The Birds That Visit Your Bird Feeder May Have A Terrific Memory

Your Bird Feeder

This is a fabulous article about the memories of birds. Click the link at the bottom to read the full article-it's well worth it. 

If someone calls you a “bird brain,” they don’t mean to compliment you. It turns out, however, that birds you see every day can accomplish astonishing feats of memory.

What’s truly amazing isn’t the sheer number of seeds chickadees can store, but that they remember most of them! Black-capped Chickadees have been observed storing close to 1,000 seeds in one day. That means thousands of seeds each winter. They've been tested to remember these locations for at least a month if not longer.

Bird brains: Feathered friends that boast incredible memories

Bird Feeders Are Ready For Winter

Bird Feeder

According to a report by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, more people feed birds than hunt or fish combined. In fact, 60 million people in the United States alone feed wild birds. The type of feed offered and the location of feeders will determine the species of birds that come to your back yard.

Winter is a season for watching, waiting and anticipation

Downy Woodpecker At The Bird Feeder

Bird Feeder

Seed and suet feeders are visited many times a day by chickadees, titmice, nuthatches and the woodpecker that is the smallest American member of its family, the downy woodpecker.

Downies are part of action at bird feeder

Tips For Feeding The Birds

Bird Feeder

The bird feeders out my kitchen window are bustling with activity. Our most frequent visitors include nuthatches, chickadees, woodpeckers and sparrows. If you would like to attract and feed birds this season, here are a few bird feeding tips.

Winter bird feeding

Some Reasons Birds Aren't Visiting Your Bird Feeder

Bird Feeder

I don’t think a passing bald eagle or even an infrequently soaring hawk would cause birds to shy away from feeding areas for any length of time. A sudden local shortage of birds can result from a frequent, unwelcome visit from a resident hawk. When a sharp-shinned or Cooper’s hawk appears on the scene, birds appear to “freeze” without any movement and can remain motionless for as long as a half-hour. 

Several factors could account for ‘shortage’ of birds

Dinner At The Bird Feeder

Bird Feeder

Watch the various birds feeding at the bird feeders:

Dinner time at the bird feeder

Learn What Birds Are Attracted To Nectar Feeders

Bird Feeder

A bright male Baltimore oriole swooped down on the purple beverage from a nearby tree. It took long sips from the feeder and remained there in plain view for about a full minute.

Hummingbirds aren’t the only nectar-lovers

Is The Summer A Slow Time At The Bird Feeder?

Your Bird Feeder

In the summer, birds are busy raising young and try to remain hidden as much as possible. The waterfront — with its waders and shorebirds — is usually the best place to be during the summer if you want to see birds.

The so-called ‘slow season’ isn’t so slow

Sharp-Shinned Hawk Meets An Untimely Death

Bird Feeder

It was winter when the sharp-shinned hawk first showed up near the bird feeder.

Hawk's death shows it's not easy being a predator

House Finches, Goldfinches And Chickadees At The Bird Feeder

Bird Feeder

Video featuring house finches, goldfinches and chickadeese:

Bird Feeder, house Finch,Gold finch, Chickadee

Bird Feeder Owner vs Squirrels

Bird Feeder

Like many homeowners, I enjoy watching birds at my bird feeder in the winter months. All season long, we have an abundance of feathered visitors – chickadees, nuthatches, finches; ground feeders like cardinals and juncos; and many sparrows and starlings.

Rocketing Rodents

Snow Bunting At The Bird Feeder

Bird Feeder

Nice post about the snow bunting:

Naturalist and commentator Ted Levin says that this time of year, migration sometimes brings surprises at the bird feeder. 

Levin: The Snow Bunting

Nest Boxes Are Great Additions For Your Bird Feeder Habitat

Bird Feeder

More and more people are putting up bird nesting boxes and bird feeders around their own places and also in wild places. Some bluebird nest box routes have boxes numbering in the hundreds. Many more people are giving attention to building boxes to suit the needs of particular bird species and placing them in the corresponding habitat. Seventy species of birds are known to nest in or on manmade nest structures.

Out There: 'Bringing' wildlife home

Suet Bird Feeder To Keep Starlings Away

Bird Feeder

Chickadees, woodpeckers, titmice (like the bird above) and nuthatches are considered “clinging type birds” and can easily hang upside-down to get access to food. Starlings, grackles and crows have a tougher time with that. There are suet feeders that are designed to with that in mind, called (remarkably enough) upside down suet feeders.

Starling & Grackle Bird Feeding Tips

 

I'm glad that you've taken the time to view this post. Here is some additional information on "attracting anything you want into your life" .  It has been very helpful to me, hope it helps you:

Bob Proctor and Bob Doyle Video

 

 

Northern Shrike Watches The Bird Feeder

Bird Feeder

On Sunday, I noticed a northern shrike had perched himself near one of our feeders, much to the consternation of the 50 or so chickadees that spend most of each day steadily draining my latest offering of sunflower seeds.

Life & Death from the picture window

Setting Up a Garden Habitat To Help The Wild Birds

Bird Feeder

Whether you live in a busy town, a suburb, or a rural area, there is much that you can do in your garden to help our feathered friends by planting trees, shrubs and perennials that provide them with food and nesting habitat.

Gardening for the birds and wildlife

House Sparrow Migration-Spring At The Bird Feeder

Bird Feeder

Some interesting facts about house sparrow migration in this article:

Early robins are already being reported, but some of them stay all winter. Activity at one bird feeder has noticeably changed — another sign of spring. Chickadees, juncos and house finches must wait their turn as the 25, or more, hungry house sparrows take over.

Ripples from the Dunes column: Birds tell us spring not too far away

Build A Platform Bird Feeder

Bird Feeder

Great article detailing how to build a platform bird feeder. The kids will really enjoy this project!

Here is a simple weekend project for you and the kids — a fun way to see which type of birds are hiding in the trees in your neighborhood.

Build it and they’ll come: A simple bird feeder

uild

Tips For Feeding Birds At A Bird Feeder

Bird Feeder

The feeder has four legs and is about 6 feet high. It’s equipped with an expansive tray, a plastic roof to keep the seeds dry and a shield to ward off squirrels.

Feathered friends | Area residents offer tips on attracting birds

Reflecting On The Life Of A Cardinal That Visits The Bird Feeder

Bird Feeder

Very nice article about cardinals in winter and the human response to winter.

Many birds come to my feeder, not just this cardinal. There are bickering jays and lots of tiny chickadees and a pair of wobbly doves, plus the cardinal’s less colorful, and therefore less visible, mate.

In the dead of winter, celebrating what you’ve got