Archive | December 2025

WHERE TO PLACE A NEW FEEDER

Dec31

        If you received a new feeder for Christmas, here is what some experts say is the perfect spot.  They recommend you follow the 5-7-9 rule.

       This means the bottom of the feeder should be at least five feet above the ground, seven feet away from a fence, shrub, tree or other object, and in a location, that is at least nine from below an overhanging limb.

       Some experts say that this will help keep squirrels from raiding bird feeders.  While this might help, I suspect placing a feeder in such a location will not make the feeder 100% squirrel-proof. 

       If you erect your new feeder in such a location, let me know how it works.

HAVE YOUR NORTHERN MOCKINGBIRDS DISAPPEARED?

Dec28

       Mockingbirds are common permanent residents across the Peach State.  In spite of this, many mockingbirds do not inhabit some backyards during the winter.  Did they migrate? No. Well, if they did not migrate, why did they leave and where they go?

       Look around your yard; if you do not see any berries or fruits on the plants in your yard right now, chances are birds have set up winter-feeding territories that do include plants that produce fruits and berries that persist into the winter.

      It seems that during the warm months of the year invertebrates make up the bulk of the mocker’s diet.  As soon as the days and nights get colder and insects are difficult to find the birds’ diet primarily consists of fruits and berries.  Consequently, if your yard does not contain plants that display berries and fruit, mockingbirds will set up a feeding territory that has plenty for them to eat.

       While both a male and female, will often defend the same winter-feeding territory, sometimes a single male or female will defend its own territory.

              If you want to retain mockingbirds throughout the winter, the best thing you can do is to plant a variety of shrubs, vines and trees that produce an abundance of winter foods. Here are just a few examples of some of these valuable winter food plants:  American holly, native hawthorns, Virginia creeper, Callaway crabapple, smooth sumac, American beautyberry and hackberry.

       If you successfully establish a variety of these winter fruit and berry-producing plants, chances are you will be able to enjoy the handsome beauty and songs of this popular bird throughout the entire year.

      

BACKYARD SECRET – WHITE-THROATED SPARROWS ARE BIG EATERS

Dec28

       White-throated sparrows are welcomed winter visitors to backyards throughout Georgia. They serenade us even the coldest days, and display an attractive plumage.  While most folks that feed birds are excited when they appear each year, the people that have the best chance of attracting them are those that offer them plenty of food and nearby cover.  In backyard settings, the birds prefer shrubs.

       While the birds feed on the ground, they also dine at elevated feeders.  They eat a variety of foods. The whitethroats that visit my yard seem to prefer white proso millet to all other food offerings.  Other foods eaten by these beautiful sparrows include, nyger, cracked corn, mixed seed, and sunflower seeds, to name just a few.

       White-throated sparrows have huge appetites.   Studies have shown that a white-throated sparrow consumes anywhere from 85 to thousands of seeds per hour.  The number of seeds they devour is linked to the weather; they eat more food in freezing weather.

BACKYARD SECRET – ARMADILLOS DON’T HIBERNATE

Dec21

        Since armadillos are rarely, if ever, seen scampering around our yards when it is cold, it is easy to assume they hibernate. In truth, they do not hibernate. 

       Since they are essentially hairless, they have a rough time keeping their bodies warm during frigid weather. Consequently, the only way they can keep warm on cold winter days is to retreat to burrows dug in the ground.  Once the air temperature rises, these odd mammals leave their warm hideaways and resume searching for insects and worms.

BACKYARD SECRET – BIRDS PREFER AMERICAN HOLLY BERRIES

Dec17

      Nowadays, homeowners are including hybrid and exotic hollies in their home landscapes more often than American holly (Ilex opaca).  However, if you are interested in adding an attractive evergreen tree that bears shiny red fruit that is relished by 29 species of birds, you would be better off, planting America holly than an exotic or hybrid holly.

       In addition, American holly berries typically have more nutritive value than the berries of nonnative hollies. This can be critical for birds that birds that forage for food throughout the winter.

       While some hybrid cultivars may be an exception to that rule, based on my experience the berries found on other hollies are often ignored or only eaten when American berries have all been eaten.

       Another reason why the berries found exotic and hybrid hollies are not consumed as often as American hollies – they are too large for some birds to swallow.

       Finally, American holly is an important addition to backyards because it serves as the primary host plant for the Henry’s elfin butterfly and is often used a host plant for the holly sallow moth.

MALE WHITE-BREASTED NUTHATCHES WILL STEAL FOOD FROM THEIR MATES

Dec15

       We have a lot to learn about the habits of backyard birds.  One behavior I find fascinating is the fact the male white-breasted nuthatches will rob foods cached by their mates.

       Male and female white-breasted nuthatches travel together throughout the winter.  For that reason, if a white-breasted nuthatch appears are you feeder this winter, you will likely also spot its mate.

       In the world of the white-breasted nuthatch, males dominate females.  As a result, they will often steal food recently cached by females. Some suggest this is a display of dominance.  Often, however, females thwart this larceny by hiding seeds and other foods in the opposite direction from the cache sites males are using.

BACKYARD SECRET – BLACK OIL SUNFLOWER SEEDS ARE PREFERRED BY MORE BIRDS THAN AN OTHER TYPES OF SEEDS

Dec10

           There are more than 20 different types of seeds found in birdseed.  The seed that is by far the seed that is most favored by backyard birds in Georgia are black oil sunflower seeds. The list of birds that prefer this nutritious seed includes the Carolina chickadee, tufted titmouse, pine siskins, woodpeckers, evening grosbeak, northern cardinal, rose-breasted grosbeak, as well as purple and house finches.

BACKYARD SECRET – GLYCERIN SHOULD NOT BE ADDED TO BIRDBATH WATER TO KEEP IT FROM FREEEZING

Dec7

       Over the years, people have tried a number of ways to keep the water in birdbaths from freezing.  One the such technique is to use glycerin as an antifreeze; this practice should be avoided.  If a bird drinks water treated with glycerin, the chemical can raise the amount of blood sugar in its body to dangerous levels.  In addition, glycerin can mat the birds’ feathers together.  This can be harmful as the matting can adversely reduce a bird’s feathers ability to insulate its body against the cold.

 

CAMELLIAS HELP WINTERING HUMMINGBIRDS SURVIVE DURING GEORGIA WINTERS

Dec4

       It is easy to believe that winter hummingbirds are totally dependent on our feeders to survive.  Although feeders hanging in backyards have helped hummingbirds winter throughout the Southeast, wintering hummers such as the rufous have other sources of food.

       One of these foods is the sap that wells up in active sapsucker holes.  Although yellow-bellied sapsuckers excavate these shall reservoirs to provide food for themselves, a variety of critters such as other birds, squirrels, butterflies and even hummingbirds dine on the sugary sap found their excavations. Since the shrub also produces pollen, they attract the some of the few pollinators that also dine on pollen during the winter.

       Another underappreciated source of food is the nectar is produced by winter blooming camellias. One of the best is (Camellia sasanqua).  This flowering shrub blooms from fall throughout the winter.

       These glossy-leaved thick shrubs also provide the tiny birds with much-needed roost sites.
If you know of any other varieties of camellias that attract winter hummingbirds to your yard, please let me know.