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Ranging from 5.5 to 6.5 inches in length, this medium-sized sparrow has a rounded head with a short, stout bill and a prominent long tail. With the simplest coloring in the Junco family, the Slate-colored Dark-eyed Junco has dark gray covering the back, face, and chest with a white underside and outer tail feathers. A short pink bill brightens the face of this round bird.
Birds of the ground, Dark-eyed Juncos are typically seen hopping around the bases of shrubs and trees. They will often venture out onto lawns, especially beneath bird feeders, looking for fallen seeds.
Slate-colored Juncos have the widest habitat range. In summer, this range expands across most of Canada and Alaska, stretching south into the northeastern United States as far south as Georgia. In the winter months, the range shifts from southern Canada to the Gulf states, mostly east of the Rockies. Juncos are often found in coniferous forests but can be found in deciduous forests as well. In winter months they can be found in a wider variety of habitats, including open woodlands, parks, fields, and gardens since food sources become more scarce.
Attracting Dark-eyed Juncos to Your Feeder:
Dark-eyed Juncos mainly eat seeds, with buckwheat, sorrel, chickweed, and lamb's quarters making up around 75% of their diet. Studies show feeders only account for roughly a quarter of a wild bird's diet, so incorporating these plants into your landscape can go a long way in attracting these birds. At feeders, all Dark-eyed Juncos prefer millet, but will also consume sunflower seeds.
As Dark-eyed Juncos do prefer to spend most of their time foraging on the ground, if it is an option, spreading some seed directly on the ground or even simply allowing the ground below your regular feeders to accumulate small amounts of discarded seed can help to attract these birds to your yard. Tray feeders that allow for a wide open feeding area can also be successful in attracting these birds. Tray feeders (sometimes called platform feeders) can be hung from a traditional shepherd's hook or can also be mounted closer to the ground, although doing so may encourage squirrels and other wildlife.
Needing more energy and protein during breeding season, they will also expand their diets to include insects such as moths, butterflies, caterpillars, beetles, flies, wasps, and even ants. As always, we recommend limiting the use of broad-spectrum herbicides whenever possible to ensure these natural food sources are available.
Pictured: Dark-eyed Junco on Hanging Platform Feeder (Model# WWCF23)
Nesting:
Dark-eyed Juncos typically construct their nests in a depression on the ground or amid tangled roots. Occasionally juncos will nest above the ground on horizontal branches or in hanging ports or light fixtures, however it is much less common. After choosing a suitable site, the female uses her beak to weave nest materials together to frame her body. Materials used to construct the nest range from a fine lining of grass or pine needles to a more "typical" nest with twigs, leaves, moss, grass, and hair depending on the nest location; nests directly on the ground tend to have less materials included in the frame.
Nests measure anywhere from 3 to 5.5 inches across and 1.6 to 2.8 inches deep when completed, roughly 3-7 days after construction begins. Eggs are roughly 0.8 inch in length and 0.6 inch wide and color can range from white to gray or pale blue or green with a dusting of brown speckles. Eggs typically hatch after around 12 days of incubation and the young will fledge in an additional 10-13 days.
Pairs can have between 1-3 broods per year depending on weather and location. Each clutch typically consists of 3-6 eggs.
Similar species:
The Dark-eyed Junco has a vast range of geographic variation with a total of 15 described races. Of these, six forms are fairly easily recognizable in the field. Two widespread forms of the Dark-eyed Junco are that of the "slate-colored", found in the eastern Unites States and most of Canada and the "Oregon", found across a large portion of the western United States. The "Oregon" junco has the typical Junco build with a dark hood, brown back and rust flanks.
Share your Dark-eyed Junco stories with us below!
]]>Cardinals are fairly large songbirds. The best type of bird feeder for cardinals is one that provides enough space for them to perch and eat. A platform or tray bird feeder, hopper feeder, tube feeder, gazebo feeder or suction cup window feeder are all great options for attracting cardinals to your yard.
One of the best bird feeders for cardinals is a platform feeder with a perforated seed tray that allows for rain drainage. The open design of this feeder allows cardinals to easily access the seed and provides enough space for them to perch and feed.
Pictured: Hanging Platform Feeder (Model# CWF3)
Another great option is a hopper feeder that has a large tray for perching. A hopper feeder has a seed chamber that provides great protection from the weather, keeping seed fresher longer. A vertical hopper feeder has an extended base tray to accommodate larger birds and can also have feeding ports and perches on either side to increase the number of birds feeding at one time.
