DID YOU KNOW

Bluejays mimic the sound of hawks to scare other birds away.

DID YOU KNOW

The finch species is one of the smallest birds on Earth? Yet it belongs to the largest bird family and is classified as a passerine bird. A passerine bird means one that perches.

DID YOU KNOW

Baby songbirds actually learn how to sing from their parents. By listening closely they are able to mimic the song until it becomes their own.

DID YOU KNOW

Here is an interesting fact:

Birds walk on their toes with their heels in the air. Next time you are bird watching, check it out.

New Design

Hi Everyone

Just wanted to share a new design Fred made a couple of weeks ago. The perfect birdhouse for a farm. We took it with us to the craft shows and people were delighted. One couple thought it was the perfect gift for their parents for the holidays. Take a look and you will see why. You can find it in our etsy shop also. Thanks for looking.

Milford Oyster Fest Craft Show

We were at the Oyster Festival in Milford, CT this past weekend. It was a sunny hot humid day. We welcomed it after all the rain the last two months. The day was good, many people were out enjoying the show, 30,000 people were expected for this annual event. There were 200+ crafters sprawled out along the Milford green. If you have never been there, it is quite large. We took some pictures of our display and the crowds. Hope you enjoy.

Here are some customers enjoying the many unique one of a kind birdhouses we had displayed for the show.

We were lucky enough to get a spot by the flowers where we displayed our license plate birdhouses.

Our new tobacco lath garden stake birdhouses were a huge hit.

They heard we were here!

Guilford Craft Show

We were at the Guilford Craft Show on Saturday, beautiful weather....FINALLY.

There were 60 crafters selling an array of jewelry, fine arts, prints, hand turned pens, woodworking, handmade soap just to name a few (which I had to buy) and birdhouses. The buying crowds were out and we really enjoyed the day.

We had today off, so what do you think we did. We drove around looking for tag sales. We really lucked out, we found a ton of items that we can make one of a kind birdhouses out of, but we are not giving away any secrets just yet.

We have had a lot of requests for church birdhouses. Fred has been busy the past week designing and building them. The windows on each side are stained glass. We met an artist who speicalizes in stained glass and asked her to create the windows just for us. Let us know what you think.

Handmade Portrait

Hi Everyone

We are honored to have been selected as a featured video in this handmade life. You can find the video under Storque, handmade portraits. We wish to thank everyone for their continued support. We realize you have a choice and thank you for taking the time to look at our etsy shop. Please click on the link below to find out more about us.
http://www.etsy.com/storque/handmade-life/handmade-portraits-birdhouseaccents-4025/

We also wish to thank Tara for taking the time to shoot the video of us. We think she did a wonderful job of capturing who we are and how we feel about our birdhouses.

The two days Tara spent with us turned out to be a special memory to look back on for the rest of our lives. Thank you Tara, we are so grateful. Thank you also to the etsy team for their support and selecting us as a handmade portrait video.

Fred & Lynn

New Design Birdhouse

Fred came up with a new design the other day. It was made especially for wrens, chickadees, finches and any other small songbird that has migrated to your area over the last two months. This birdhouse has been painted white, stained and has a hand painted red and white striped roof and white stars handpainted on blue. A great looking birdhouse to show your patriotic side.


Please let us know what you think. We are taking it with us next weekend for our upcoming craft show and hope to get some feedback their also.

By The Sea

Fred has finally completely finished one of many of the birdhouses we designed from our tag sale finds. This one came out very nice. We found an old beat up rusty beach sign that says "By The Sea" and used it for the roof of a three compartment birdhouse. Fred painted the birdhouse carolina blue. The entry holes are 1 1/4" in diameter and there a floor nails for perches below each one. The bottom unscrews for easy cleaning. I think the birdhouse looks great, but I probably am partial to Fred's work. What do you think?


You can find the birdhouse in our etsy shop.

Stay tuned, we will have more designs to show you as the week goes by.

More Tag Sale Finds

We went out again looking for tag sales even though the weather was not cooperating. It has been cold, raw and rainy outside today. We really did not think we were going to see any tag sales, but had already decided on a luncheon date. We were encouraged to proceed when we saw a bright orange sign that read "Tag Sale Ahead". We were able to pick up another can of paint. It looks like the paint in this can is light pink. The can is a little smushed, but for .50 we can make it work. We also find some old rusty beach signs that Fred can make great birdhouses out of. It seems like the finds this weekend have a nautical flair. We can really appreciate this because we are on vacation in another two months to the ocean front in Maine. We found one more tag sale on the way home from lunch. Here we found a white wooden pail and an aluminum coffee pot with a black handle. All in all it has been a good weekend scouting different treasures we can use for the birdhouses. It was nice having the little extra time to do this. Keep tuned for pictures, as there is always something for everyone.

