The House Sparrow

It's a familiar mantra to anyone who feeds birds as a hobby:  "Sparrows don't like it."  For years, I was puzzled as to why, until I began to attract more and more sparrows to my feeders, to the extent that other birds were scared away.

Sparrows are aggressive.  I have seen them attack grosbeaks at my safflower seed feeder even though they do not care for safflower seed, presumably because they think there might be something there they want to eat.  I have seen them attack orioles at my oriole feeder in order to get most of the jelly.  The one bird they always seem to get along with is the Northern Cardinal, which for some unbeknownst region has a tendency to come eat when the sparrows are around (maybe because the sparrows serve as lookouts).  Other than that, practically any other bird is a suitable target for their bullying.

Sparrow by thistle feeder (photo by SCB)

With that being said, I have a confession to make:  I feed sparrows.  I don't feed them all of the time, and sometimes I feed them resentfully, but I do feed them.  Some of it is due to choice (I feel bad for them) and sometimes it is not (sparrows will find a way to access almost any feeder, whether it is sparrow proof or not).  Years ago, I was told the way to make sure only woodpeckers could access my suet feeder was to hang it upside down, and it was true...except for sparrows.  They have learned to hang upside on the feeders just like the woodpeckers and pull suet loose.  They have also learned to attack the woodpeckers at the precise moment they manage to pull suet free, causing them to drop whatever they have managed to extract.

Sparrows will also bully other birds out of their next boxes and take over them for their own fledglings. Since sparrows have several broods a year, this is a fairly common practice, making nesting more challenging for native birds such as bluebirds.

Sparrows, however, do have some advantages.

If you like hawks, you will definitely see them whenever you have a lot of sparrows around.  Hawks seem to have a special fondness for them, and will often pursue them, especially in the winter months, when their other prey is harder to find.

Sparrows are also good at keeping insect populations in check, probably because there are so many of them around!

Finally, I have to admit they are pretty (even if they do have very bad manners!)  While they may not be my favorite bird to watch, I have to admit I do enjoy them at times.

The Northern Cardinal

One of the cheeriest sights during the long, cold winters here in Omaha is the Northern Cardinals that come to visit our feeders.  Cardinals were one of the first birds that came to eat in our yard, and through the years, they have been some of our most constant visitors.  Fortunately, cardinals are easy to attract, and easy to keep around.  Below are some of the tips I have learned through the years to attract cardinals.

Food
Cardinals like both sunflower seed and safflower seed.  If you are interested in attracting many different birds, putting out black oil sunflower and striped sunflower seed will grant you your wish, as well as attracting cardinals.  If you would like to be a little more selective, cardinals are one of the few birds that really enjoy eating safflower seed.  The advantage of this is that grackles and sparrows will avoid your feeder, thereby ensuring less spillage and less waste.  Cardinals also eat many different types of insects, so leaving a section of your yard slightly long, so insects can hide in it, is a great way to lure them in.

Plants
Another appealing thing about cardinals is that they make a lot of nests, and are not especially worried about humans being nearby.  One of their favorites in my yard, which they have nested in on a regular basis, is my lilac trees.  They have also nested in my evergreens and even, earlier this year, my willow.  Having a variety of small trees in your yard can lure more cardinals in.  This year we actually had two different pairs of cardinals nest in our yard!

Male Northern Cardinal (photo by SCB)

Winter Feeding
Another thing I have noticed about cardinals that I have always found interesting is that their appetites seem to change during the winter months.  I say this because if I put out corn for them in the spring through fall months, they mostly ignore it, but if I do so during the winter, I can attract numerous cardinals, both male and female, and during this time of the year, they will eat together without fighting.  It was a visual delight last year to look outside and see them gathered in the snow, and on the bushes near where the corn was, like little Christmas tree ornaments.

