Let’s face it, you don’t work for DIY network. You’re probably a Bird Nerd – and have a passion for birding — or are at least interested in creating a perfect environment to attract them to your yard. Unless you’re somewhat of a master craftsman (or craftswoman), the bird feeder you create is going to be less than or equal to one you can buy.
If you’re like me, you’re bummed that your favorite family of backyard Orioles has flown south in search of warmer weather – one cool night in early fall will do that! I recently put away my Oriole feeder for the winter and shed a tear while replacing it with a year-round thistle feeder that will keep the finches and chickadees busy until spring.
So yesterday morning I went out and set up my camera to see if we could catch any birds. I just recently gotten the new squirrel proof ‘Original Absolute’ feeder and a bag of Old-Elm Gourmet feed and I was really excited to try it out and see what kinds of results I could get.
Cardinals are big, lively and can easily be the star of the show. No, we’re not talking about Mark McGuire, Albert Pujols, or the pro baseball team (Go Cards!) — instead, we’re covering ways to attract our fine feathered-friends, whose bright colors often set them apart from the rest of the backyard birds.
Look at your neighbor’s lawn and garden. Do they constantly mow, water and apply chemicals and pesticides? Is their garden bright and beautiful, yet devoid of wildlife? Reality check: they’re doing it wrong. Biodiversity is extremely important to the environment, our communities, and most importantly, our selves.
Blue Jays are beautiful — yet still one of the most intelligent — backyard birds. Blue Jays are part of the Corvidae family, which means they’re curious and even demonstrate problem-solving skills, attributes that sometimes make it difficult to attract them to your feeder.
Bird enthusiasts and naturalists everywhere love recycled plastic bird feeders. Made from recycled milk jugs, plastic soda and water bottles, these birdfeeders are nearly indestructible, and are easy to clean. Recycled plastic bird feeders are UV stable, stain resistant, impervious to insects and can be cleaned with bleach.
Hopper birdfeeders attract the greatest variety of birds and are one of the easiest birdfeeders to maintain. A hopper birdfeeder is a platform upon which walls and a roof are built. The walls and roof form a hopper for birdfeed storage and gravity provides a distribution of the birdseed to the appropriate feeding station.
