Host and Hostess Gift Ideas for Thanksgiving

Looking for a host or hostess gift for Thanksgiving? BirdLodges.com has just what you need!

Save 10% on all products through Monday, November 11, 2013 by using promo code turkey10 at checkout.

Autumn Breeze Edible Birdhouse

Perfect for autumn and a treat for wild birds!

Simply hang the edible bird feeder house and observe the birds as they consume the berries, millet, and moss.

Covered in red and orange dyed berries, special bird mix, pearl millet and accented with moss, pine cones, wheat and natural raffia bow.

Bird seed covered Autumn Breeze measures 8" tall by 5-1/2" wide.

Wreath with Birdhouse

Bird seed Wreath and Seeded Birdhouse offer wild birds two feeding choices.

The grapevine wreath is decorated with pearl millet, reindeer moss, green moss, golden spray millet, Japanese millet, wheat, and silk sunflowers.

The edible birdhouse is made from white proso millet, red proso millet, and sunflower seeds.

Seed covered wreath is approximately sixteen inches wide.

 

Wishing Well Bird Feeder

Seed covered bird feeder comes ready to hang outdoors from a pole or a tree branch, preferably near a window for best viewing opportunities.

Wishing well edible bird feeder is adorned with Indian corn, canola, pine bark, lavender berries, moss and wheat and is a real treat for the wild birds in your area.

Corn cob bird feeder is conveniently designed to hold sunflower seeds and a complimentary bag of seeds is included with purchase.

Wishing well bird feeder measures 11 inches by 4 inches.

Ocean Pollution Affecting Wildlife

Please share this video, with the hope people will think twice before littering or releasing helium-filled balloons:

http://www.upworthy.com/people-should-know-about-this-awful-thing-we-do-and-most-of-us-are-simply-unaware?c=ufb1

Making Halloween Safe for Pets

Courtesy of Joan Morris of www.bayareanewsgroup.com:

With lots of folks headed out soon for trick-or-treating, it pays to give some thought to those furry "kids," our pets, who may be freaked out by all of the odd creatures showing up on our doorsteps.

More and more, people are including their pets in the celebration, joining in on Halloween pet parades and dressing them on Halloween night.

However, not every pet likes the loud noises, costumes and general creepiness of the day. To help with pets that don't embrace the macabre the folks at the Pet Industry Joint Advisory Council offer some tips to help keep pets safe until all the goblins go home.

Quiet places

Noise such as constant doorbell ringing and door knocking may stress your pets. Find a quiet room in the house with food, water, litter box or crate and give your pet a safe, quiet haven until it's all over.

Keep away

Candy and candy wrappers can be toxic to pets. Never leave candy unattended or within reach of your cat or dog. While chocolate is toxic to pets, the wrappers can cause just as much damage. Foil and cellophane wrapper, if ingested, could lead to emergency surgery or death.

If your pet eats candy or other toxic substances, consult your veterinarian, local animal emergency hospital or call the Pet Poison Helpline at 800-213-6680. The helpline, which sees a 21 percent increase in the number of calls each Halloween, is staffed around the clock. There is a $39 per incident fee for the consultation and follow-up calls.

Play nice

 Reports of animal cruelty seem to increase during the Halloween season. Keep your pets - especially black cats - indoors to reduce the possibility of harmful pranks.

Beware the flame

Be especially careful with your pets around jack-o'-lanterns and other decorations with flames. Cats and dogs have been known to knock over lighted candles, resulting in fires. Consider flameless candles as part of your decor and try to eliminate as many electrical cords as possible to prevent an anxious pet from chewing on them.

Buckle up

If you're going outside with your animals, keep them on a leash. All the excitement and strange sights can cause a normally obedient animal to make a dash for it. Also, make sure they are wearing tags.

For cats and other pets that usually aren't on leashes, be sure to secure them in another part of the house where they won't have the ability to run out of an open door.

To costume or not

There's no denying that our pets look cute in costumes, but some animals just don't like them. If your pet is one of those, don't force him or her into a costume. Experts say it can make them overly anxious.

If your pet is okay with dressing up, be sure the costume doesn't restrict the animal's vision, movement or hearing.

Calm down

Ask children not to run or make quick movements around animals. These actions could be perceived by your pet as an act of aggression, which could then lead to someone being bitten or scratched. If your pet appears agitated, remove him or her from the action.