Another thing I like about cardinals is that they are fairly friendly birds.  They will sometimes come and chirp at us when they feel that their babies are threatened by other animals, and watch as we chase the predators away.  They will also quickly grow accustomed to your presence.  Years ago, we had a vegetable garden in our backyard, and one particular male cardinal would find each tomato just as it became ripe and take a peck out of it.  Even though my boyfriend would always shout at him in mock anger, calling him "Red Bird," he never seemed fazed in the least, and continued this game even when we were in extremely close proximity to him.

Do you have a tip for attracting cardinals? If so, please leave a comment!

The Brown Creeper

One of the more unusual birds that visits our yard on a yearly basis is the Brown Creeper.  Brown Creepers migrate to the Omaha area during the winter months.  The ones in our yard usually appear on either our ash tree or on the wood of our overhang in the back of the house.  The first time I saw one, I almost mistook it for a mouse, because of the rapid way in which it moved up and down on the tree so rapidly.

Years ago, I had hung a suet feeder on our ash tree, but I never saw the Brown Creepers go anywhere near it.  Their primary interest has always been the insects.  During the winter months, they burrow beneath the bark to extract the bugs they want to eat.

Brown Creepr Burrowing for Insects (photo by SCB)

I think the primary reason we see Brown Creepers here during the winters is because we live in a heavily wooded area.  Some of the other birds that visit our yard only in winter include the red-breasted nuthatch and even redpolls.

If you would like to attract Brown Creepers to your backyard, the primary way in which to do so is to have mature trees.  Sometimes this is more easily said than done...for years, the ash tree in our backyard was a favored spot for many birds, some of which ate the bugs living in it and some of which nested in it. Unfortunately, as the tree aged, it sustained a great deal of damage, to the point that eventually we had to have it cut down to a stump.

After the tree was cut so low, I was under the impression that it was dead, and was planning to have it taken out completely in the spring.  To my amazement, when spring finally came, the tree began to sprout again, and is now a small, bushy tree that actually provides quite a bit of shade.  It also has again become a favorite spot for many birds, which like to perch in its branches and explore it for food.  When the Brown Creepers came back last winter, they were still as interested in it as they had been when it was a bigger tree, and seemed to find just as many insects in it.

Brown Creeper Hunting for Insects (photo by SCB)

All of this led me to the conclusion that as troublesome as trees may be, they serve an extremely important purpose, especially for the birds who live in our area.  Unattractive as my ash tree may be in comparison to how it looked before, it continues to be attractive to many birds, and obviously still serves an important purpose as they continue to return to it, year after year.

The American Robin

Who doesn't love robins? For most people, their presence is a welcome reminder that Spring is on the way. While robins can be seen almost everywhere, they are especially prevalent in the Mandan Park area because of the forest.  Every year, large groups of them flock together and winter in the park area, gradually moving back up to the neighborhood yards as spring approaches.  While robins are expert foragers and rarely come to bird feeders, there are some ways to increase their presence in your yard, so you can see them even more often.

Robin Fledgling (photo by SCB)

Food
While robins seem to subsist primarily on a diet of bugs (mostly worms!), there are several other food types that they do eat. The first is dry cat food.  I spread some of it out on a rock surface in my yard especially for them, and the same birds show up to eat almost every day.  (Incidentally, cardinals are also especially fond of cat food!)

Another food that robins like is grape jelly.  Every time I fill my oriole feeder, I somehow manage to spill some jelly underneath it, but I never give it a great deal of thought because it always quickly disappears. I assumed that the orioles and catbirds were eating it, but one morning I noticed a robin by the feeder.  Since then, I have noticed them around the feeder more, and now I know why!

Robins also like meal worms.  In the past, I have put them out for them, but all of the other birds like them so much, as well, that the robins actually got very few of them.

Water
Another way to attract robins to your yard is by putting out water.  Robins love birdbaths, and will also flock to any collection of water that you have in your yard, such as rain water collected in an old lid or even a dog dish.  Even a slightly dripping water faucet will attract them.

