DID YOU KNOW

Did you know that birds can see colors? They have excellent color vision and use it to find food. Female birds are attracted to and prefer male birds who have the most colorful feathers.

Feeding the Birds

There are a few items that you have around your house that can help in feeding the birds at little cost to you. Take your near empty peanut butter jar and roll a pine cone inside it. Tie with a string and hang in a tree for the birds as a special treat.

Left over stale cereal (not the sugar kind of cereal) and stale tortillas make for an added treat for the birds. Make sure you break up the torilla into small pieces.

Do you have any overripe fruit? Instead of throwing it away, feed it to the birds, they love it.

Freezing Temperatures

Did you know that birds often have to eat snow as a source of water when the temperatures dip below freezing. They will pick up the snow by pecking at it with their bills.

Birds often seek shelter when the temperature gets below 32 degrees. Not only does this keep them warm but they also have a safe place that protects them from predators.

WHAT DO SONGBIRDS DO WHEN THE TEMPERATURE DROPS?

Did you know that birds can prevent their body temperature from dropping? Many songbirds will try to find some type of shelter whether it is a birdhouse, tree crevice or shrubs. They preserve energy by staying close together. Songbirds will also tuck in their feet close to their body, fluff their feathers to capture in heat and even shiver. Shivering produces more body heat but this uses up a lot of energy. The smaller the bird the harder it is for them to keep warm. In turn they eat more in the winter to increase energy and rely heavily on us to provide a food source.

DID YOU KNOW

Did you know that opening a birdhouse to look inside will not frighten the mama and papa birds away? You can take a quick peek inside to count the eggs, check on the young, and make sure everything looks okay.

There is however a certain time frame when one must NEVER take a peek inside. From the time the baby birds are 12 days old up to 18 days old, please do not look inside a birdhouse. If you do, it may give the young birds the idea to leave the nest too early and the baby birds will not be able to fly away on their own.

WHICH ONE DO YOU LIKE

It's that time of year when Fred is busy making birdhouses for 2012. Here is a new design in two different colors. WHICH ONE DO YOU LIKE....the yellow birdhouse or the gray birdhouse. Please leave us a comment.

HAPPY NEW YEAR 2012

Happy New Year Everyone! It's that time of year to start our show schedule for 2012. Our list is tentative for now as we are waiting for acceptance on some shows. Our first show is February 4th. Please check back often as this is a busy time adding new shows.