Pictured: Left, 3 QT Hopper Feeder w/ 2 Suet Cages (Model# CWF28) | Right, Farmhouse Vertical Feeder (Model# WWLF1-DECO)
A window bird feeder can allow you to get up close and personal to your backyard cardinals like never before! Most birds are comfortable coming up close to buildings to feed. When selecting a window bird feeder, make sure it has an opening large enough for them to be comfortable feeding in as well as sturdy suctions cups that will accommodate the weight of cardinals. To give yourself the best viewing experience, choose a window feeder with side-mounted suction cups that gives you a full view of your bids!
A tube feeder with large, strong perches can attract cardinals. Squirrel proof or gazebo bird feeders often have larger perches that can accommodate the size of a cardinals’ body.
Pictured: Squirrel Shield Pro Tube Feeder (Model# SPTUB-2)
The Northern Cardinal's diet consists of seeds and fruit, supplementing these with insects when available. Cardinals preferred seed types are black oil sunflower and safflower seed. You can also offer berries, crushed peanuts, cracked corn, or even small chunks of suet.
If you already own and are having success with other bird feeders, try placing the new feeder near the existing feeders. Place your feeder roughly 10 feet from a natural shelter such as trees or shrubs to offer a resting place for birds between feedings and quick refuge from any predators. Be careful not to put feeders much closer than 10 feet from trees or shrubs since it can increase the likelihood of squirrels. Remember, feeders should be hung or mounted closer than 3 feet from a window or farther than 15 feet from a window to help prevent fatal window collisions.
Cardinals are known to be early risers. They are most active at feeders during dawn and dusk but will feed throughout the daylight hours as well.
There are many factors that could be causing a bird to choose a different source of food. One thing to keep in mind is that birds are creatures of habit. It may also take some time for the birds to get used to a new landing pattern or learn the mechanics of getting out the seed from a new feeder. If you aren’t seeing any cardinals at your feeders in the first few weeks of having them out, try these suggestions to make sure you’re setting yourself up for success.
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Ranging from 7 to 10 inches in length and featuring a long straight, chisel-like bill roughly the same length as its head, the Hairy Woodpecker has a very standard woodpecker build with a square head and long stiff tail used for propping against tree trunks. Both males and females have a white underside, black upper wing and checkered lower wings with a boldly striped face and white stripe down the center of the back. The center of the tail is black, outlined by white border feathers. Males are easily differentiated by a flashy red patch towards the back of their heads.
Hairy Woodpeckers have a wide territory where they remain year-round encompassing most of the United States and Canada. Birds residing in northern territories tend to be larger than their southern counterparts. While western birds have much less spotting in the wings and narrower facial stripes, birds East of the Rocky Mountains are predominately white below with extensively contrasting spotted wings. Birds in the Pacific Northwest are a faint brown and black; giving off a coffee-stained appearance.
Left: Female Downy Woodpecker. Right: Male Downy Woodpecker
Attracting Hairy Woodpeckers to Your Feeder:
Hairy Woodpeckers most often take residence in mature forests, though they’re also found in woodlots, parks, and suburbs, as well as forest edges and open woodlands. As with other woodpeckers and insect eating birds, suet is a safe bet when trying to attract these checkered visitors. Suet feeders with extended bases provide space for these bottom-heavy birds to prop their tail for comfortable feeding, much like they would naturally on the trunk of a tree. Peanuts and black oil sunflower are also favorites of the Hairy Woodpecker. These can be fed in an open tray feeder for unimpeded bird viewing.
In summer months, it is not unusual to see Hairy Woodpeckers visiting Oriole feeders with grape jelly or even Hummingbird feeders with nectar.
Nesting:
Hairy Woodpeckers are cavity nesters and nest in dead trees or dying trees infected with a rot which makes the wood softer and easier to excavate. The cavity is often excavated in an angled branch with the entry hole positioned on the underside to deter other animals who may otherwise attempt to take over the space. When complete, the cavity will be 8-12 inches deep, widening toward the bottom and lined only with wood chips. Pairs will have 1 brood per year with an average clutch size of anywhere from 3-6 eggs.
Eggs are roughly 1 inch in length and 0.8 inches wide and are completely white. Eggs typically hatch within 12 days and the young will fledge in an additional 30 days.
Distinguishing between a Downy and Hairy Woodpecker:
Downy Woodpeckers are roughly two-thirds the size of Hairy Woodpeckers. Since this can be fairly hard to establish in the field, some birders use their feeders as indicator of size and scale. Another establishing feature of the Downy Woodpecker are distinguishable black bars on the white tail feathers in contrast to the all white side tail feathers of the Hairy Woodpecker. If the bird's bill is visible, the major difference in bill size. The Downy’s bill is roughly one-third the length of the bird’s head, while the Hairy’s bill is almost as long as the its head - a railroad spike in comparison. An additional, less reliable distinguishing feature is that the male Hairy Woodpecker's red patch is often split in two, while the Downy’s is not.