BirdLodges.com wishes you a happy and haunted Halloween! And to continue the Halloween theme, if you'd like to help keep the bat population thriving, consider installing a bat house!

Christmas Gifts for Wild Birds: Seed-covered Birdhouses and Edible Ornaments

Join us for some holiday spirit with new candy cane edible ornaments and seed covered birdhouses from BirdLodges.com: 

Candy Cane Bird Seed Covered Ornaments

Colorful candy cane bird seed ornaments - a set of six are waiting to add a festive winter holiday touch to your home. Just transfer them to the garden in the spring and the wild birds will eat them like candy!

We use a combination of red groat oats, green groat oats, white safflower, and sunflower seeds to cover the wooden-base candy cane ornaments and each one includes a jute rope for hanging. 

Candy Cane Edible Birdhouse

Colorful candy cane edible birdhouse will add a festive winter holiday touch to your home. Just transfer the bird seed house to the garden in the spring and the wild birds will eat from it like candy!

We attach a combination of white proso millet and red milo to a wooden birdhouse frame and top it off with a ribbon bow, cedar, and small pine cones. A wire or cord is included and the Christmas birdhouse arrives ready to hang.

 A Christmas Holiday Edible Birdhouse
Cheery colors makes this a truly decorative Holiday Edible Birdhouse. White roof and gable enhance the red and green winter theme.

Yellow pine bird seed birdhouse is covered with decorative red and white proso millet, grits, canola, green groat oats, and sunflower seeds. The wood frame is decorated with cedar, red berries, and pearl millet columns - a real beauty!

Wild animals love to eat Jack-o'-Lanterns

How to keep wild critters from eating our Jack-o'-Lanterns?

by Joan Morris of ANG newspapers:

There are a number of things you can try.

Hot peppers. Buy the largest, cheapest bottle of hot sauce you can find and either paint or spray it on the pumpkins. You can make your own by mixing powdered chili, water and a drop or two of dish washing liquid in a spray bottle. Squirrels really don't like spicy things, and it can deter other critters, too. The oil in the peppers will saturate the skin of the pumpkin, so even if you don't see the hot sauce, anything taking a bite out of it will immediately taste it.Also, a note of caution: Some folks recommend sprinkling dried peppers around the pumpkins, but the pepper can blow away and can be harmful if the creature or a human gets it in their eyes.

Lacquer. Spray the pumpkin with lacquer and let it dry. This could help preserve the appearance of the jack-o'-lantern, too.

Dog and cat hair. If you have a pet, then take a blanket from their favorite snoozing spot and place it under the pumpkins. Squirrels especially don't like the aroma of eau de dog, and it might warn them away from the pumpkins. Raccoons are less likely to be bothered.

Vinegar. In fact, vinegar may be the most useful thing you can have in your house, good for so many household chores. The astringent smell is effective shooing away creatures with sensitive noses. Because the vinegar can damage the pumpkin, apply sparingly. Pour some on a rag and wipe down the surface of the pumpkin.

Eucalyptus oil. Pour some onto a rag and wipe the surface, or soak a cotton ball in the oil and drop it inside the pumpkin, but not near the flame.

Commercial animal repellents. I have limited faith in these. Some of these sprays can be rather pricey, and if they worked consistently well, everyone with issues would be buying them. However, some folks have great luck with them. Spray the outside of the pumpkin and repeat as necessary.

Hair spray. This creates a sticky texture on your pumpkin, which the creatures won't appreciate. Spray the entire pumpkin but be sure to get the exposed flesh of the gourd.

Petroleum jelly or a menthol chest rub. But be aware, this approach also can be messy, and if birds get it on their wings, it can be a problem.

http://www.insidebayarea.com/ci_24284218/morris-whats-been-eating-our-pumpkins?IADID=Search-www.insidebayarea.com-www.insidebayarea.com

