The Zen Birdfeeder

Calcium...for Birds???

Calcium. 
You need it, birds need it. 

You know calcium is good for you.  Did you know it's good for birds too?  Birds need calcium.  It's as simple as that.

And their need for this essential mineral is greatest right now, during nesting season.

Egg-laying females need calcium to help form strong eggshells.  Even after laying eggs, female birds need calcium to replenish what she's lost in the process.  Chicks need calcium to help form strong bones.

In nature, the food birds eat typically doesn't have enough calcium for their needs, so they seek out other sources.  They pick at animal bones or shedded deer antlers to get supplemental calcium.  Some get it by eating eggshells of other birds.   Many birds get calcium from mineral deposits in dirt.

 

Blue Jay eating egg shells that have been dried and sterilized

Without sufficient calcium, birds many not lay as many eggs as normal and those they do lay may have thinner shells.  Chicks without enough calcium may have skeletal abnormalities.

Birds seek out calcium.

If birds have a choice between two foods that are identical in every respect except calcium, egg-laying females and juvenile birds will select a CALCIUM-RICH food more frequently.

When given the opportunity, birds often consume concentrated calcium sources, especially towards the end of the day as they are forming the egg they'll lay the next day.

Wild Birds Unlimited has foods with calcium.

Wild Birds Unlimited has a wide variety of birdfoods with added calcium to help your birds get the calcium they need during nesting season.  Offering calcium-rich foods will help supplement the dietary needs of birds in your yard and may help them have more healthy babies.  It could also help you see greater activity at your birdfeeders in the evenings, as they consume calcium-rich foods for overnight egg formation.

SEED

• Tree Nutty Plus Blend
• No-mess Plus Blend

SUET

• PB&J Suet Dough Cakes  (seasonal)
• PB&J Suet Plugs (for suet log)
• PB&J Suet Dough Stackable
• Bark Butter

SPECIALTY FOOD

• Bark Butter Bits
• Nutty for Nuts Cylinder
• Nutty for Nuts Stackable

Stop in Wild Birds Unlimited to talk to one of our Backyard Birdfeeding Specialists today about the calcium-added birdfood that will work in your yard this nesting season.

Art at New Orlean's City Park

Please indulge me while I share some of the sculptures I enjoyed viewing during our recent visit to the Besthoff Sculpture Garden at the New Orleans Museum of Art.  This was a enjoyable and peaceful stroll, right in the City Park.

There are more than 60 sculptures in the garden; here are the ones that I enjoyed most, perhaps presented here with a different perspective.  Unfortunately (and shame on me), I did not record the name of the piece or the artist for all the pieces, but I have most of them.  I hope you enjoy.

Travelin' Light, Alison Saar

Karma, Do-Ho Suh

Large Seated Cardinal, Giacomo Manzu

Restrained, Deborah Butterfield

Overflow, Jaume Plensa,
with mockingbird visitor

Corridor Pin, Blue, Coosje van Bruggen and Claes Oldenburg

The red dog side of George Rodrique's Blue Dog in Three Dimensions

I'd highly recommend a visit to the Besthoff Sculpture Garden in City Park during your next visit to New Orleans.  The trolley takes you right to the park entrance.

Oversized Mardi Gras beads in tree

 

Do You Hate Me Because I'm Beautiful?

I'm a beautiful glossy black, just like the sleek black coat you so admire in your Black Lab or black cat. 

 

I have a striking iridescent blue hood.  When you see this blue on an Indigo Bunting, you say it's gorgeous.

 

I have hints of a deep purple on my wings.  Try finding that on the birds you work so hard to attract to your yard.

 

I have attentive round yellow eyes.  You love the big yellow eyes of an owl, why don't you love mine?

I have so many beautiful features.  Do you hate me because I'm just TOO beautiful?

 

Related articles

Blue Jay Photo Bomb

A Squirrel Walked into a Cemetery

I'm really struggling to come up with a great caption for this picture BUT I KNOW THERE'S ONE THERE!!!!

I have a May/June issue of BirdWatcher's Digest for the best caption posted.  I'll choose a winner on June 17th.

Seven Little Chickadees...About Ready to Go!

I took my last NestWatch peek into the box in back of my house, and these seven little Black-capped Chickadees are just 2-3 days from leaving the nest.