Left: Hairy Woodpecker. Right: Downy Woodpecker. Illustrations from the book "A Field Guide to the birds" by Roger Tory Peterson.
]]>These boisterous birds are slightly smaller than a robin, with iridescent black glossy feathers speckled in brilliant white spots. They might even have an attractive appearance if they weren’t so troublesome! Brought over from Europe, starlings were intentionally released in Central Park, New York by ornithologists in the 1890s who reportedly wanted to introduce every bird species mentioned by Shakespeare in his works. Since then, we’ve discovered that starlings can wreak havoc on crops, are naturally aggressive towards other birds (even injuring or killing them), spread disease, and are a general disturbance to people with their loud shrieks. Mainly ground feeding birds, starlings will use bird feeders in an attempt to extract the seed and toss it to the ground to eat, emptying bird entire feeders in the process.
Easily recognizable by their striking black plumage and iridescent bluish-purple feathers on their head, grackles are a medium to large-sized bird known for their intelligence and bold behavior. Commonly mistaken as invasive, grackles are native to North America, but have been deemed an agricultural pest for the damage they have caused to crops. Grackles are also aggressive in nature and can exhibit violent behavior towards smaller songbirds, raiding their nests and even killing adult birds, most of the time House Sparrows. Flocks of grackles can eat feeders clean in minutes, wasting your bird seed and discouraging your regular feeder visitors.
While there is no single tried and true method to eliminate starlings or grackles from your bird feeders, with a little trial and error, you can discourage them from raiding your feeders with these bird feeder and birdseed modifications:
Note: Upside-down feeders have been a successful way to detract starlings and grackles for thousands of backyard birders. However, these birds are persistent and will sometimes put in the effort to learn how to feed upside down. If you’ve got stubborn starlings or grackles on your hands, we’d recommend trying out one of the other tactics on this list.
Note: Because of their native status, grackles are protected under the Migratory Bird Treaty Act of 1918, which means it is illegal to capture, injure or kill grackles or harm their eggs.
What kind of birdhouses do birds like?
Bluebird House Mounting and Care
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These stocky, medium-sized songbirds are broad-chested with a short neck, large triangular beak, and medium-length tail that is squared at the tip. Measuring between 7.1 and 8.3 inches in length with a wingspan ranging from 11.4 to 13 inches, the Rose-breasted Grosbeak is a species with sexual dimorphism, meaning the male and female have very distinct coloration. Females and juveniles are fairly drab brown with heavy streaks throughout and a bold white extended brow. Breeding males have a black head, mottled black and white back, white underside, and it's namesake bright red upside-down triangular marking on the breast. When observed from below in flight females flash a yellow-tint on the underside of their wings while males flash a pinkish-red.
Above left: Female (credit James Kinderman | MaCaulay Library) / Above Right: Male
Attracting Rose-breasted Grosbeak to Your Feeder:
Rose-breasted Grosbeaks are long-distance migrant birds that winter in Central and northern South America and breed in the northeastern portion of the United States and southern portions of Canada. Grosbeaks seem to prefer second-growth woods, parks and suburban areas, gardens and orchards, and shrubby forest edges next to a body of water like a stream or pond.
Above: Male Red-breasted Grosbeak on Hanging Platform Feeder (Model# WWCF23)
The Rose-breasted Grosbeak's diet consists of seeds, fruit, and insects. Seeds preferred include sunflower seeds, oats, wheat, smartweed, pigweed, foxtail, and even milkweed. Preferred fruits include raspberries, mulberries, blackberries, juneberries and elderberries. Studies show feeders only account for roughly a quarter of a wild bird's diet, so incorporating these plants into your landscape can go a long way in attracting these birds. Rose-breasted grosbeak will also eat a wide variety of insects including beetles, sawflies, ants, butterflies, moths, and even bees. As always, we recommend limiting the use of broad-spectrum herbicides whenever possible to ensure these natural food sources are available.
Often frequent visitors of backyard bird feeders, these birds will eat sunflower seeds with vigor. Due to the Rose-breasted Grosbeak's stout stature, it is recommended to use a feeder with ample spacing such as the open feeding design of a platform or tray feeder, or a feeder with extended perch spacing for larger birds like a gazebo or hopper style feeder filled with black oil sunflower seed.