Bats: Nature's Insect Control

Why Should We Provide Bat Houses for Bats?
Bats have long been disliked by humans -- shunned and thought of as a taboo creature. Some consider them ugly ("a face only a mother could love"), furry little animals that fly and seem to be half-bird and half-mammal.
With proper education and communication, humans are giving them their proper recognition as valuable to mankind in the ecological system. Many night-blooming plants, such as bananas and saguaro cactus, are dependent upon bats for pollination. Give bats credit for helping to reseed tropical rain forests through their inadvertent dispersal of seeds.
Their most appealing feature is their enormous capacity for consuming insects. A nocturnal mammal, they eat when the insects are out, in contrast to birds, which eat during the day. Some bat species consume half their weight in one night -- as many as 600 or more gnat-sized insects in one hour!
The most common bat in North America, the brown bat, can eat 3,000 to 7,000 mosquitoes each night, and a bat can live to be 20 years old. That's a pretty effective insecticide, especially when you consider that they do not poison other creatures or create holes in the ozone layer.

Bats are Cute!
Bats are harmless to people. They do not become tangled in your hair, nor do they attack humans. They are far less prone to be rabid than your everyday household dogs and cats. "In more than four decades, public health records indicate that only 16 people in the United States and Canada have died of bat-borne diseases. Placed in perspective, this means that the odds of anyone dying of a disease from a bat are much less than one in a million. In contrast, in the USA alone more than 10 people die annually from dog attacks, not to mention dog- and cat- transmitted diseases." (Dr. Merlin D. Tuttle America's Neighborhood Bats, Univ. of Texas Press, Austin, 1988.
There are approximately forty species of bats throughout the United States and Canada, the most common being the little brown bat.
In Asia, bats are symbols of good luck, long life, and happiness. They are meticulous in their grooming, spending much of the day and night combing  their fur. They generally congregate with their own gender.
Bats are the second most common land mammals, with rodents being first. As they fly, they navigate by means of a sophisticated echolocation system. The bat sends out signals of sound energy, which are reflected back, giving it the location of an object as well as its texture and other characteristics. They can avoid a single human hair with extreme accuracy, even in total darkness, giving lie to the myth that bats are blind.

Bat Housing Crunch
Places for bats to roost have become increasingly limited as their favorite old hollow trees, barns, and old houses disappear.
Bat houses have narrow crevices at the bottom for bats to enter and rough surfaces inside for them to hold onto. A bat house should be hung at least 10 to 15 feet above ground, sheltered from the wind, and unobstructed by items that would inhibit their flying, such as power lines. To keep the interior very warm, place the house on the side of a tree or building which receives maximum sun, especially in the morning. If your location is not sunny enough to warm the house to the 80-100 degrees Fahrenheit required by nursing colonies, you may want to add tar paper or dark colored shingles to the bat house roof. Do not paint it, as paints and stains are toxic to the bats. However, a cooler location may attract a colony of bachelors, who frequently prefer cooler roosts.
Bat boxes located near a source of water, especially a marsh, lake or stream, are the most likely to attract bats, as this habitat provides the insects needed for their food. Twelve to eighteen months is a common waiting period for bats to move into a new house. If you hang your bat house in the fall or winter, it may be occupied in the first active season. If it is not occupied within two years, try a new location. If bats live in your area and your bat house is appropriately located they will find it.
During the winter months bats living in Canada and the northern two-thirds of the United States migrate south or to nearby caves to hibernate, as most bat species cannot survive subfreezing temperatures.

Conservation
If bats are to survive, they need our help and protection. They have proven themselves as valuable members of our ecosystem, and we must increase the awareness of people who have the ability to protect or to destroy these little creatures. A bat loose in a house is probably a young one who is lost and looking for a way out. He should not be killed, but gently caught with a towel and allowed to escape without harm. Bat colonies in warm attics can be evacuated safely and encouraged to take up new residence in a bat house of their own.
Cave explorers should not disturb the caves of roosting bats, as rousing them from their hibernation may cause them to use up much of their stored body fat and die before spring. Unfortunately, thousands of bats have been destroyed this way.
Bats are declining, world-wide, at an alarming rate, due to human misunderstanding. They typically have only one offspring per year, making their comeback a slow process in need of our help. Coveside Conservation Products is a supporter of Bat Conservation International, a non-profit organization dedicated to educating the public about these beneficial animals and helping to conserve them.