In my last couple checks, I had only seen 6 heads, but now that they all have their namesake black caps, it's clear that all 7 eggs have hatched and thrived.

Here they were, just 14 days earlier.  How fast they change!

I have two birdfeeders offering live mealworms to help mom & dad have an easy source of protein for their babies.  It'll be fun watching the parents work to keep these little guys fed over the remaining days in the nest.  They're doing a great job!

Fledgling Hairy Woodpecker Takes Her First Bath

I don't think she really knew where she was landing, but this little girl Hairy Woodpecker got her first bath at our solar fountain this morning.

She is just learning the ropes out in the world.  We were alerted to her presence by the scratching of her claws against the metal of our APS baffle as she tried (unsuccessfully) to cling to it like a tree.  After failing that, she headed to a nearby tree where she waited until dad arrived with some good regurgitated food.  Yummy!

When he left, she got brave and curious and landed in the nearby birdbath.  If you can read surprise in a bird's face, it certainly looked like it!!  She sat a little bit, then swam her way over to the side, sat a little more, then flew back to the safety of the tree.  I'm not sure she knew how to handle the wetness; she didn't preen at all, just sat there looking wet, waiting for a parent to return.

I doubt she'll share the birdbath story with them, but like all parents, they'll just know.

Close Bird Encounters Week: I Just Want Some Privacy, Please!

"I love my bathtime!"

"No, you can't share my bath!"

"Ok, just don't look."

"I told you not to look!!"

Close Bird Encounters Week: Blue Jay vs. Rose-breasted Grosbeak

The Rose-breasted Grosbeak was there first, but in flew a Blue Jay.  Here's what happened.





At least in this encounter, it's Blue Jay 1, Rose-breasted Grosbeak 0.

Less than Ideal Weather for Nests Full of Chickadees

The Black-capped Chickadee eggs that fill three of the nest boxes in my yard were laid during a warm dry period in May.  It seemed spring had really sprung - flower boxes were planted, and a tender basil plant was put in the ground.  Inside, the Pendleton Wool blanket was taken off my bed and the ceiling fan switched to summer mode.

I've gardened enough in our Zone 4 location to know that frosts are still a possibility through the end of May, but that didn't stop my optimism and excitement about 20 little speckled eggs.

But then the rains arrived.  And the cold.  The furnace kicked on and I had to dig out the fleece tops I had already packed away for the season.  And even though it hasn't been cold enough for a frost, there's been a bitter dampness that just chills you to the bone.  I'd almost rather have an overnight frost, at least the chill could be gone by midday.  But all-day rains and daytime temps in the 40s are downright miserable.  And that's being said from the warmth of my log home. 

Those 20 chickadee eggs aren't relying on a pellet stove (as I am right now), but on the insulating qualities of the 1" walls of a white pine box, a wood chip, moss, and animal fiber nest, and the warmth provided through the brood patch of a dedicated mother chickadee.

Throughout the wet and cold spell, I hoped that none of the eggs had hatched.  I'd think Mom would have a better chance of keeping eggs warm than keeping a clutch of hairless tiny nestlings warm.

My monitoring day for NestWatch was right in the middle of this awful weather, but I passed on checking the nests for fear of negatively impacting nesting success.   Cold wet weather can be deadly for baby birds. If my opening the box causes the nest to get wet, the eggs might cool too much and it would be even worse if the eggs have hatched.  If I keep mom off the eggs or chicks too long, again, they might get too cold.  Heck, I don't even take the lid off the Crockpot*, why would I open a nest box to the cold damp air?

Besides staying out of the nest boxes, I also offer live mealworms to the chickadee parents.  They take me up on my offer, using these easy pickins to help keep mom on the nest as much as possible, right where she belongs until temperatures rise and the rains let up.

The outside of the boxes are dark from the rains, and I hope the wood is dry on the inside.  I hear chickadees calling softly to one another, and see another at the feeder.  I remain optimistic.  But I can't say it's easy to NOT to check in on their progress.  The forecast is calling for one more day of rain and cool temps before warming up considerably in the days after that.  So the NestWatch checks will wait and I hope that the next few times I open each nest box, I'm greeted by a nest full of tiny pink chickadees, little warriors who survived the first curveball that nature threw their way.

 

* they say it takes 30 minutes to recover the heat lost by removing the lid of the Crockpot while cooking.

Related articles

Meet the Moms

Now That's a Mouthful!!