Tag Sale Finds

We spent most of the day checking out tag sales in Connecticut and Massachusetts and think we were very successful. We found a few old funnels, some black hooks, a small can of green paint, couple of golf balls and tees, large shell, wire, wooden seahorses, wooden star fish and a few more this and that. Fred took a picture of our treasures. He has already started designing birdhouses to fit our findings. Keep in touch, by the end of the week we will have pictures for you.

We're Off To Tag Sales

Hi Everyone

We have an off weekend and are going to spend it tag sale hunting. We are so excited because rarely can we devote all this time to something we enjoy so much. We will be looking for treasures that we feel will be suitable for our birdhouses. Stay tuned, we will take pictures of our latest creations and share them with you.

We have updated our show schedule - please take a peek.

Spring Is In The Air

Ahhh.....the tell tale signs of spring. Every morning now we are hearing the beautiful sounds of the songbirds in our area. The feeders have more activity around them. Not so much for eating, but I actually think they are welcoming each other back after the winter months. Fred is back to carrying around his binoculars where ever he goes and trying to decipher the different songs that belong to the songbirds who are checking out the yard. The birdhouses are up and the scouting has begun with the male birds. Soon they will be calling their mates to check out the new homes they have found. If approved by the females, we will begin the enjoyment of watching them building nests. Ahhh.....the tell tale signs of spring.

Flowers Attract Songbirds

Did you know that planting certain types of flowers in your yard will attract songbirds? Now is the time to be thinking about buying new plants and where to put them. The following types of plants attract sparrows, finches, chickadees, tufted titmouse and red eyed vireo just to name a few. Your local nursery can help you find alpha wedding phlox, cloth of gold, summer sun heliopsis, belladonna delphinium, purple liatris (attracts butterflies too) and little miss muffet daisy (a favorite of purple finches). All these types of flowers are easy to care for and will come back year after year.

Today was a fairly nice day, nice enough to take pictures outside of some of the new birdhouses I made. The birds are back and checking out the yard. Today I was able to get a glimpse of a beautiful cardinal and figured this would be worth writing about.

Cardinals can be found in the eastern United States. The male cardinal has beautiful red feathers, a black throat and face mask and a head crest. The female is light brownish yellow with red tinted wings and tail. The female also has a head crest.

Most cardinals prefer bird feeders that are 4-6 feet high from the ground. They do not like hanging feeders. The more secure the bird feeder the better. Throwing birdseed on the ground is a good idea if you have cardinals around because they really enjoy ground feeding. What are some of their favorite types of birdseed? Black oil sunflower seeds, safflower seeds and striped sunflower seeds. They love to feed early in the morning and will be one of the last types of birds to leave the feeder in the evening. You may also attract Blue Jays, Rose Breasted Grosbeaks and Evening Grosbeaks with this type of seed.

Cardinals enjoy water. Setting up a bird bath in your yard is important to attracting them. Bird baths also help keeping other birds around. Since cardinals do not migrate, having plenty of water, the correct type of feeder and this birds favorite seeds, you may just find yourself with a cardinal family for many years to come.

The female nests two or three times a year in small trees, bushes and shrubs and lays three to four eggs. These eggs are light green/dull gray with reddish brown specks. She incubates them for approx. 13 days before they hatch. The male and female cardinal share the parental duties. Baby cardinals leave the nest approx. 11 days after they are hatched. By the time they leave the nest, they really do not look like a cardinal yet. They are still covered with gray downy feathers.

If you are lucky enough to watch a family of cardinals before the fledglings leave, then you are in for a treat. Cardinal parents will teach their young how to feed from bird feeders. What a great hobby to be a bird watcher. Not only are you able to watch, feed and learn about birds, but you can really appreciate nature and connect to it.

Project Return

We would like to take this time to let everyone know that we are proud to be a part of Project Return in Westport, CT. We have donated one of our birdhouses to their cause. This link will take you to their site. I think you will agree. http://projectreturnct.org/

DID YOU KNOW

The Black-Capped Chickadee hides seeds and other food items for later recovery. Each item is placed in a different spot and a bird can remember thousands of hiding places.

