The Zen Birdfeeder

Late Summer Yard Guests

Besides the birds, the yard is also host to a growing bunny family.  The older one, initially mistaken for a clump of weeds, is named "Shrub".  This littler one, with the white mark on the forehead, is "Edith".

 

I think this is "Gussy", Edith's brother.

 

Or is this Edith? Or Shrub?

Visitors of the insect type include a Carpenter Bee, here gathering pollen on a late season coneflower.

 

And with an un-identified, smaller bee friend.  Any help in identifying his sidekick?? (Click on image to enlarge)

 

We believe in letting sleeping bunnies lie.

Mealworms on the Menu

In my Titmice Mouths to Feed post on September 23rd, I shared images of some of the begging that went on this year with my local titmouse family. Here's the rest of those photos. (Click on any image to enlarge)

  

Here's the handoff of a big mealworm from adult to young; a second later, it's down the hatch!

  
  
  

I put out mealworms on my Advanced Pole System® setup using the Sidedish feeder. Mine has the Rain Guard too that keeps the rain out of the dish, but is especially helpful in the winter to keep the snow out.

   

Most Wild Birds Unlimited stores sell live mealworms year-round. And birds will eat 'em up any time of year. Titmice, as well as chickadees, jays, nuthatches, and wrens will appreciate the protein boost.

  

I wouldn't recommend roasted mealworms - the birds prefer juicy live ones!  Have you ever tried feeding live mealworms to birds?  If so, what birds eat them in your yard?

 

The young titmice have learned to get food on their own, and my feeders are busy with all members of this little family. No more wing-flutters and begging, but lots of busy feeding as the temperatures begin to drop.

 

Last of the Hummingbirds

We saw our last hummingbird on September 18 (in 2007, the last hummingbird was seen September 13).

 

These hummingbirds, most likely migrants as opposed to resident hummingbirds, haven't visited the feeder much. They opt for the late season Bee Balm and Rosa Rugosa blooms.  I still have a single feeder out though, just in case, and will keep it out for another week or so.

 

When did you see your last hummingbird of the season?

Wordless Wednesday

 
Face-off

Titmice Mouths to Feed

A loud and hungry titmouse family descended on my feeders in late August.  You met them in my August 26th "Tufted Titmouse Tots" post.

 

I spent the next few weeks taking photo after photo of this boisterous little clan.  Which means I have lots of catch-up work to do!

 

So I'll devote a couple posts this week sharing titmice photos from late August through September.  The noise has settled down a little, but they are STILL busy and growing up fast, like all birds do.

 
   
 

A wing quiver and an incessant "me...me...me!"

 
 
 

What does mom have for junior?
 
A big, juicy mealworm!!

 
 

More titmice early next week!

Finding Inner Peace in Your Backyard

There was a good "thumbs-up" to backyard bird feeding in the July/August 2008 issue of Health magazine.  In the article "In search of stillness", freelance writer Margaret Renkl finds inner peace in her own backyard. 

After a harried month, the author was searching for some stillness, calm and inner peace. She states, "studies have shown that learning to still the mind, if only for a few minutes, can lower blood pressure, reduce heart rate, limit stress hormones, and enhance immune function."  So off she went on her search for an activity that would calm her mind.

 

First she tried a Tai Chi DVD at home and found it mesmerizing and filled with quiet concentration. She emerged feeling refreshed and rested.  Then she tried knitting, which she calls a "perfect example of active stillness".

Having heard that exposure to nature can boost one's general well-being and sense of calm, she then set off for a long walk in the woods.  It was peaceful all right, but she was unable to "give up an hour every day to nature". So in her attempts to find smaller-scale nature interactions, she put up a birdfeeder that she could see from her desk.

Did the birdfeeder help her find the peace and stillness she sought?  After watching goldfinches and cardinals courting "right outside my window", she called her birdfeeder "the best minidose of nature I've found so far".

