Back Yard Bird Feeding Q & A

Q. I have a nyjer feeder, it's visited by lots of birds. Today I found a dead bird, a small finch, on the ground beneath it. Over the winter the seed below has built up quite thick. Sparrows and towhees dig under there and the grass is ruined and has fairly deep holes (2-3") in which the seeds accumulate. I scraped off some seed a few weeks ago and I wonder if moldy seed underneath could have killed this bird. I will go out now and clean up all the seed from the ground but how would you suggest I prevent this in the future?

A. I doubt the bird died from eating at your feeder, sick and injured birds gravitate towards the easy seed and usually stay there until they recover, die, or become the dinner of the neighbourhood hawk, as these guys usually ignore the warnings of other birds and are slow to fly off. I much prefer to see an obviously sick bird quickly dispatched by a Merlin than hanging around the feeders for days, suffering and spreading disease, just able to elude my attempt at capture.

In case it is contagious though, it's a good idea to clean up under the feeders and give the feeders themselves a good cleaning and disinfect with a 1:9 bleach solution to prevent any possible disease from spreading to others. It's also a good idea to have several locations for your feeders, in a tree you'd just move them to a different branch, I move my hangers closer to the house in winter and farther away in summer, this gives the ground a break. I hear people say they don’t want the feeders over the grass but rather in a flower bed, personally I like my feeders where I can get under them with the lawnmower with a bagger in summer or snowblower or shovel in winter to spread it thin enough that you won’t even notice it after the black birds pass through. Grass is quite resilient and given half a chance you won’t see any difference in the lawn directly under the feeders. In the flower beds though, empty seed hulls and bird poop stick to broad leaved plants (I was once asked, “Is that a spotted hosta?”) and uneaten seeds sprout into all kinds of odd looking weeds. It’s a lot harder to clean up spilled seed in a flower bed.

It also sound like you’re being much to kind to your birds, there shouldn’t be that much seed under the feeders, let them go empty every now and then, all birds will eat from the ground, when the feeder is empty the finch will do the clean up for you.

Make sure the feeder you’re using is meant for nyjer, the hole should only be large for a seed to pass, if it’s as big as your finger, it’s meant for sunflower and that would explain why there is so much spilled seed.

On the original e-mail there was no location, I assumed with enough towhee to excavate a ditch under the feeder she wasn’t from around here. I was also interested if it was nyjer or finch mix. I just received this e-mail this morning.

Hi Dwayne,

I'm from Victoria, BC [so my snow blower idea wouldn’t work] and yeah, they're getting straight nyjer seed.

PS I cleaned up the area, put new soil and placed a bird bath beneath the feeder. It seems to be catching about half the fallen seed so it wasn't exactly an answer to prayer but it helped.

YIKES, I’ve written back and will likely have enough material for another column, in the meantime, “Don’t try this at home.” A bird bath directly under a feeder is not a good idea, especially a feeder with a spillage problem to begin with, then you get the extra bird poop from the feeder as if the bathing birds don’t poop in the water enough. I’ve asked several more questions about this situation, to be continued...

Q. I'm assuming the attached pictures are last year's baby American Goldfinch - but none of my books show the juvenile colors like this, so I thought I'd ask you. They certainly act like Goldfinch.

A. These are actually Pine Siskins, I used to think they were female or juvenile Goldfinch too. They do act the same, are the same size, travel together and eat the same stuff. They even eat from the up-side-down “Goldfinch only” nyjer feeder. In the winter you’ll sometimes see them traveling with Redpoll too. The Pine Siskin’s beak is finer and more pointed but they are still strong enough to open sunflower seeds. The song is easy to pick out of the flock, it reminds me of the psssst noise you make to chase a cat out from under your feeder, only higher pitched and less angry.

Q. Is it too late to put out a bird house?

A. Not really, there are still some birds who haven’t decided on a site, some birds that may attempt to nest again if the first nest failed and others who will have more than one brood per year. Even if there are no takers for nesting, the houses can provide night time roosting sites for several species.

So my advise, it’s not too late but don’t wait, put it up today. (I say that every week.)

Great Week for Back Yard Birding

This has been a great week for old friends returning home and a few new visitors tagging along as well.