Products
Our bat houses are handcrafted of select, kiln-dried Maine White Pine for durability, attractiveness, and insulation qualities. The walls are thick to keep the interior warm and rough-sawn to provide a surface for the bats to cling to.
Inside are several partitions, because bats like narrow spaces, and this allows more surface room for roosting bats. The house is open at the bottom to eliminate the need for cleaning, and to prevent birds from nesting in their house.
The bat house is not painted or stained, because these chemicals are toxic to the bats. The pine wood will weather nicely to an attractive silver gray color which will blend in nicely with the outdoor environment.

Mounting Instructions
First, decide where the bat house is to be mounted; then place a nail or screw into the tree, pole, or wall so that the head is sticking out 1/4". Hang the bat house by placing the metal hanger (located on the back of the bat house) over the nail or screw. After the house hangs securely, drive a nail or screw through the bottom of the board.

Thank you for caring about North America's bat population.

Source: Coveside Conservation Products

Woodpeckers: how to prevent damage to house siding?

Woodpeckers

How do I keep a woodpecker from pecking at my house siding?

From The Today Show on NBC: 

String fishing lines randomly across the area where the woodpeckers are attracted and since they do not want to be tangled they will avoid the area.


Flicker House and Woodpecker Houses  from BirdLodges.com

Birdhouses - When and How to Clean Out Nest Boxes

How to Clean a Bird House

Tips for Cleaning Bird Houses

By Melissa Mayntz, About.com Guide

Ads:

Remove all old nesting material when cleaning bird houses.

Birders who know how to clean a bird house are taking steps to protect their backyard bird families from pests and disease while making their bird houses even more attractive for new nesting birds. Like cleaning bird feeders, cleaning a bird house is essential for good bird health and safety.

Why Clean Bird Houses

Just like a dirty, damaged bird feeder, a dirty bird house is less attractive to backyard birds. Dirty bird houses can also harbor rodents, insects, feather mites, fungus and bacteria that can spread disease to nesting birds. Cleaning a bird house minimizes these hazards and makes the home more attractive to nesting birds, and a clean bird house encourages reuse with either the same bird family or additional birds looking for suitable nesting sites.

When to Clean

Ideally, a bird house should be cleaned after the nesting brood has completely fledged and no longer returns to the nest. For many bird species, a single cleaning after the end of the breeding season is sufficient, but in temperate regions where birds may raise multiple broods the bird house can be cleaned between each new family to encourage more nesting. If you aren't sure whether the house is occupied or not, tap gently on the sides or roof to listen for responsive scufflings or cheeps, or peak inside the house carefully through the roof or movable side to check for nestlings. If the birds are still present, wait at least another week before checking again to give them plenty of time to vacate the home.

How to Clean a Birdhouse

To thoroughly clean a birdhouse…

1.           Open the bird house or partially disassemble it for proper cleaning. Bird houses with swinging sides, hinged roofs or removable fronts are the easiest to clean.

2.           Remove all old nesting material and scrape out any feces or clumped matter. This material should be disposed of in a plastic bag to prevent spreading any parasites it might harbor.

3.           Scrub the house thoroughly with a weak bleach solution (one part chlorine bleach to nine parts warm water). Be sure to scrub all corners, the entrance hole and drainage and ventilation holes.

4.           Rinse the house well in clean water for several minutes to remove all traces of bleach.

5.           Dry the house thoroughly in full sun for at least several hours. This will break down any remaining chlorine and ensure there are no moist crevices for mold or mildew to grow.

6.           Inspect the house for loose hinges, protruding nails or screws, prominent splinters and other hazards that can injure adult or hatchling birds.

7.           Check that all ventilation and drainage holes are unobstructed.

8.           Reassemble the house securely and check that all screws and joins are tight. If the house converts to a winter bird roost box, assemble it in that configuration after the breeding season ends.

9.           Store delicate gourds or clay bird houses for winter so they will last longer, or return wooden bird houses to their hooks or posts so they can be used as roost boxes for cold winter nights.

Birdhouse Cleaning Tips

To ensure that your bird houses are as clean and safe as possible for your nesting or roosting backyard birds…

·                        Buy bird houses with movable or hinged panels that are easier to clean without weakening the structure of the house.

·                        Leave clean bird houses up for winter roosting and clean them again in early spring so they are ready for breeding birds.

·                        Also clean the post or hook where the bird house is positioned to remove any lingering pests or bacteria from the area.

By cleaning a bird house properly, including duck houses and owl houses, backyard birders provide a safe, happy home for their backyard birds.

