Hi, Bird Watchers

Spring is just around the corner! The trees are starting to flower, daffodils are popping up and birds are starting to sing. It’s a great time to do a little spring cleaning - wash out dirty feeders and replace broken or dilapidated ones, put up new pole systems (to replace that old one that leans!) and get those birdhouses up and ready for the nesting season.
Almost every other customer has been talking about Bluebirds this week. Males and females are pairing up and checking out nest boxes now. The male picks a territory and claims it by perching on a suitable birdhouse and singing, hoping the female will pick it (and him). But ultimately, it is the female that picks where she will lay her eggs and raise their young.

Typically, bluebirds prefer bird houses on poles, in an open area away from trees, busy feeding stations and other nest boxes. If we have a mild March, they can start nesting any day now - so get busy putting up houses for them! You can also help them out by offering mealworms and other bluebird foods during the nesting season.

It is also Goldfinch season! Flocks are building in numbers and are eating about five pounds of Niger seed daily from our finch feeders, not to mention the all the sunflower meats they are eating also. Whoever coined the phrase “eat like a bird” obviously never had Goldfinches at their feeders! Soon the males will turn a vivid canary yellow. We are starting to see some with yellow spots as they start to molt into their brilliant breeding plumage.

Ruby-throated Hummingbirds will return to the Atlanta area towards the end of March, so make sure to get those feeders up if you haven’t left one out for the wintering hummingbirds. Julia Elliott and Karen Theodorou banded 20 wintering hummingbirds this season - 17 Rufous, 2 Calliope and 1 Black-chinned. They also re-captured 2 Rufous previously banded by Rusty Trump. Not a bad rookie year at all! If you would like to read more about Karen & Julia’s banding adventures you can visit their new web site http://thebirdnerd.home.comcast.net

We thank all of you that kept a feeder going this winter and especially those who reported hummers to us!

Bird Watcher Supply Co. always works hard to find the best products for our customers. Lately, we have had many requests for products made in the USA, and we have found some fantastic new items from three new vendors:

Overboard Art - resin-sculptured indoor/outdoor wall plaques, each a work of art. These numbered editions come with a certificate of authenticity and make wonderful gifts! Our favorite is the Pileated Woodpecker. It’s so life-like; I do a double-take every time I walk by it!

Lone Wolf - beautiful glazed ceramic hummingbird feeders bloom to life with red, garnet and violet hand painted flowers - available in three sizes and never leak!

Anthony Stoneware - pottery that is both ornamental and functional! Birdbaths, Chickadee feeders and birdhouses make up this unique handmade line. We really love the quality and attention to detail!

Stop by soon and let us help you get ready for spring and make sure to check out all our new products while you’re here.

Happy St. Patrick’s Day
&
good bird watching!

This entry was posted on Saturday, March 8th, 2008 at 4:20 pm and is filed under Newsletter Archives. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.