What Birds Eat

Backyard birds come in all shapes and sizes. They eat nuts, seeds, berries, fruit, and insects. They welcome wintertime sprinklings of seeds in the snow. You may think that birds are light eaters, but it is quite the opposite. They are actually big eaters. Birds need plenty of food to produce the energy their bodies require to maintain a fast metabolism. This fast metabolic rate allows them to fly. They spend much of their time looking for, and eating, food. Seeds can be purchased at your local supermarket. The ready-made mixes usually contain a lot of wheat, buckwheat, milo and other filler seeds and grains. Sunflower seeds are very easy to find. They come in two varieties: striped and smaller black oil seeds. Even though some of the smaller birds have trouble cracking the sunflower seed's shell, most birds love it! Plus it provides the birds with more fat and therefore more energy. If you make you own mix, check your feeder for leftovers and adjust the proportions to the birds' preferences.

According to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, there are 54 million people across North America participating in bird-feeding and wildlife watching in their own backyards, Backyard bird feeding is a convenient way to enjoy wildlife and feel good.







Resource: PetZone Pet Products

All About Finch Thistle Feed

Thistles are a finch's favorite plant. They feed their young on the immature fruit and the "floss" they produce. This floss comes from the flowers that have gone to seed and left their fluffy seed heads behind. Finches often select thistles' floss for structural and lining materials for their nests. Many times the thistles will mature before the finches nest, thus providing them with fresh new floss. Some thistle heads never open completely, which traps last year's floss, making the product readily available for an energetic finch. An imported thistle "niger" seed, from Africa and Asia, is high in protein and fat. It has an added bonus value of not attracting squirrels or blackbirds.

BirdLodges.com Pop-Up Finch Thistle Feeder

Unique Birdhouses | Quality Bird Feeders | Build Your Own Birdhouse Kits

Unique Birdhouses | Quality Bird Feeders | Build Your Own Birdhouse Kits

Backyard Bird Feeding

"According to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, there are 54 million people across North America participating in bird-feeding and wildlife watching in their own backyards. Backyard bird feeding is a convenient way to enjoy wildlife and feel good."

Hearing the Outdoor Birds

The parakeets are sure enjoying the new screen door. There's a whole world of different birds on that side of the building.

Parakeets in the Yard

Some days the parakeets are stiff as a statue when I put them in the backyard (in their cage, of course). Today they were very aware of the wild birds around them. While the wild birds were not very close, they were close enough for the parakeets to look around at them, and chirp a couple of times.

Robin

Sitting in a park downtown on a summer day and who comes along? A robin, hopping along looking for worms. This is in a park next to a busy street! Great to see...

In Search of Owls

In Search of Owls

On Sunday evening, August 1, 2010, the Livermore Area Parks and Recreation Department sponsored an “In Search of Owls” event in Veterans Park. Ranger Patti Cole began the presentation with a detailed explanation of the unique features of owls.

The belief that owls can turn their heads 360 degrees is almost true. Having twice the number of cervical vertebrae as humans allows them to turn 270 degrees.

Owls have eyes that are proportionally larger than other birds when compared to body size. Being nocturnal, this assists with night vision.

Hearing is enhanced by having offset ears on either side of the head. An owl can tilt its head just slightly to hear within a larger range. The shape of the owl’s face also assists in hearing; the rounded shape funnels sounds to the ears.

The talons on an owl lock in place after grasping prey, allowing for a more secure hold on the next meal while flying to a safe place.

One of the most fascinating features of owls is their ability to fly silently. The top feather of an owl’s wings is covered with a very fine row of feathers which muffles any swishing sound made while flying.

After the presentation we ventured out to attract owls using modern technology – an amplified ipod with recorded screech owl and barn owls calls. We watched and waited for over an hour until we spotted a barn owl off in the distance, possibly close enough to have heard our recorded call. This barn owl was to represent all of the local owl population as it was the only one seen.