Robin Fledgling (photo by SCB)

Plants
Another good way to attract robins is by providing trees for them to nest in, and bushes and trees that provide food.  One of their favorite trees in my yard is my Bradford Pear.  Every fall, when the tiny fruits remain on the branches, they will literally strip the tree clean of them.  They also like crab apples, cherries and many different types of berries.

Do you have a tip for attracting robins to your yard? If so, please leave a comment!

Wild Turkeys

One of the most interesting (and slightly intimidating) birds that we have encountered in our backyard is the wild turkey.  Several summers ago, a hen with her chicks ( called poults) flew into our side yard and proceeded from there to explore the rest of the property before they all flew back back into the forest.  With that being said, while I have seen the poults flying frequently, I have rarely seen the adults do so.  The majority of the time they will simply run if they feel threatened.  A neighbor witnessed several turkeys being pursued by a coyote near our homes, and even in this instance, they were jogging instead of flying.

Wild turkeys are know to eat a wide variety of foods, some of which can be provided for them in a backyard setting.  A word of caution, however:  Wild turkeys can be aggressive, and if they feel threatened by domestic pets, may attack them.  This can be more serious than it sounds, because turkeys have spurs on their legs which can seriously harm another animal.  They are especially aggressive during the mating season.

Wild Turkeys Near Mandan Park (photo by SCB)

If you would like to attract wild turkeys into your yard, here are a few tips that may make it easier to accomplish this.

Food
In the wild, turkeys eats a wide selection of plants, insects, and small animals, but two of the foods they will come into a backyard for are corn and birdseed.  Since I own a very large dog, they tend to avoid my yard, but several of my neighbors with bird feeders have awakened early in the morning and found wild turkeys strutting around their back yards.  Since they didn't lure the birds in intentionally, they were less than pleased, but still impressed by the birds' sheer size and attitude.

Habitat
One thing I have noticed myself with wild turkeys is that they seem to have some difficulty navigating chain link fences, especially if they get caught between them (hawks have this same difficulty).  Most of the turkeys I have seen in people's yards are in yards where there are no fences, just wide expanses of open lawn.  In the right setting, I have seen multiple turkeys in one location.

Wild Turkey in Backyard (photo by SCB)

Timing
A good time to see wild turkeys is early in the morning, when they tend to be actively out and about.  I have seen them at other times during the day, as well, but this time seems to be a particular favorite for them. Dusk is another time when they are fairly active.  Another good time to see them is after a rainstorm.


Do you have tips for attracting wild turkeys? If so, please leave a comment!

The Ruby-Throated Hummingbird

One of our favorite backyard visitors is the ruby-throated hummingbird.  For years, I had known they were prevalent in our area, but had never actually seen one.  Even after I purchased my first hummingbird feeder, I spent an entire year waiting to see one and never did.  Fortunately, after talking to several different birding experts and reading numerous articles, I came up with a list of ways that made attracting them easy:

Female Ruby Throated Hummingbird (Photo by SCB)

Feeders
There are numerous feeders for hummingbirds available, most of which are red.  The reason for this is that hummingbirds are especially attracted to red and purple flowers, although I have noticed they like orange and pink flowers, too.  With that being said, a red feeder is a good way to get their attention when you first put out a feeder.  I have had glass feeders and plastic ones, and both of them worked equally well.  The only important point to keep in mind is that the feeders need to be cleaned each time the liquid is replaced, because they tend to get mold built up inside then.  I try to replace my hummingbird feeder every year, as well.  They can be purchased at hardware stores and even many grocery stores and are fairly inexpensive.

Female Ruby-Throated Hummingbird near Impatiens (photo by SCB)

Food
If you read about the ingredients for making hummingbird food, you will notice that there are a lot of recipes that say to mix 4 parts water to 1 part sugar.  In actuality, the recipe is 3 parts water to 1 part sugar.  As far as the hummingbirds are concerned, the more sugary it is, the better, and if there is not enough sugar in the solution, they will simply not drink it.  It should be replaced at least once a week, especially in cool, damp weather, when it tends to mold more quickly.