Above: Male Red-breasted Grosbeak on Paisley Sky Gazebo Bird Feeder (Model# GAZ-D2)
Nesting:
Both male and female work together to choose a location and construct the nest. Often nestled in a vertical fork of a sapling, the nest is built using sticks, grasses, decayed leaves, weed stems, or straw and is lined with rootlets, hair, or fine twigs. A finished nest can measure anywhere from 3.5 to 9 inches across and 1.5 to 5 inches high.
A typical clutch size can range anywhere from 1 to 5 eggs. Eggs are pale green to blue with burgundy or brown speckles and measure 0.8 to 1.1 inches in length and 0.6 to 0.8 inches in width. After a standard incubation period of roughly two weeks the eggs hatch and young will remain in the nest for roughly 9 to 12 days. Depending on weather and geographic breeding location, Rose-breasted Grosbeak can have anywhere from 1 to 2 broods in a season.
Do you have any Rose-breasted Grosbeaks at your feeders?
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For the hummingbird-obsessed
Squirrel-stopping statements
Bring the birds to her window
Vintage feeders she’ll love
Fabulous farmhouse feeders & houses
For the gardening mom
For the DIY grandma
Give her a helping hand
Does mom care for her hummingbirds like they’re her own children? Consider gifting her a beautiful new hummingbird feeder that will bring even more hummingbirds to her yard.
Modern shapes, bold colors, and floral patterns will make these top-fill feeders a statement piece in mom's yard. Limited space? No problem! Feed more hummingbirds in one vertical space with Easy Connect!
Gorgeous hummingbird feeder by day. Stunning lantern by night! Our best-selling illuminated hummingbird feeder includes a solar-powered LED that is sure to impress mom.
Inspired by our best-selling illuminated hummingbird feeder, these antique textured glass top-fill hummingbird feeders have a fresh new look with practical features! Take your feeder from hanging hook to tabletop with the dual-use decorative basket. A solar-powered LED light (ANTHF2-I only) transforms the feeder into a beautiful decoration at night.
Our mason jar hummingbird feeders are as cute as they are practical! With a 6 oz. capacity and an easy-clean, easy-fill design, it's the perfect gift for beginners or those with limited outdoor space. New for 2023, our antique teal glass and soft pink flowers will bring an old-fashioned style to the yard.
These single flower hummingbird feeders have one-of-a-kind look coupled with a bee-resistant design. They come in purple, pink or a red and yellow multi-pack.
Help her stop the squirrels in style with these brand new additions to our Squirrel Shield™ lineup! Multiple squirrel-stopping features work together to keep them at bay while the stylish designs are sure to become a statement piece in her yard.
Bring the birdwatching experience inside and help mom relax throughout the day as she observes nature through the window! Attract all types of birds to the window with a hummingbird window feeder or a seed window feeder – it all depends on what you decide to fill it with!
She’ll love the intricate detail on our new antique textured glass hummingbird feeders! A solar-powered LED light on the ANTHF2-I turns this model into an illuminated decoration at night. Our large capacity gravity feeder is bee resistant and can hold up to 28 oz of nectar!
Bring a decorative vintage feel to her birding experience with these decorative Easy Clean tube feeders! These feeders can be used for sunflower and mixed seed blends, or can also be converted to a thistle feeder with the thistle inserts, allowing her to attract an even wider variety of birds with a single feeder.
Have her try a new silhouette with a new gazebo bird feeder! Designed with a channeled and perforated base, these feeders have proper water drainage to keep seed fresh. The wide opening and push toggle roof make for easy filling!
What better way to welcome the birds to mom’s backyard than with our rustic and elegant collection of bird feeders and houses? See our top picks below and shop the entire rustic collection to find the perfect fit for the birding mom.
Featuring beautiful spring blossoms and butterflies, this versatile hopper feeder has two suet cages and a large 3 quart hopper, letting mom feed a wide variety of birds all in one feeder!
Take her backyard birds to the farmers market with an inviting farmhouse feeder! With multiple feeder styles in whitewashed and galvanized finishes, you’re sure to find the perfect fit for your farmhouse fanatic mom!
Help the birds make a home, sweet home in her backyard with these cozy farmhouse birdhouses! She can attract Bluebirds and Tree Swallows with a Bluebird house or wrens and chickadees with a wren house.
Help her plants reach their full potential without the use of harsh chemicals or pesticides by using a beneficial bee house! Gentle solitary bees are capable of pollinating up to 20 times the amount of flowers as honey bees.
Give her the gift of quality time with the grandkids and let her creative side shine with our My First series of build-it-together kits! These kits transform into fully functional houses as you guide a child through assembly and decorate them together. Help teach children the benefits of conserving and supporting wildlife while creating lasting memories in the yard!
