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FEEDING BIRDS SEEDS DURING THE SUMMER CAN BE CHALLENGING
Feeding seeds to birds during the summer can be more challenging than during the winter months. One of the main reasons for this is in the summer the high humidity and heat encourages mold and bacteria to contaminate seeds. As a result, birds that dine on contaminated food are more likely to become infected by a number of diseases. Here are a few tips that will help you prevent this from happening.
During the summer, you often have to clean feeders every 3-5 days in order to discourage a buildup of dangerous bacteria and mold. Clean feeders with soap and water. Follow this up by disinfecting them with a solution of nine parts water and one part bleach. Dry the feeders before refilling them with seeds.
Some seeds are safer to use in summer. One of these is black oil sunflower seed. These seeds can be fed shelled and unshelled.
White millet also can resist mold and bacteria however, if you scatter it on the ground, the millet seeds will spoil quicker than they will if fed in feeders.
Avoid feeding mixed seed during the summer. The reason for this is it contains ingredients that quickly become contaminated (e.g. cracked corn and milo). Peanuts also spoil quickly in humid, hot weather.
SHOULD I USE A LAZER WHILE BIRDING?
When you are trying to tell people where a bird is perched high in a tall tree, we all have use terms such as it is at 10 0’clock or is feeding near the third limb from the top of the tree. While these directions sometimes help another birder find the bird through their binoculars, often the bird vanishes before they locate it. With that in mind, some birding trip guides and everyday birders are using laser pointers to point out the exact locations of hard to see birds. While these devices can indeed be helpful, should lasers be used for this purpose?
The American Birding Association (ABA) states that these instruments should be used with caution. Since lasers can be stressful to the birds and potentially harmful to birds and humans alike under no circumstances should lasers be aimed directly into the eyes of a bird or human. Instead, point the beam at an object near the bird.
If you choose to use a laser, use either a red or green low-power laser pointer rated in the -5mW range. Using such a device lessens the chance of eye damage.
In addition, refrain from using the device around birds that are nesting or easily agitated.
It is also important to remember that under no circumstances should a laser pointer be aimed aircraft, or vehicles,
Many birders feel the use of laser devices is unethical. As such, each of us has to decide if this potentially valuable bird tool is something they want to use.
TIPS THAT HELP OFFERING HUMMERS FRESH NECTAR
With heat indexes almost daily soaring above 110°F, the nectar we offer our hummingbird neighbors can quickly spoil. With that in mind, here are a couple of simple tips that help ensure that rubythroats will be dining on nectar that has not spoiled.
While summer temperatures soar, the hummingbird nectar we provide in the feeders’ spoils more rapidly than it does when temperatures are not excessively hot. With that in mind, if you are using large feeders that take hummingbirds days to drain, put them away and use smaller feeders. In addition, it is a good idea to replace the unused fluid in your feeders every couple of days.
If you notice that the nectar in a feeder is cloudy, immediately discard it. That is a sure sign that it is no longer fresh.
BACKYARD SECRET – THE BIRD THAT MAKES THE SOUND OF A SQUEAKY FAN BELT
From time to time, we hear sounds that sound like they are made by human devices. For example, several years ago a mockingbird learned to imitate the ring call of my flip phone. When you hear such noises, it seems impossible that birds can make them.
For example, I recently received a text from a friend that asked what bird makes the sound of a squeaky fan belt. My first impression was it might have been uttered by a mockingbird. When I told her this, she wrote back and said she did not think so.
This prompted me to do a little research on the odd sounds made by blue jays. To make a long story short, I discovered that blue jays often make sounds that mimic a variety of devices such as rusty pump handles, and gates, as well as squeaky fan belts. I am now convinced that the sound my friend heard was probably vocalized by a blue jay.
Whenever we hear unusual sounds such as these, we can never be sure what makes them unless we actually see the bird calling. Since she never saw the bird, it may have actually been produced by a vehicle with a squeaky fan belt.
My friend told me she is going to try to get to the bottom of this mystery. I cannot wait to hear what she learns. In the meantime, I know it is a sound she will never forget.
BACKYARD SECRET – YELLOW-BILLED CUCKOOS RELISH TENT CATERPILLARS
Tent caterpillar nests built on tree limbs are common sights in yards and trees lining highways throughout Georgia at this time of the year. Each nest contains scores of hairy caterpillars. While most birds shy away from dining on what appears to be an easy source of food, the yellow-billed cuckoo relishes them. In fact, it is one of the few bird species that eat them. They can consume 100 or more tent-building caterpillars during one attack on a tent caterpillar nest.
The reason why most birds stay clear of the juicy caterpillars that reside in the web-like nests is the caterpillars that live there are covered with stiff spines. The yellow-bellied cuckoo, on the other hand, it is able to eat them because it is able to do so is periodically the bird sheds the lining of its stomach and hairs found there. When the bird expels its stomach lining and stiff caterpillar hairs form a mass that looks much like an owl pellet.
MOCKINGBIRD SANG DURING FIREWORKS
Both male and female mockingbirds sing, however, by far the male sings the loudest. These birds sing both day and night; however, young males are more apt to sing during the nighttime hours than adults. Last night I learned that loud noises do little to deter them from singing.
For several days, a mockingbird has been loudly singing in the neighborhood. For the past few days, I heard him singing both during the day and at night. When I got up went outside the each morning, he was still singing. These vocalizations continued throughout the day.
Last night the whole neighborhood celebrated the 4th of July by setting off firecrackers and fireworks. Prior to the beginning of the celebration the lone singer continued to sing. When the sun finally set, I was certain the bird would stop sing. Boy was I ever wrong! In spike of the fact some of the explosions were so loud literally shook the house, and the skies full of beautiful fireworks the bird continued to sing. When the lights and sounds finally faded away, he was still singing.
When I got up and greeted the day, the tireless songster was still at it. If this mockingbird was not deterred by all that went on the night before, what will?
BACKYARD SECRET – MOCKINGBIRDS NEST MORE THAN ONCE PER YEAR
It is commonly believed that northern mockingbirds nest once a year in the Peach State. Actually they nest 2-3 times of year during a breeding season that extends from February through August.
Interestingly, it has been reported that mockers have been known to nest up to 7 times in a single year.
BACKYARD SECRET – LEAVING HUMAN SCENT ON A BIRD NEST WILL NOT CAUSE BIRDS TO ABANDON IT
Most of us have heard that, if we touch an active bird nest or young birds, the scent we leave behind will cause the nesting birds to abandon it.
This advice is false. The reason why this is the case is most birds have a poor sense of smell.
While we will never know where or why this myth originated, some feel it was perpetrated by adults to discourage youngsters from disturbing bird nests.
HELPING CHIMNEY SWIFT NESTING SUCCESS
The vast majority of the chimney swifts that nest in Georgia build their nests in masonry chimneys. If chimney swifts nest in your chimney, you can enhance their nesting success by simply having your chimney cleaned annually. This should be done before the birds return to the Peach State in March.
The reason for this, if creosote builds up on the interior of your chimney, the buildup creates a fire hazard. It also reduces the odds that a tiny chimney swift nest, attached to a chimney’s creosote-laden wall, will break loose before nesting is completed. When this happens, the nest containing eggs or flightless young tumble down.
