Feeding The Birds During Winter

Here are some ways to attract birds to your yard during the fall and winter months.

Beef suet can be hung from November through April. The birds will eat it frozen as well.

Clean out the birdhouses that have been used throughout the Spring and Summer. Also add additional birdhouses to your yard. Birds that stay around will use them for warmth and protection during the cold winter months.

If you do not get to cleaning up your yard, that's okay for a bird. Birds will use the dead leaves as cover and will eat any seeds they find on the ground.

Birds need water, a heated bird bath or fresh water source filled daily will encourage them to come to your yard to drink and bathe.

A variety of feeders such as seed blocks, thistle tubes and sunflower seeds will attract goldfinches, chickadees, titmice and sparrows just to name a few.

www.birdhouseaccents.com
 has many unique birdhouses. Come visit our website today.

BATS

There are over 40 species of bats in North America which makes it a good chance that there are bats in your yard. Bats feed on insects and therefore keep the population of mosquitoes and other insects at bay.

You can find bats in high canopy protecting trees. You will see them at dawn or dusk because they are nocturnal creatures. Bats like to be near water because that is where the insect population thrives. Believe it or not, bats like lampposts and lights, since this is also an attraction for insects.

For bats to visit your yard they need food, water and housing. A source of water such as a pond or creek should be no more than 1/4 mile away. This attracts insects which will attract bats.

A bat house is an excellent way to keep bats around in your yard. Place the bat house at least 14 to 15 feet high to the south, south east. Bats like the sun and love the temperature of 85 degrees or more.

These simple steps are just some ways to help the bat population thrive.

Butterflies

More and more people are interested in butterflies these days. Now there is a word for people who study butterflies, it is called butterflying. It is becoming a fast growing outdoor hobby on a gorgeous sunny day.

Butterflies can be found in overgrown fields where there are a variety of wildflowers. Believe it or not mud puddles are an attraction to many types of butterflies. They can absorb salts from these places. You may also want to put out a sugar water feeder or some rotting fruit. Just a couple of ways to attract butterflies to your backyard.

If you decide to go butterflying just remember to pick a warm sunny day with little wind. Butterflies will stop flying when the weather is overcast, that's how much they like the sun.

We had a wonderful weekend in Old Saybrook. Saturday was a lovely day with a slight breeze blowing constantly off the shore. Sunday was rainy in the morning but then cleared by afternoon. 
Our craft customers did not let us down either day. We saw many new faces and many familiar faces from previous craft shows this year.

We love to hear your stories of how much you enjoy our birdhouses and love even more when you tell us they have been used to raise bird families.

We were very fortunate to run into Darlene again. She has been a loyal customer and we are very grateful to show you pictures she sent us of her beautiful gardens. Hope you enjoy them as much as we have. Thank you Darlene!!!

Celebrate West Hartford Days

It was a wonderful weekend in West Hartford. Plenty of sunshine and lots of repeat customers. We were so happy to hear your stories of our birdhouses being occupied and thank you immensely for your patronage. One of our customers has sent us pictures of her birdhouses during the summer and winter months.

Remember, songbirds will use birdhouses for nesting and also for shelter during inclement weather. Thank you Karen for taking the time to send us your pictures, we really appreciate and enjoy them.

Long Meddowe Days

We had a wonderful weekend at the Long Meddowe Days craft fair this past weekend. The weather was beautiful and we made many new friends. Here are a few pictures of birdhouses from one of our customers over the weekend. They look great in her yard. Hope to see everyone again next year!

 

 

 

Thank you Elizabeth for the great looking pictures. Enjoy your birdhouses.

Birdbaths

It is important to clean your birdbath out every few days during summer. Giving it a good rinse with the hose might not be enough. Sometimes you need something stronger to clean away the algae or built up dirt. A solution of water and bleach might just do the trick.

Test this solution on a small part of your birdbath to make sure it will hold up to this mixture. If so, begin by cleaning off the birdbath with your hose. Then add water until your birdbath is almost full. To this add one to one and a half cups of bleach.

Make sure you cover this mixture with a plastic trash bag and secure tightly. You do not want any birds getting into this mixture. Leave and let soak for 15 minutes. Drain mixture in a safe place.

Rinse your birdbath for a good few minutes until the smell of bleach is gone. Refill with water and let the birds enjoy a day in the sunshine.