Pennington Ultra Birdseed Update
Pennington Ultra Birdseed Commercial
It started with what appeared to be an innovative product promoted with the coolest commercial I’ve seen in a while. Check out the Pennington Ultra Birdseed commercial below.
I saw this commercial and it cracked me up. Curious, I checked at my local Walmart and they just started carrying it. They decked out a big part of their birding shelf space with custom shelf tags supplied by Pennington and I was able to get my first bag of Pennington Ultra Nut and Fruit Blend at a great price. My birds loved it and all was good in my backyard.
Then, it all seemed to fall apart.
Read More…
Watch Those Birdbaths Closely
First Bath In A While
As winter loosens its hold here in Nashville, I’m seeing two things. First, I’m seeing an increase in the number of different birds in my backyard. Secondly, I’m seeing a comparable rise in bathing activity. What this means is the water I put out in the late afternoon is gone before noon the next day.
Why so much bathing going on? Well, for most of my birds cold weather just doesn’t make them feel like bathing. So when the weather breaks they know they’re overdue. The bluejays are the worst when it comes to this. It seems when they decide to start bathing they want to make sure there’s NO dirt left on them. You get about five of these guys making multiple trips and your birdbath’s empty. It’s that simple!
You Wouldn’t Bathe In Dirty Water
Help them out when you start seeing more activity and empty, clean and refill your birdbath at least twice a day. You’ll see a whole lot more comical stuff going on and you’ll help them all get a really good cleaning. This helps their feathers work better which keeps them cooler in the coming months.
My New Goldfinch Feeders
No More Wet Goldfinch Feeders
As I mentioned in my last post about cleaning your bird feeders , I completely replaced my two Perky Pet upside-down goldfinch feeders. The design on the old ones was such that every time it would rain water would run down from the hanging wire into the side of the feeder and would accumulate at the bottom. Needless to say, this created a constant problem trying to keep the thistle from clumping and rotting. I tried using bicycle tire patches and that worked for the all-rubber kind. After they switched to a rubber/plastic combination, they wouldn’t seal around the hanging wire as well and would wear out quicker. I finally had enough and looked for new ones to replace them with.
Time To Clean Those Feeders
Spring Can Sneak Up On You
As winter starts relenting in my part of the woods, I realize it won’t be long until my winter visitors depart and the spring and summer ones start showing up. I’ve seen an increase in house finch feeding which means I’ve really got to make sure to get and keep those feeders clean. I don’t want them spreading the eye disease that can spread like wildfire unchecked.
Changing Finch Feeders
I’ve already replaced my two upside down goldfinch feeders this week because the old ones needed cleaned and they haven’t been performing. Every time it rains, the water runs down the hanging wire and drips into the tube to soak the bottom seeds. I’ve wasted way too much time and seeds on those to keep them. I’m hoping the new ones will drip outside of the tube since there is not a central connecting rod that the hanging wire attaches to. We’re going to get rain today so we’ll see how it goes. They are Woodlink Tails Up feeders and I’ll be reporting on them soon.
I’ll be taking down my feeders and cleaning them with brushes and a 10% bleach solution over the next few days. I’ll also be cleaning out my nestboxes that have been used as roosting boxes this winter by woodpeckers.
It Doesn’t Have To Be All Or Nothing
Do a little at a time if you’ve got a lot of feeders or just fill the bathtub one day and do them all at once. We don’t have a utility basin in our house so that’s what I have to do. Don’t forget to allow them to soak a little to loosen stuff and use brushes and tube brushes to make your job easier. Also make sure to let them dry completely before putting them back up. A hair dryer can speed the process up and help to get the tough to dry nooks and crannies dry without having to wait days.
Don’t forget to clean your birdbath with your bleach solution too!
That way, all your arriving and remaining friends will find your yard irresistible.
Happy Cleaning!
The Crossley Guide Preview
Thanks To The Princeton University Press
I just received my review copy of the eastern bird edition of The Crossley Guide. I’ve been anxiously awaiting this for some time because the pre-press on this book touts it as a revolutionary step in bird identification. I’ll be doing a full review of it very soon but I just wanted to let you know I’ve got my hands on one and I’m excited.
What’s So Different?
Unlike other guides that simply show one or two pictures of each species with the descriptive text, the Crossley Guide has a photographic plate of sorts that shows each species in different situations you are likely to encounter them in. For instance, you’ll see birds perching as well as in flight, close up and in the environment you’re most likely to find them. Very cool.
Of course, there are many more improvements over other guides and I’ll be getting into them after I spend some time really digesting the material. I’ll give you a full report as soon as I can.
In the mean time, you may want to head over to The Crossley Guide page on Amazon to read what some big name birders have had to say about it in the “Editorial Reviews” section just after the listing. There’s also a 3 minute video by the author himself.
Sounds like I’m not the only one excited about this one!
National Bird Feeding Month Begins
Great Time To Help Out Your Backyard Friends
February is National Bird Feeding Month sponsored by the National Bird Feeding Society It’s perfect timing too because winter is the time of year they really need the help.
This year’s theme focuses on America’s Top Ten Backyard Birds. Follow the link for all the details.
Take a quick look at the National Bird Feeding Society’s site to get more info. It’s chock full of info about feeding birds in your backyard and even includes a Guide To Better Bird Feeding you can download for free.
So, take a few minutes and see if you can either step up or start your backyard bird feeding this month. Your backyard visitors will thank you for it.