Female Ruby-Throated Hummingbird (photo by SCB)

Plants
Hummingbirds really like red and purple flowers.  For years, I would buy fuchsias to hang by my hummingbird feeders, in hopes of luring them in, but I never actually saw any hummingbirds at them, and fuchsias are both expensive and delicate (a perilous combination in Nebraska).  After my mother told me she often saw hummingbirds at her geranium boxes, I replaced the fuchsias with red geraniums, and the hummingbirds began to arrive in droves.

The nice things about geraniums are that they tough, and they can be kept indefinitely.  Some people remove them from their pots over the winter, hang them out in a basement and repot them in the spring, but I like to take them inside and treat them like a houseplant for the winter months.  That way, I can have flowers year round.  While they do look a little peaked by the time spring comes around, they quickly rebound when you put them back outside, and they can live for years!

Other plants I have noticed hummingbirds like are impatiens (which are difficult to keep alive inside) and hibiscus.  While hibiscus are a little expensive, they can be kept alive for years, too, as long as they get enough sun and water.  Finally, hummingbirds also really like begonias, and like geraniums, begonias are inexpensive and tough.  I keep my begonias inside during the winters months, too.

I have heard people say that hummingbirds will return to a feeder year after year, and I have noticed as the years have gone by that each year, I have more of them.  Whether this is because some of them return, or because they are attracted to the plants I put out, is a matter for debate.

At any rate, if you would like to have your yard visited by these gorgeous little birds, following the above tips should make it easy for you!

Do you have a tip for attracting or feeding hummingbirds? If so, please leave a comment!

Other Backyard Visitors - Creating a Habitat

Did you know that bird feeders not only attract birds, but other small animals, as well?

One of the most common visitors to bird feeders (aside from birds!) is squirrels, but the seed that the birds leave behind is also attractive to bunny rabbits.  While they mostly visit in the early morning hours and late evening, occasionally they will also appear during the day.

Young Rabbit near Feeder (photo by SCB)

What I've always found interesting is that the birds seem to know what they are, and never show the slightest fear of them.  While birds are fairly comfortable around squirrels, too (except during breeding season), they seem even more confident around rabbits, and will eat right by them.  I have always wondered if they aren't grateful for the extra pair of eyes in watching out for predators.

What exactly the rabbits are eating when they visit the bird feeders is something I have never actually figured out, but I have noticed that the rabbits are most commonly around those in which I have put a variety of seed.  One possibility is that they may be consuming some of the small seedlings that always seem to crop up underneath my feeders.

Attracting Wildlife
Years ago, I read an article that suggested leaving a small part of the yard untended, in order to attract birds and other wildlife.  I have noticed that on the edge of my yard, where the weeds occasionally grow too high, birds will sometimes visit that I rarely see at my feeders, and sometimes they will even go on to the feeders after landing there.  Allowing part of the yard to grow up a little is also a big help for fledglings, which will often hide there before they perfect their flying skills.

Young Rabbit (photo by SCB)

Another plus in leaving part of the yard to grow a little wild is that a lot of insects tend to hide in these areas, making it a prime hunting ground.  Just last night, I noticed several birds hunting in the area near the border of my yard, in the immediate vicinity of a grazing rabbit  One cardinal, in particular, repeatedly hunted the area near where the rabbit was eating, and hopped all over next to it.

If you would like to have other visitors like rabbits by your feeders, another precautionary tip to keep in mind is that baby rabbits, especially, are very vulnerable to herbicides, and even exposing them to the pellet form can kill them.  Having a slightly weedy yard will not only spare them, but will also be a huge attraction for the birds and even many beautiful (and beneficial!) insects.

Have you noticed any unusual creatures attracted to your backyard feeders? If so, please leave a post!