The Zen Birdfeeder

Top 4 Uses for your APS Decorative Branch

One of the first accessories that many customers add to their Wild Birds Unlimited Advanced Pole System® (APS) Set-up is a Decorative Branch. Here's my Top 4 ways to use the decorative branch on your APS set-up.

Add a Lightweight Birdfeeder

The decorative branch is a great location for a lightweight birdfeeder like our Bark Butter Stick feeder (pictured above with Hairy Woodpecker), a small mesh peanut feeder, or a seed bell. I've had good luck with all these feeders on my decorative perch.

 

Offer Nesting Material

From early spring and throughout the summer, hang nesting material like alpaca fiber, wool, pet hair, short yarn strands, or other nesting material. I've had Black-capped Chickadees, Tufted Titmice, and Purple Finches use nesting material that I've provided to line their nests. It's a great way to observe a nesting behavior that you may not have seen before!

 

Offer Fruit

Cut a medium to large sized apple, pear, or orange in half and place the halves in the open "leaves". Fruit-loving birds like orioles, American Robins, Gray Catbirds, waxwings, Northern Mockingbirds, or Eastern Towhees might just accept your sweet offering.

 

Let the birds decide!

Birds will perch on the branch to open seeds. They'll light on it as an approach to the feeders. Or if you're lucky, they'll feed their young on it, like the American Goldfinches and Rose-breasted Grosbeaks have done in my yard!

Add a Decorative Branch to your APS set-up soon - it's easy to do and so much to enjoy watching your birds on it!

4 Tips for your Heated Birdbath

Heated birdbaths are a great way to provide the birds a source of open water when other water sources have frozen over. Here are my Top Four Tips for Your Winter Heated Birdbath:

Keep an eye on the water level
Water evaporates faster in freezing weather because the air is dry, so make sure your heated bath doesn't go dry. Most heated birdbaths and birdbath heaters are thermostatically controlled to kick on at a certain temperature, but they do not have water sensors to shut them off when they run dry!

If you are going to be away during very cold weather, you might want to unplug your heated birdbath while you're gone so they don't run dry with the heater going.

 

Keep it clean
Birds can carry diseases that could pass to other birds in a birdbath. Clean your birdbath frequently, even during the winter.

Dump the debris-filled water, give it a quick wash with a stiff bristled brush, and refill with fresh water to keep your heated birdbath safe for the birds. I accomplish this by filling a 5-gallon bucket in the tub. It holds enough water to rinse, scrub, rinse, scrub again, rinse again, and refill, all in one trip.

 

Protect the connection between birdbath cord and extension cord
Most birdbath "failures" occur when a bit of water or moisture gets in this connection. Your goal should be to seal the connection so absolutely no moisture can enter the connection.

The easiest solution is a Lock 'n Dry Cord Set that easily seals the connection between the cord on the birdbath and a 25-foot extension cord.

The more labor intensive solution is to wrap both plugs ends completely with electrical tape. Put a small baggie around the connection, then seal the entire bag again with electrical tape.

 

Put a perching place in the middle
You'll notice little all-out bathing in your bath during the coldest days of winter. Birds are mostly drinking from it. Add a couple pieces of slate or some other perching spot in the middle so littler birds can more easily reach down to the water to drink.

Enjoy watching your birds take advantage of your heated birdbath all winter long!

Hidden Spring

In the depths of winter I finally learned there was in me an invincible summer.
Albert Camus

A snowy covering blankets everything, from the feedertops to the treetops. Deep furrows reveal our well-traveled paths to the birdfeeders, and bird tracks decorate the light dusting of snow that covers the deck. Mounds of snow 4 feet high rim the deck, making each subsequent snowfall harder and harder to remove.

It's only mid February, and I know there's more snow yet to come. Like in 2001, when we had 30" delivered to our doorsteps over two days in early March. Even April is not safe from winter's gifts. Back in April 2000, 18" of snow fell just days after we were basking in 70° temperatures. Within days, the warmed earth had taken back all the snow.

Yet today I hear the promise of spring. From across the snow-covered yard, a Tufted Titmouse sings a variety of songs, quivering his wings, and looking to see if he's being noticed. Our Northern Cardinal pair is starting to feed together. They keep in touch by singing to each other from the trees. The Black-capped Chickadees are chiming in too with their sweet "fee-bee" calls.  Blue Jays touch beaks and the earliest signs of the coming molt show on the forehead of a male American Goldfinch.

By the end of the month, Red-winged Blackbirds will have returned to the area. And thousands of miles to our south, our beloved Ruby-throated Hummingbirds will start arriving by the millions along the Gulf Coast. It will take another two months of travel before they arrive in our yards in early May.

The wheels of the seasons are always turning. Even from deep within winter's grip, spring is beginning to awaken. The snow muffles its sound, numbs us, causes us to be unaware of its approach. But watch and listen closely, and you will see and hear signs of spring's progression towards its inevitable and welcomed arrival.

Blue Jay Stink Eye

I take it this Blue Jay is not happy sharing his feeder.

Bad Leg Chickadee :(

I saw a Black-capped Chickadee today that has a bad leg. It just dangles down, and doesn't seem to function at all. It is so hard to watch because I know that especially in winter, these little birds need to be in tip-top shape.

He's using the birdfeeders, so I know he has an easy source of high quality, high calorie food and doesn't have to spend extra energy in search of food.  The feeders are filled with WBU No-Mess NM, a blend with shelled sunflower seed, shelled peanuts and tree nuts, which may help him out in his struggle to survive.

Chickadees will take a seed from a feeder and fly to a nearby perch.  Clutching the seed between both feet, they will use their little beak to open the shell and consume the seed.  This little guy can only clutch the seed with his good leg, so I'm hoping that the absence of the shell makes it easier for him to consume the seed meat.

He's a strong flyer - nothing wrong there - but his landings are a bit awkward as he has to land on just one leg.

If the injury is permanent, he'll be at a huge disadvantage.  Bird mortality is high for even a healthy bird; take away the function of one leg and the odds are even more stacked against its survival. 

If he has trouble eating, he could lose precious body fat because he can't take in all the calories he needs.  If he doesn't have enough fat, he could perish over a cold winter night.  Though his flight seems strong, his landings are off, which could make him more vulnerable to predators.  His dangling leg could become an impediment; it could catch on a branch and make him unable to disentangle himself.

I'll keep an eye out for him.  Maybe it's just a temporary injury that will resolve itself over time, and he'll do fine during the recovery process.  But just like I'll never know how the injury occurred, I'll probably never know his ultimate fate.  I'll do what I can by keeping easy-to-eat shell-less sunflower seeds and peanuts out for him and in birdfeeders that don't require him to cling.  Every day I'll just look for him and hope for the best for this cute little fighter.

UPDATE: April 28, 2014
I saw my bad-leg chickadee occasionally through the winter and he just checked in at our birdbath today! We had a pretty rough winter, so it's good to see that he beat the odds and made it to spring.  You gotta love these little feisty birds!!