Things started off nicely, a few warblers passing through and some back on territory, the Northern Parula was the first to really start singing followed closely by the Black-throated Green Warbler, two species that nest within ear shot. Now that we’ve been living here for almost 20 years, we’re starting to see changes in the breeding population, at first it was the Common Yellowthroat that was the most common nesting bird, some years we’d have 4 different pairs nesting within earshot. Lately it’s the Northern Parula who has taken over the air waves, I’m glad to see the parula, but do miss the yellowthroat, hopefully the change is because the shrubs we planted have become trees, favoring the new over the old and the Common Yellowthroat has simply moved up the road to it’s preferred habitat.

Our resident Merlin noisily announced his arrival home, warning all the locals to be on their toes or else become dinner. I love this little falcon, he’s like the Jack Russell terrier of the raptor world, taking on any threat that comes his way with no thought of the consequences. I once watched a Peregrine Falcon and a Merlin noisily escort an Eagle away from the area where they both nest. Once the Eagle was far enough away the Merlin turned his sights on the falcon and chased him back to the river. Merlins frequently take on a Mourning Dove, and win, a bird nearly it’s size. They certainly learned how to use surprise to their advantage, and can usually be seen perched on a tall spruce tree across from our house. When there’s something of interest at the feeders, the Merlin dives around the corner of the house at incredible speed in hopes something is a little slow at finding cover. If nothing is there he simply circles the house and returns to the tree. If something does jump the wrong way, there will be a short chase and the Merlin either returns to the hunting perch or to the nest with the next meal. The chase never lasts very long, unlike the similar looking Sharp-shinned Hawk who will chase it’s prey around trees and through bushes, the Merlin relies on surprise and a short burst of speed.

When on this mission he seems to have tunnel vision, focusing only on the job at hand, much like our Jack Russell, I’ve stepped around the corner of the house and have felt the wind from the Merlin in my hair more than a few times. It’s so quick I don’t even have time to duck.

This morning, our resident Peregrine Falcon flew over, the entire yard quieted, all the birds retreated to nearby bushes, even the Ravens showed their respect. The Peregrine is the one larger raptor who the crows don’t seem to bother, let the similarly sized Goshawk cruse the yard the same way and the crow noise would drown out traffic. For the Peregrine it’s just quiet mummers from the trees.

We’ve also had visits from the expected sparrows and some not so expected like the White-crowned Sparrow, but this guy is more common passing through this year so you may have seen one too, and the Tree Swallows have finally chosen a house and are nest building. This week also marked the return of our first hummingbird, right on time, later than last year though, and late considering there were sightings a month earlier in Halifax.

The highlight of our week came last Friday, while standing in my favourite birding location, (drinking morning tea over the kitchen sink) we noticed a Baltimore Oriole eating the grape jelly. This year I was told repeatedly I needed to buy this special “BirdBerry Jelly” and “enjoy breakfast with the birds!”, well I finally gave in and bought some and low and behold I got the first oriole I’ve had in several years. I was thinking wow, this stuff really works, but now the orioles (we have more now) are on the oranges, hummingbird feeders and suet as much as the jelly. It’s good jelly; all natural, so sweet it made my fillings vibrate, (of course I tried it), but it’s not magic, it doesn’t really work any better than the stuff we always feed, but it is squeezable, that’s convenient.

The highlight if my week came that morning while I was watching for the oriole to return, I even put my glasses on, which I really ought to do more often. I noticed a different coloured bird the shape of a Blue Jay in a tree with several other jays. I was thinking it’s just the way the sunrise is reflecting off it’s breast, when I got my binoculars it turned out to be a female Northern Cardinal, the first one (and only second ever) we’ve had in 15 years.

I went to pick up some sunflower seed as my feeders were very low but the black oil seed was sold out and I was in a hurry so I bought a bag of mixed seed (and snuck it to the car in case anyone saw me), there was some sunflower but mostly millet and junk. I dumped the entire 50 pound bag on two platform feeders and the ground, thinking the cardinal would be able to find enough sunflower to keep her happy until Monday. Well, you sure see the pecking order when the feed is all in one place, the Blue Jays came from everywhere and gobbled down the sunflower, then the doves and sparrows were allowed to clean up the millet, the rest will likely attract rodents or sprout as nothing is eating it. The main thing is though, that I had enough sunflower spread around the yard and in bushes to keep the cardinal here until I got back with another load of black oil sunflower.

This was an extremely birdy week for us, and it showed when I was reading the online version of the Times and Transcript, I saw the head line “Ground swallows house”, I first thought, What’s a “ground swallow”. They must mean Bank Swallow. I wonder what their house looks like. Should I be building a few?

I have to learn that sometimes it’s just not about birds.