How To Make Suet cakes

I'm going to be making a batch of suet tonight and thought that I would share the recipe with you. You can buy suet cakes at the local grocers, pet stores or discount stores, or you can make your own. This is a great project we use to do with the kids when they were older. They were always eager to help out and it was a great way to introduce them to birding.

When you buy your meats for the week, trim down the excess fat before freezing them. This excess fat off raw beef cuts is ideal for suet mix. Store them in the freezer until you have about a pound or more. If you would like to skip this step, you can always purchase beef fat from the grocery store or your nearby butcher.

The first step in making bird suet is to get all your supplies together that you will be using. You are going to need an electric skillet or over sized pan, (I picked up the electric skillet at a tag sale years ago). You will need a piece of fine cheesecloth and molds for the final product. A very simple mold to use can be a clean tuna can, any size will do. I have also used old tupper ware sandwich containers, which work great for the larger wire suet holders.

Take your frozen suet that you have been saving and cut it up into small cubes. After the suet melts, pour it through the fine cheesecloth into a heatproof container. Discard any pieces that did not melt. Let the melted suet sit and re-harden. You can either do this by placing it in the freezer or let it harden on the counter top. This entire process should be done at least 2-3 times before it is ready to use. The suet has to cake properly, and will only do so by following this procedure.

After your 2nd or 3rd time of melting and the suet has cooled, but not yet solidified, you can stir in your desired ingredients. I have listed below what we use. Pour the mixture into the molds we suggested or containers that are suitable for your suet feeder.

We use the following to add to our suet: cornmeal, shelled unsalted peanuts, raisin bread crumbs (whole-wheat or cracked-wheat bread works the best), unsalted shelled sunflower seeds, rolled oats, and/or peanut butter (sparingly). Allow the suet to cool completely. We wrap our suet cakes in wax paper and keep them in the freezer. This way they are ready to use whenever we want.

Suet feeders are readily available at any pet store or grocery store or you can make your own. We make a natural log bird feeder which is ideal for this type of suet.


Once you have determined what type of feeder you will use for your suet mix, you can sit back and enjoy nature.

New Bird Feeders

Hi Everyone

Fred has been working hard making birdfeeders. We have two types to show you. The first bird feeder has a well that is 1 1/4" deep with drain holes in the bottom. This birdfeeder is the perfect size for your feathered friends. The roof overhangs on both sides so the birds are able to stay dry when feeding. We have painted these in red, blue, dark green and kiwi green. Visit our etsy shop and take a look.

When I first made this log bird feeder years ago, I thought, this really does not look like a bird feeder. Well, to my surpise, the birds love it! The next day I was out in the yard and noticed a downy woodpecker. Over the next few days I was surprised at how many wild brids it attracted.

The holes are 1" and the log is from a tree in the woods behind our house. This is a natural way to provide suet and peanut butter for the birds. This bird feeder is perfect for filling with our special bird pudding mix too.

Peanut Butter - Part Seven of Seven

Every bird that feeds at a birdfeeder will eat peanut butter. Woodpeckers, chickadees, and titmice are the most commom birds attracted with peanut butter.

Be careful how you offer it though. You do not want to add it to your birdfeeder in large quantities. The sticky peanut butter is not good if it gets on the birds feathers. Make sure that it is offered in a way that this does not happen. A big wad of peanut butter may also be just as hard for the birds to swallow as it is for us. We offer peanut butter in very small quantities when the weather is very cold. Smearing it on tree bark or a pine cone is a great way to offer it to the birds.
Find a nice sized pine cone and twist wire around the top. You want to make the wire into a hanger so you can hang it from a tree. This is a great family project to do with the kids. Spread the peanut butter over the cone and then sprinkle or roll it in your birdseed. Leave it in your freezer for a half hour and then hang the pine cone out in your yard where you can watch from a window. Get out your binoculars, because you are in for a treat. This will attract many birds to your yard.

We have a great peanut butter bird pudding recipe we would like to share with you. You will need peanut butter, corn meal, sunflower seeds (or bridseed) and bread crumbs. You will also need a large bowl and wooden spoon.

Add one part peanut butter to three parts corn meal and all your other ingredients. Each time you make a new batch, you can make it different because of the ingredients you choose to add.

Fold this mixture in the large bowl with the wooden spoon until it is distributed evenly.