She discovered what we all discovered long ago - that you don't have to go far to enjoy nature when you have a birdfeeder, birdbath, and/or birdhouse in your backyard.  Almost everyone I talk to at the store agrees that if we were to put on a blood pressure cuff while watching the birds at our feeder, we'd see our pressure heading downward.

  

Renkl reminds us that "the world can offer peace and stillness, even in the midst of mayhem".  Do you find calmness and inner peace when you watch the birds at your feeders and baths?

Remember to take time everyday to find your inner peace - pause and enjoy the birds in your own yard.

I and the Bird #84

 

Audubon Birdscapes blog hosted the current edition of I and the Bird entitled, "A Beginner's Guide to Bird Blogs".  I submitted "One or Two Grosbeak Family??"  for consideration.  I think our new banner showed up well on his post - what do you think?

Everytime I read an IATB post, I find 2-3 more bird/nature blogs to add to my favorites.  This time I added these: Coffee & Conversation, Birding in NJ, and Vickie Henderson Art.

Check out IATB #84. 

   

Cornell's "Little Green Places" Contest

Cornell Lab of Ornithology wants to see your photo, drawing, or video of a Little Green Space that's good for birds!

Have you noticed a spot that birds like because it provides shelter, food, or water? It could be an ivy-covered wall, flowers next to the stoop, a windowbox, a container garden on a rooftop or balcony, your school garden, or the potted plants by your library entryway.

Send a photo, drawing, or link to your video of your Little Green Place to urbanbirds@cornell.edu . Cornell will send the first fifty entries a copy of the new "Celebrate Little Green Places" poster and there will be other great prizes, including a $100 gift certificate from Johnny's Selected Seeds. The deadline is October 31.

Information about the Little Green Places contest can be found on the Cornell web site:  http://www.birds.cornell.edu/celebration/temporary/little-green-places-photo-video-contest
(Make sure to watch their video about the contest!)

Let Cornell know about YOUR "Little Green Places!"

Care for Birds - Care for the Environment: Act to Help Our Migratory Birds

Approximately 350 species of birds migrate between their winter homes in Latin America and their breeding grounds in North America. Unfortunately, deforestation, development and human-caused hazards threaten the existence of these Neotropical migrants.

 
Black & White Warbler 

However, there are viable solutions and programs that can help reverse the population declines of many bird species.  Some of these bird species are those that we enjoy at our feeders all summer long, like this Rose-breasted Grosbeak pair.  

The Neotropical Migratory Bird Conservation Act (NMBCA) supports conservation projects to help migratory birds and has a proven record of success.  The Act was passed in 2000, and every five years the NMBCA must be reauthorized. However, each year funds must be appropriated by Congress. Legislation has been introduced that reauthorizes the existing NMBCA at significantly higher funding levels to meet the growing needs of conserving Neotropical migratory birds.

Because the NMBCA and its funding are so important for bird conservation in the Americas, we at Wild Birds Unlimited have joined in the effort with the American Bird Conservancy (ABC) for reauthorization of the Act.

I have just taken action in American Bird Conservancy's campaign, Act for Songbirds to ensure that a key bill is passed in Congress. The bill, cosponsored by Reps. Kind (D-WI) and Gilchrest (R-MD) is to reauthorize the Neotropical Migratory Bird Conservation Act, which is the sole federal grants program targeted specifically for bird conservation in the Americas. The campaign is seeking support from other Representatives to pass the bill with a maximum authorized spending of $20 million each year. Currently the Act is only authorized at $6 million, and so many worthy programs go unfunded. Grants must be matched at a rate of three to one by other sources, so this program can leverage another $60 million for bird conservation each year!

Please join me in supporting the Act for Songbirds campaign to reauthorize the Act – America’s only source of federal funds specifically dedicated to conserving migratory birds.

Wordless Wednesday

 
Image Courtesy of WBU Customer Joyce A. of Broadalbin NY