Q. Last week you mentioned feeding peanut butter to attract a different variety of birds like a “Brown Creeper”. I haven’t seen this bird but I’ve read that you shouldn’t feed peanut butter to birds.
A. This has to be one of the toughest myths to break, every now and then someone writes a story about it and it’s back. Years ago, while looking into it, I contacted Cornell University, very well known for Ornithology, and was told they have never found a dead bird with any peanut butter in it’s crop that couldn’t otherwise be explained. For instance, a dead bird would be brought to them for study, it was found on the ground under a large picture window, it’s neck was broken, there was some peanut butter in it’s crop; it would be a real stretch to say that the peanut butter was the cause of death.
In my own observations…..I feed peanut butter all the time, I have never found a bird choking or even in any distress after eating. Last fall, while moving a large container, the bottom of the barrel broke out dumping about 15 gallons of peanut butter on my driveway. For the next couple weeks hundreds of European Starlings and my dog chowed down, I’m happy (mostly) to say that not a single Starling was found dead.
As for feeding it intentionally, I spread it on tree bark in the fall and winter to attract the Brown Creeper, as I mentioned. If you don’t have any deep crevices in the bark a peanut butter feeder can be made of quarter inch wire raised off the backing about half an inch, you push the peanut butter through the grid and it is held quite well. It is best to attach it directly to the trunk as opposed to hanging it. The Creeper seems to be about the only bird that prefers straight peanut butter instead of a suet mix.
The Brown Creeper is incredibly camouflaged, it’s the colour of most tree bark and clings to the trunk woodpecker style. When you see it foraging for the first time you will no doubt think “mouse”. Before my son could talk he was calling it the “mouse bird”, my wife taught him some sign language and he would make the sign for “mouse” when he saw one, he’s 5 now and still calls it a “mouse bird”.
If you want to see this incredible little brown bird, I would first suggest going to FindSounds.com and check out the vocalizations. It’s a very high pitch so some of us older dudes have a hard time hearing it. When you’re in your yard and hear this sound, go to that area and watch between the trees for movement, the bird feeds from the bottom up in a spiral movement. The easiest thing to see is the bird leaving the upper trunk of one tree and going to the base of another, when you know which tree it’s on you will be able to see it as it goes around and is on the side of the tree not superimposed on the bark.
Q. I would like to take part in the Winter Yardlist competition, but I’m going to be away for a couple weeks in February. I don’t want to attract a lot of birds, have them dependent on me and leave them dry in the winter. What should I do?
(I asked some questions and found the writer lives in Downtown Shediac and the neighbours on either side also feed birds.)
A. It’s not that big if a deal if the feeders go empty for a couple weeks in most areas. There are plenty of people feeding these days and birds will make the rounds of the neighborhood. When you return it may take a couple days for them to put you back on their regular route. I would fill the feeders before you leave and not worry about it. If it makes you feel better, you could leave a stock for someone to refill your feeders and I have a couple of “way too big” feeders that I would be willing to lend you for a couple weeks if that would help. Also mention to the immediate neighbours that you’ll be away (always a good idea anyway) and maybe they could be extra diligent with feeding for that period. Remember that in the wild, birds eat or stash away what is available, when it’s gone they move on to a new source. Occasionally we get a distinctive bird, whether it be a rarity, has special markings like an albino or has a band; we can get an idea of how far they travel looking for food by the reports that come through. It varies greatly with species but can be quite an area, including many feeder yards.
Q. You mentioned offering water in winter by using a heated bird bath. Is it OK to put a heater in a cement bird bath?
A. I used to, now I see that it isn’t recommended, they say that if you let it freeze any tiny cracks in the cement will get bigger from the expansion of the ice the bird bath will eventually leak. I used mine for years with no problem, the reason I switched was the bird bath was quite shallow, which is what you want for a bird bath. In the winter though, with the extra dry winds coupled with the heater, the bath was going empty in less than a day from evaporation. Since water in winter is for drinking rather than bathing it’s OK to have a deeper dish. What I use now is a stainless bowl set into a wooden box that is attached to the corner of the deck rail for winter, much like you install a sink. I found the heater works better if the box is enclosed rather than having the bowl directly exposed to the cold winds. After lining the inside of the box with styrofoam insulation, it worked so well that I put the heater on a timer to shut off after dark and since the is thermostatically controlled I assume the insulated box saves on power.
There is a homemade heated bird bath made like this with a light bulb in the box under the bowl. I’ve heard from a few people that they work well, if my heater ever breaks down I will definitely try this.
Q. A question from me to you: Two weeks ago I wrote about Blue Jays, since that time our yard numbers dropped from 40 something to around 8 that will hopefully stay for the winter. Has anyone else noted a drastic decrease in Blue Jay activity?
written by Dwayne Biggar at The Bird Garden
No comments:
Post a Comment