Really, Really Big Binocular (More Q & A)

The question I’m often asked when someone sees an abnormally large or expensive pair of binoculars is “How far can you see with these?” I usually start off by saying, “I can see Jupiter, so about 400 million miles.” That sounds impressive, except I can see Jupiter with any pair of binoculars and even with the naked eye. The question becomes how clear I can see Jupiter, or better still objects on our planet.

For anyone interested in taking a look at Jupiter, near dawn it’s the brightest object, now low in the east and with a reasonable 7-10 power you could see some of it’s moons. There are 63 moons, you might see the 4 largest depending on the arrangement, they will be 4 small dots in a line out from the equator. More important than extra large or expensive binoculars is stability, even the slightest movement will make it impossible to see these moons. If you have a tripod that would be great, but you could arrange pillows to support your binoculars so you don’t have to touch them.

And that folks, is the extent of my knowledge on astronomy and some of that I had to look up.

Most people I come across are looking for binoculars for birding or other earthly viewing. Binoculars specifically meant for astronomy are usually too big to carry around your neck or too powerful to hold without the aid of a tripod. To get the extra power required for identifying distant birds, most people choose a spotting scope which is basically one barrel of a binocular, it’s more compact and cheaper than buying both barrels.

When thinking about an expensive pair of binoculars it’s important to keep in mind what is usually referred to as “the law of diminishing returns”, that is, after a certain point, every time you double the price you may only increase the quality by a few percent. Sometimes it’s hard to justify the price on the most expensive binoculars.

Q. I can’t get used to using my binoculars with my glasses on, is there something I’m doing wrong?

A. When you are wearing your glasses you should fold the rubber cups down, this allows the eyepiece to come that much closer to your eye. Most new binoculars are being made with dial down eyecups. This makes it easier to go back and forth between glasses on or off, a nice feature when sharing binoculars or if you occasionally want to use binoculars with sunglasses; a good idea if you’re viewing over water on a bright day. If you fold the rubber up and down a lot, they eventually crack at the base. I just cut mine off as I’m the only one using them and I wear glasses. Otherwise you could get replacements from the company.

Some binoculars have what is referred to as long eye relief or high eye point, this is the distance you can hold your binoculars from your eyes and still see the full field of view. It’s written as a distance in millimeters, and the longer the distance the more likely they will be good for eyeglass wearers. If you lost the literature, you can usually tell by the length of the eyecups, they are made to hold the binoculars at the optimum distance from your eyes.

FYI: Long eye relief is considered a good feature in a birding binocular, this isn’t because they are easier on the eyes, it’s because most birders are old and therefore must require glasses. Don’t shoot the messenger, it isn’t my idea.

Q. This may sound strange but, my binoculars are floppy. It’s really quite annoying, is there anything I can do to tighten them up?

A. I see Floppy Binocular Syndrome quite often. It can strike any pair of binoculars at any time, no matter the make or model. I agree, it’s a real pain in the eyes, you can never hold your binoculars with one hand and you are constantly aware of keeping them at the correct spacing. The cause is still unknown but there is a cure. Depending on your binocular you may be able to tighten the hinge yourself, keeping in mind you may be voiding a warranty if you screw up, or you may want to send them back to the company. (This has always been a free service, the tightening not the postage.) Usually people will try tightening the screw at the front end of the hinge, this is just a cap and should be removed. Under this you’ll see the quarter inch threaded hole for the tripod adaptor, on the sides of this you may see 2 small holes. So far, so good, no warranty is void. I use a snap ring plier, available at any hardware store, put a prong in each hole and tighten the inside nut, this usually does the trick.

If you can’t get it tightened yourself and don’t want to send them back, there is a new product called the binocular hinge lock that would keep your binoculars at the correct distance. The hinge lock is great if you’re the only one using them (or if your partner has the same eye spacing as you) every time you take them out of your pack they’re at the right setting, and is especially handy if you’re carrying something like a tripod in one hand. The hinge lock is inexpensive and simply screws into the tripod adaptor hole, you find the correct spacing and tighten.

Q. How important is it to have a waterproof binocular?

A. It’s only important if you get them wet. Sorry... it used to be that waterproofing was a very expensive feature. Now it seems most decent models are waterproof/fogproof and the prices are lower than ever, so I would absolutely recommend waterproof. Even if you don’t get them wet they won’t fog internally, I know someone who travelled to Costa Rica on a birding trip and couldn’t use his very expensive binoculars because they fogged up in the rain forest’s humidity.

Questions About Optics

Question and answer: Optics for birding.