You can use this mixture on pine cones or add it to a mesh bag. Tie one end of the mesh bag in a knot, fill the bag with your mixture and tie a string to the other end to hang it. The brids love this mesh bag. It is easy for them to hang on to as they eat the food through the mesh. Just make sure you hang it securely.

Stay tuned....Fred will be taking pictures of a bird feeder he made out of a tree branch. He drilled various holes throughout the branch and attached a hook on top with strong wire. We filled the holes with our peanut butter bird pudding recipe and hung it in the tree. The birds are absolutely crazy about it.

White Proso Millet - Part Six of Seven

You can purchase white proso millet as a hard shell or hulled seed. The hard shell can easily be opened by the beaks of smaller birds and the shell is hard enough to protect the seed inside from the weather. This is an excellent seed for throwing on the ground during the winter months because it is less prone to spoiling . This seed is best used for ground or platform feeding. Proso millet also comes in a red variety, but for some reason the birds prefer the white type, probably because it is slightly sweeter.


Hulled proso white millet is an easily digested treat for your birds and found in most mixes of wild birdseed. You can also purchase this seed by itself. This type of food is hard to find and very expensive though. The white tiny seeds attract a variety of birds, especially towhees, juncos, doves, native sparrows, quail and bobwhite. The painted and indigo buntings love white proso millet. These are two of the most beautiful colorful songbirds you will ever see. If these two types of birds are in your area, you may want to spend the extra money because the sight of them is well worth it!

Nyjer Thistle Seed - Part Five of Seven

By adding nyger (Thistle) seed to your feeding regiment you will attract a lot of smaller songbirds such as finches and pine skins. The seed is highly nutritious and definitely something to consider buying in the cold winter months. There are special feeders available with smaller feeding ports to dispense the seed to songbirds. The seed is tiny in itself and is better dispensed using these smaller feeder ports. You can mix nyger seed to your daily seed. This will make it last longer and save you money in the long run.



Nyger (Thistle) seeds are tiny black seeds imported from Asia and Africa. Most bird lovers hang the seed in a thistle sock which can be purchased at your local pet store.


Nyger (Thistle) seed also will attract purple finches, house finches and juncos. Goldfinches turn a brilliant yellow color in the late spring during breeding season. Go out today and get a thistle feeder, fill it with Gold Nyger Seeds and attract one of the brightest and beautiful birds, the goldfinch, to you backyard.

Safflower Seeds - Part Four Of Seven

Safflower seed has become popular in recent years. The high fat, protein and oil content of this seed makes it a nutritional food source for the wild birds that frequent your yard. Cardinals are attracted to this seed. Downy woodpeckers and evening grosbeaks also enjoy safflower seed.

In addition to attracting cardinals, grosbeaks and downy woodpeckers, you can also attract chickadees, titmice and nuthatches. Did you know that there are birds out there that hog your bird feeders? Some of these types of birds are grackles, starlings and blackbirds. Using safflower seeds in your birdseed mix will deter these types of birds.

Safflower seeds are found in quality wild birdseed mixes and are expensive. Very rarely will you find them in bird seed mixes at grocery stores. Look for a wild birdseed mix that offers safflower seeds in it if you wish to attract cardinals to your yard.

Supposedly squirrels will ignore feeders with safflower seeds because they find them bitter. If you have a chipmunks in your yard, you may not want to use this type of seed because they love it.

Shelled Sunflower Seeds - Part Three Of Seven

Sunflower seeds without the shell attract many more different species of birds than black oil sunflower seeds and striped sunflower seeds combined. If you offered only one kind of food to the birds, this would be the choice for all of them.





These hulled sunflower seeds can be purchased whole or as chips, (sometimes called hearts) and both forms are used in many wild bird seed mixes. These hulled seeds make no mess of shells that accumulate under the feeders as with the striped sunflower seeds or black oil sunflower seeds. You must remember though, that the shells of sunflower seeds contain a component that is toxic to grass. This component will kill any grass that is growing around or beneath your feeders. Raking up these seeds are a must and because of this, many people often choose hulled sunflower seeds.

Feeding the birds hulled sunflower seeds can be a huge benefit to the birds because none of their precious energy reserves are wasted opening the shells during the cold winter monts.

Hulled sunflower seeds attract a larger variety of species including birds that are not equipped with the beaks to crack open shells or not usually associated with eating sunflower seeds. By putting this seed out you may see robins, thrushes, mockingbirds, thrashers, catbirds, sparrows and bluebirds feeding at the base of your feeders.

