on the blog, and to start off the latest radio show, I

Ellen—part of the BirdNote public-radio show team and my collaborator on a series of bird-related stories—is the person I always tell about new birds or other avian happenings out my window, even though I’m in the Hudson Valley of New York and she’s in Seattle.“Is it starting out there?” I asked as March began, just in from a session of crawling around to cut back hellebore foliage, accompanied by mourning dove (above), chickadee and titmouse songs.“Yes,” was the quick answer, in an email with a photo of Ellen’s own tidied-up hellebores—all in full bloom, way a

The brown creeper is about 5 inches long (much of it tail!), but weighs just 0.2 to 0.4 of an ounce, or 5 to 10 grams—though it never lets being petite get in the way of business. With a beautiful voice and the best camouflage ever, it’s what I’d call a do-er. The brown creeper starts at the base of old trees—preferably with loose or shaggy bark—heading upward in search of insects and spiders. Once it reaches the top, it flies to the base to start again.Hazel Wolf, a Seattle-based longtime activist for social justice, admired that trait when she saw the bird in action on her first birding trip, at age 64. The creeper’s determination inspired her to take on advocacy projects in behalf of the environment from that day on, until her death.“I saw it work its way up the trunk, moving quickly, always up, up, up—then fly back to the base…” Haz

In the story that follows, Ellen provided me with green links to audio files from BirdNote’s archive that you won’t want to miss; click them. A link to earlier stories in our ongoing series is at the bottom of the page, along with information on how to get BirdNote daily–and if you want to give thanks to nonprofit BirdNote for all their wonderful avian “aha’s,” you can do so at this link.I’ve been able to spy the nests of about 10 species of birds in the 2014 garden, of the 60ish species who visit me each year, and know that more avian families are doing a better job of concealing theirs.Baby birds—often a more-flecked, stubby version of their parents, like the American robin up top or those flickers below

THE EXPRESSION ‘BIRDBRAIN’ is a disparaging one, but I beg to differ: I’m grateful that I had birds on my mind when I started making a garden. The result—a year-round landscape—seems positively brilliant to me and my feathered friends.

Birds follow the food supply, either staying put, or moving in one of several different styles of migration, including the unexpected occasional one called irruption. (Above, an irruptive pine siskin.)I asked Eric Lind, Director of Audubon New York’s Constitution Marsh Center and Sanctuary in Garrison, New York, about how birds follow the food. We also talked about best practices for supplemental feeding, if you choose to offer seed and suet and such as they do in winter at the Marsh, a 270-acre tidal wetland on the east shore of the Hudson River. The site provides foraging, nesting and resting habitat to more than 200

Garden visitors, average winter 2016 day:20 dark-eyed juncos 10 goldfinches 1 to 3 Northern cardinals 5 white-throated sparrows 3 American robins (up to 30 on warm, bright days) 5 mourning doves (up to 20 on warm, bright days) 5 blue jays (ebbs and flows between several and 15ish birds) 3 tufted titmice 7 black-capped chickadees 2 white-breasted nuthatches 1 red-breasted nuthatch (began appearing

I asked my friend Ellen Blackstone of the BirdNote public-radio program, the tour guide for our ongoing series of bird stories. (Browse all past installments.)‘IT’S FUNNY how some bird-moms are so involved,” Ellen replied. “Like the hummingbird that does everything from nest-building to incubation to feeding and tending the young, sometimes even having to drive the adult male away, because he is so…pesky.”  (Read: the flashily dressed male is handsome, but no help whatsoever.) That’s an Anna’s hummingbird caring for her young, above.Of course, we’re just

Just as the birds are trying to tell one another something with the sounds they make, we too need a vocabulary for what we’re hearing. Otherwise, it can be overwhelming, to say the least. The book helps us learn the words to describe sounds, and more.  Nathan Pieplow is an expert “earbirder” who has been intensively studying and recording birds since 2003. A South Dakota native, he lives in Boulder and teaches writing and rhetoric at the University of Colorado.He joined me on my public-radio show and podcast to help us understa

Read along as you listen to the August 19, 2019 edition of my public-radio show and podcast using the player below. You can subscribe to all future editions on iTunes or Spotify or Stitcher (and browse my archive of podcasts here).And for those of you listening from near the Capital Region of New York State, Ken will join me at the New York State Writers Institute’s second annual Book Festival on Saturday, September 14th, 2019, and we’re going to have information about how you can join this wonderful, big, free day-long book festival and meet us.the latest q&a with ken druseMargaret Roach: New York State Writers Institute’s se

Bird populations in the US and Canada have plummeted by 30 percent since 1970 – here's why, and what we can do.

These are so much fun to make. Once you get comfortable using your jigsaw and your heat gun, they are so easy too! Who knew you could make these fantastic birds, animals and so much more out of a PVC pipe?!