Q. My husband bought a pair of 7x35 binoculars on line, they weren’t as powerful as we wanted so we sent them back and got a 7x50. Other than they are bigger, I don’t see much difference. My husband thinks they are better but I think he doesn’t want to admit we (meaning he) screwed up. Are 7x50 more powerful than 7x35?

A. Most of my couples counseling involves an optics purchase gone bad. This is one case where size truly doesn’t matter, although the 7x50’s are half again bigger than the 7x35, they are the exact same power, 7. That is they make objects appear 7 times closer. The 35 and 50 refer to the size of the objective lens (the big one) in millimeters. In low light conditions the 50’s may be brighter, but in the day time you won’t see any difference.

If you hold your binoculars at arms length and look through the eyepiece, you’ll see a circle of light referred to as the “exit pupil”, on the 7x35’s it will be 5 millimeters and on the 7x50’s it will be 7.14 millimeters. You can measure it with a ruler or divide the objective size by the power. In the day time the pupil in your eye is open around 3 mm, so the extra light on each binocular isn’t getting into your eye anyway. When the sun goes down, your pupil will dilate more and that extra light can get in. But...once we reach a certain age, (50, give or take) our pupil doesn’t open past 5 mm anyway. So if you’re over 50 you probably can’t justify the purchase of the heavier, more expensive, binoculars.

Where this principle is more important is comparing compact (say 7x21) to a full size 7x35. In day light, or the binocular store, your pupil will be around 3 mm, the same as the compacts exit pupil. Step out at dusk or dawn to do some birding and the 7x35 will greatly out perform the compact pair, as no matter your age, your eyes will let that extra light in.

To make matters worse, the field of view is usually less on a 7x50 than a 7x35. This is more important for birding so you can more easily locate and track a bird moving around quickly at close range. When used for their intended purpose, astronomy or boating, the narrow field of view isn’t as important since you are looking at object farther away and relatively stationary. (This is where hubby says, “I bought them to star gaze….yeah, that’s the ticket.)

Something to think about when buying binoculars on line is the return policy. Can I return them for a full refund? If so, narrow your selection down to 2 pair order both and return the one you don’t want. There’s nothing like having both pair in your hands to compare at the same time. That’s why you should always take your old pair with you when shopping. You want to make sure what you’re getting is better than the old pair, I’ve seen people with great binoculars who didn’t know what they were worth (a gift or inheritance). In some cases they just needed exterior cleaning and adjustment. In some cases they had to be sent away for interior cleaning and realignment, but I’ve had $500 binoculars come back in “like new” condition for a $35 repair and saved the person $200 on a lower quality binocular.

Q. How do I adjust the dial on the eyepiece of my binocular?

A. This is hard to put in writing but I’ll try, it’s extremely important to have your binoculars adjusted for the differences between your eyes. Often after getting the adjustment right, you’ll go from hating your binoculars to loving them. The adjustment you’re referring to, I hope, is called the diopter. You may have used a binocular microscope at some time in your life, and the adjustment on a pair of binoculars is the very same.

In most cases it’s on the right eyepiece, the numbers start at 0 in the middle and go +1,+2 on one direction and -1,-2 in the other. Some models have the diopter adjustment on a dial above the center focus. Make sure it is adjusting the right eye by going through the whole range while looking through only the right eye. It should go in and out of focus.

Step 1: Put the lens cover on the right eye.

Step 2: Focus, using center focus only, on a stationary object 25-40 feet away.

Step 3: Put the lens cover on the left eye.

Step 4: Moving the diopter and without touching the center focus, bring the same object into crisp focus.

Step 5: Remember or better still mark the setting on the eyepiece.

Step 6: Repeat every year or so. As often as you get your eyes checked.

You won’t have to touch the diopter again as that eye will focus with the center focus, it’s only to compensate for the difference between your eyes. I often see people fiddling with the diopter constantly while bird watching. They adjust it every time they look at a different bird. This is a needless, headache inducing exercise.

Note to eyeglass/contact lens wearers. In most cases your prescription corrects for the difference between your eyes. In these cases your diopter setting is likely to be “0”. I quite enjoy the reaction when someone first looks through a binocular meant for eyeglass wearers, with the eye cups dialed down and the diopter set to zero, the difference, even with a lower end binocular is incredible. It usually starts with a string of swear words (english and/or french) then, “Come here honey you have to look through these.” But, they won’t pass them over, so I get another pair for “Honey” and one for myself and we settle in for some back yard birding.