The best reason to put out hulled sunflower seeds though, is to attract goldfinches. They simply cannot resist this food. Hulled sunflower seeds practically guarantee they'll be regular visitors at any feeder. Don't be surpised if you also see house wrens, purple finches, chickadees, titmice, nuthatches, cardinals, grosbeaks and
even woodpeckers.

Because the shells have to be removed, these seeds are costlier than sunflower seeds in the shell. There is a draw back to buying hulled sunflower seeds. The shelled seeds tend to spoil faster if exposed to dampness, so watch what type of feeder you use. They should be offered in feeders that provide protection from the elements so they stay dry for the birds to enjoy.

Striped Sunflower Seeds - Part Two Of Seven

Striped sunflower seeds are larger and less expensive than black oil sunflower seeds. They have a thicker shell and a white stripe on them. The larger size and thicker shell can make them harder for the small birds to eat, but the larger heavy billed birds like cardinals, bluejays, woodpeckers and grosbeaks do not have any problem breaking through to the sunflower seed inside. The small birds such as chickadees, nuthatches and titmice also can open the shells of striped sunflower seeds and will eat them when nothing else is readily available.

Are you wondering if these are the same type of sunflower seeds we snack on? The answer is yes. You can find these seeds on the shelves of supermarkets and convenience stores everywhere. They are just as nutritional for the birds as they are for us because they contain calcium, magnesium, zinc and Vitamin E.

The crops of striped sunflower seeds are screened so that the largest of the seeds are what we buy. The smaller of these seeds or "left overs" as the industry calls them, are sold as wild bird seed. These smaller seeds are why it is easier for many types of birds to enjoy them.

Striped sunflower seeds are the perfect choice to distract larger birds away from your bird feeders. This gives the small birds a better chance of eating with less competition. But better yet, throw some down on the ground in an area not occupied by the birds. They make an inexpensive treat for those pesky squirrels and just might keep them away from your bird feeding areas.

Black Oil Sunflower Seed - Part One Of Seven

Black oil sunflower seed is the most important seed in any back yard. It is a proven fact that more species of birds will choose black oil sunflower seeds over any other food offered.

Black oil sunflower seed has a higher percentage of meat and has a nutritious source of protein. The thin, soft outer shell makes it easy for birds to open, especially small birds. Once opened, black oil sunflower seeds offer more nutrients than any other type of seed. The seed has a high concentration of oil too. This is very important in winter. Birds use their oil glands to spread the oil over their feathers to keep them dry and warm.

Filling your feeders with black oil sunflower seeds will attract chickadees, nuthatches, titmice, goldfinches, pine skins, finches, grosbeaks and cardinals.

This type of seed may cost more but you will not be disappointed. We have been buying black oil sunflower seeds for years now and have a variety of birds in our backyard during the winter months. Fred fills the feeders on a regular basis. We have one that is designated for this type of seed only and it is always empty before the others.

Try black oil sunflower seeds in your feeders. We would love to hear your results. Check back for more information during the next few days on what other types of feed birds love.

What Type Of Birdseed Should You Choose

Now is the perfect time to be feeding the birds in your yard. Not only will you see what types of birds stick around for winter, but you may even catch a glimpse of a migrating bird as well. Choosing the right kind of seed can make all the difference.

Fred was out in the yard the other day feeding the birds after the big snow storm when the neighbor walked by with their dog. After shooting the breeze for a while the neighbor asked Fred a question about birdseed. What type do you use?

We all know that birdseed is readily available at the grocery store and costs a lot less than birdseed at a pet store or through a specialty catalog....BUT....Is it the same thing?

No, it is not! The grocery store brand, for less money, will not be as appealing to the birds. It is most always mixed with a lot of "filler" seeds. These "filler" seeds take up room in the bag and the birds find these kind of seeds undesirable. You know exactly what I mean. This is the birdseed you see on the ground after the birds have picked through it to find what they really want. The good birdseed is going to cost you a little more, but your birds will truly love you for it! And premium birdseed will actually give you more edible seed per pound than the other inexpensive seed mixes. Remember, you get what you pay for.

There are many kinds of birdseed to choose from, but a few basic types can satisfy the most finicky birds. Buying several varieties of seed in bulk and mixing them yourself can actually save you money, too.

Stay tuned please. Over the next few days Fred will let you know what kinds of birdseed attract what types of birds and why.