The following are the Bird Watcher’s answers to the ten questions most asked by our customers. These answers are valid for the vast majority of situations but remember, birds don’t read the books and don’t always do what we think they should.

1. How can I stop squirrels from eating the seed and tearing up my feeders?

• Use squirrel proof feeders.
• Install a baffle that is designed to prevent squirrels from climbing down to a hanging feeder or up to a pole or post mounted feeder.
• Use pure safflower seed or Cole’s Hot Meats in your feeder. Safflower is bitter and most squirrels don’t like it. Hot Meats are treated with chili pepper oil and are very hot. Many birds enjoy both.
• Place inexpensive feed such as corn or Cole’s Critter Munchies in a squirrel feeder away from your feeders to give squirrels their own area to eat.

2. How do I attract more birds?

• Use several types of feeders spread around the area.
• Provide quality feed with at least a 35% sunflower content.
• Present thinly scattered seed in a low platform feeder. Inexpensive mixes with mostly millet are adequate for ground feeding.
• Maintain a source of clean, shallow water in a shady area. The sound of moving water is irresistible to birds.
• Be consistent. Keep food and water available all the time.
• Increase the number and species of bird-friendly shrubs and low trees to provide more cover and food for the birds.

3. How do I get rid of doves, pigeons and blackbirds?

• Use only small feeders that larger birds can’t perch on or a feeder that uses a wire cage to restrict big birds.
• Avoid using feeds with small seeds such as millet and milo.

4. Why is bird seed growing in my yard?

• If a cheap mix is put into a feeder, the birds will throw much of it out looking for sunflower seeds. If it stays on the ground long enough, it will germinate. Use a good quality feed that will be eaten. Better yet, use Coles Sunflower Meats, which have no shell and can’t grow even if they end up on the ground.

5. Can I feed birds in the summer time?

• It is not true that you will “spoil” the birds if you feed them when natural food is available. Summer feeding has the advantage of letting us observe the adults bringing their young to the feeders. Keep the feeders out and enjoy the birds.

6. How do I attract hummingbirds?

• Keep several small feeders spread out in visible locations.
• Clean the feeders often and change the nectar every three or four days to prevent fermentation and mold.
• Keep hummingbird feeders out for several weeks after the last bird is seen. Many hummers are still moving south as late as early October. A feeder provides these late migrants a little insurance on survival.

7. Why do birds hit my window?

• Birds sometimes hit a window in full flight, stunning or sometimes killing the bird. This happens most when birds are frightened and flee towards the reflected trees and shrubs they see in the window. To prevent this, use Window Alert decals to break up the reflection in the window.
• Some birds will sit and peck or flutter at a window repeatedly. This is a territorial defense against the “other bird” it sees as a reflection in the glass. The best solution for this behavior is to cover the window temporarily and let the bird think it has chased the “intruder” away.

8. When should I clean out my birdhouse?

• You should remove the old nesting material from a nest box just after each brood leaves the nest. This helps prevent problems to subsequent nesters from parasites such as feather lice and blow flies.

9. How can I attract bluebirds?

• Place proper nesting boxes on a post or pole about 5 feet high in an open, sunny location. Boxes mounted on trees in the shade are not as appealing to bluebirds.
• Install several nest boxes to provide a choice of location and to accommodate other species such as titmice and chickadees.
• Mealworms or Bluebird Nuggets can be presented in feeders nearby to make the area more attractive to a pair looking to nest.

10. Why do woodpeckers pound on my house?

• Woodpeckers use loud drumming to announce their territory. Our metal gutters and tall, hollow chimney boxes make excellent instruments for these birds to make their “music”.
• If you see damage in the form of a large, round hole you can bet the woodpecker is trying to create a new nesting cavity. Woodpeckers usually use dead trees but a wood or stucco house makes a great substitute when no dead trees are available.

This entry was posted on Tuesday, October 30th, 2007 at 12:11 pm and is filed under Uncategorized. 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.