Source: www.about.com

Owl Houses and Fun Facts About Owls

Whoooo knew?

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. 

Owl Houses from BirdLodges.com, for Barn Owl, Barred Owl, Screech Owl, and Saw-whet Owls.

Black-bellied Whistling Duck - Mexican Whistler Ducks

May 2013

It's that time of year!  The Black-bellied Whistling Ducks are ready to nest - are you ready for them?

These ducks use the same size nest box as the Wood Duck, whose breeding season is the opposite of the black-bellied.

Black-bellied whistling ducks arrive in May and may stay through September when hunting season begins. By May the wood ducks have vacated the nest box making it available for the black-bellied ducks, also known as Mexican Whistlers.

If you are interested in providing a house for the black-bellied whistling ducks, here's a photo and a link to our website:

http://www.birdlodges.com/black-bellied-whistling-duck-house.html

Thank you for caring!

Adobe Edible Birdhouse

We have a new collection!

Introducing our Adobe Edible Birdhouse; the perfect bird seed house for Southwest decor fanatics and hungry wild birds, too.

http://www.birdlodges.com/adobe-edible-birdhouse.html

Floating Duck House

When we first heard of a Floating Duck House we wondered, "Who would need that?"  It turns out they are quite popular for people who have their own ducks and their own small body of water, such as a lake or pond.

This one is built like a fort and will last for years.  It arrives in three packages and should take about 15 minutes to assemble.

Looking for products made in the USA?  Here's one!  http://www.birdlodges.com/floating-duck-house.html

Convertible Roosting Box complete with baby birds!

Here's a video of our Convertible Roosting Box.  Hungry baby birds are begging for food and a parent is squawking in the background asking the photographer to "go away!"

http://www.birdlodges.com/convertible-winter-roost.html
Click here to view all of our Roosting Boxes.

Honduran White Bats

These Honduran White Bats spend their days roosting upside down under the spreading leaves of the heliconia plant. The bats build their "tents" by nibbling along the midrib of the chosen leaf, causing it to droop. This provides a dry, well-hidden refuge for the day; they will likely create a new tent tomorrow.

Click here for the photograph: https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=453317794742857&set=a.261706700570635.60434.117105425030764&type=1&theaterhttps://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=453317794742857&set=a.261706700570635.60434.117105425030764&type=1&theater

Although not uncommon in the lowland forests of Costa Rica, these bats are maddeningly hard to find. Their abandoned roosts are everywhere, but finding a group like this took me years.

To get this picture, I had to lie on my back and shoot straight up into the leaf, which hung only 18" above the ground. I moved slowly and quietly, took just a few frames, and withdrew, leaving them where I found them.

How big are the bats? Adults are the size of a child's fist. Take a look at this comparison:

http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Ectophylla_alba_in_hand.jpg

Honduran White Bats (Ectophylla alba), Costa Rica
(c) 2013 Kevin Schafer

PLEASE NOTE: All of the images on this site are mine, not borrowed, pinned or stolen from other sources. They also have my name attached. Please feel free to share, but also please respect my work and do not remove the watermark or post/share without credit. Thanks.

Eagle cam nest - two eaglets hatched!

Two eaglets hatched!

http://www.alcoa.com/locations/usa_davenport/en/info_page/eaglecam.asp

http://alcoa.typepad.com/.a/6a00e553e967d58834017c37d38155970b-800wi

Birdhouse - a look inside!

Love this clever commercial!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pH5OSU2vEHU&list=HL1363571428&feature=mh_lolz

Bald Eagle Nest Cam

Click here for the 2013 Bald Eagle Nest Cam!

Bald Eagle nest cam!!


http://www.alcoa.com/locations/usa_davenport/en/info_page/eaglecam.asp

Wood Ducks leaving the nest box...

Need a smile going into the weekend?  What's more cute than wood ducklings jumping out of the nest box?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jhp7vwvAic4

Handmade Wooden Eyewear - made in California

Since BirdLodges features handmade wooden products from America, we thought it would be nice to share these glasses with you:

http://www.capitaleyewear.com/

Perfect Pet....fake parakeet?

Fun New Year's Day post:

http://perfectpollypet.com/


Get the perfect fake pet - a phony parakeet!