Birding

Helping Your Feathered Friends!

With the start of winter, our feathered friends will need a little help making it through till spring. Did you know that birds are a great predictor of winter storms? If you have bird feeders, you will notice that a day or two before the storm is suppose to arrive the birds will feed heavily and then seek protection from the weather. You won't see much of them the day of the storm, but they'll be back feeding as soon as the weather breaks.

Favorite Foods of Backyard Birds

Favorite Supplemental Foods of Backyard Birds

Blue Jay

Black striped sunflower seed, black oil sunflower seed, peanut kernels

Cardinal

Black striped sunflower seed, black oil sunflower seed, cracked corn, safflower seeds, millet, unsalted nutmeats, raisins

Northern Oriole (Baltimore)

Birdfeeding Links

National Birdfeeding Society

http://www.birdfeeding.org/

Project Feeder Watch

http://www.birds.cornell.edu/pfw/AboutBirdsandFeeding/abtbirds_index.html

Birdfeeding on Wikipedia

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bird_feeding

Don talks about bird-feeding during the colder months.

Songbird Attracting Plants

When trying to attract songbirds (and keep them returning), provide a variety of plants that provide food (fruit/berries and seed) and shelter. If you have birdfeeders, place them near shrubs or trees that offer quick protection and a resting spot for the birds.

We have compiled a list of songbird-attracting plants to help in your landscape planning:

Hummingbird Attracting Plants

Brightly-colored flowers in reds, oranges, and pinks attract hummingbirds, but not all of these flowers provide nutrition for these birds. Large, tubular flowers are most likely to contain nectar.

Hang a hummingbird feeder near your house or garden to keep these favorite visitors returning.

We have compiled a list of hummingbird-attracting plants to help in your landscape planning:

Trees and Shrubs

Abelia
Azalea
Bottlebrush
Butterfly Bush
Cotoneaster
Flowering quince
Lilac
Weigela

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