Everyone could use a helping hand! Help make it easier to get the chores done by gifting the Handle-it bag clip! Handle-it is an all-in-one solution for storing and using big bulky bags of seed, feed, or fertilizer.
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Northern Flickers are a fairly large woodpecker with unique coloration that varies slightly by geographic location. Measuring approximately 11.5 inches in length, flickers feature a slim rounded head, a long slightly downcurved bill, and a longer flared tail that tapers to a point. These woodpeckers are a dusty taupe overall with richly patterned black spots, bars, and crescents on their backs and undersides and a black bib underneath their necks. For eastern birds, the undersides of the wing and tail feathers are bright yellow and the males have two distinct black batches extended from the beak down either cheek. In the western counterpart undersides of the wing and tail feathers have a red tint and the cheek patches are also red.
Above Left: Female Northern Flicker (Yellow Shafted) / Above Right: Male Northern Flicker (Yellow Shafted)
Above Left: Female Northern Flicker (Red Shafted) credit: Eric Ellingson | Macaulay Library / Above Right: Male Northern Flicker (Red Shafted) credit: Matt Davis | Macaulay Library
Attracting Northern Flickers to Your Feeder:
Flickers typically reside in open habitats close to stands of trees. This includes areas like woodlands, wood edges, yards, and parks. In the West they can be found in mountain forests all the way up to the tree line.
As with other woodpeckers and insect eating birds, suet is a safe bet when trying to attract these spotted visitors. Suet feeders with extended bases provide space for these bottom-heavy birds to prop their tail for comfortable feeding, much like they would naturally on the trunk of a tree. Peanuts and black oil sunflower are also favorites of the Northern Flicker. These can be fed in an open tray feeder to allow ample space for these larger birds to feed comfortably.
Since birds get only roughly 25% of their nutritional needs from feeders, it is important to remember to try to limit the use of broad spectrum pesticides and when possible leave larger dying or dead trees standing to help provide natural sources for the insects that make up a large portion of this bird's diet. Flickers also eat berries and seeds, especially in winter months. Including plants such as dogwood, sumac, wild cherry and grape, bayberries, hackberries, or elderberries in your landscape can also help to provide additional food sources and keep these birds close by.
Above: Male Northern Flicker (Yellow-Shafted) on Hanging Platform Feeder (Model# WWCF23)
Nesting:
Northern Flickers typically excavate nest holes in dead or diseased tree trunks or large branches. Because of this, look for nest cavities in tree species which are more susceptible to a heart rot, like Aspen or Alder, which makes for easy excavation. Unlike many woodpeckers, flickers will often reuse cavities that were excavated in a previous year. Nests are generally placed 6-15 feet off the ground, but can be located significantly higher in some cases. Both male and female help with nest excavation, creating an entry hole roughly 3 inches in diameter with a cavity between 13 and 16 inches in depth which is left bare with the exception of a bed of wood chips for eggs to rest on.
Eggs range from 0.8-1.4 inches in length and 0.6-1.3 inches in width and are solid white. Typically clutches contain between 5 to 8 eggs and hatch within 14 days. Young will remain in the nest four roughly 4 weeks before fledging.
Have you had any Northern Flicker sightings in your yard?
]]>Pictured: Male Anna’s Hummingbird
Here are 10 interesting facts you might not have known about hummingbird behavior:
Is it because they don’t remember the words? You may have heard this one before, but all jokes aside, the humming we hear comes not from their voice, but the sound of the hummingbird’s wings as they flap. When birds flap their wings, most species will create lift and drag on the downstroke of the wingbeat, making a “whoosh” sound. At 40 beats per second, hummingbirds create lift and drag during both the downward and upward stroke of each wingbeat! The force and volume of these wingbeats makes the familiar “hum” noise that earned the hummingbird its name.
A hummingbird has a tongue that can stretch twice as long as its beak. Their tongues are forked and are lined with lamellae, which are tiny, hair-like barbs that extend outwards as they open their beaks and stick out their tongues. When they retract their long tongue back into their beak, it coils up inside their head, wrapping around their skull. The average hummingbird’s beak can range from 15mm-21mm (.59in-.82in) in length, meaning its tongue can stretch up to 1.6 inches long!
As a hummingbird extends its tongue into a flower, dish or nectar feeder port to drink, the lamellae spread from the forks in their tongue, capturing the nectar by quickly curling back up towards the tongue and trapping it as the tongue fully retracts into their head. Hummingbirds can flick their tongues in and out of nectar as many as 20 times per second!
Pictured: Male Ruby-throated Hummingbird
Needing to eat every 10-15 minutes to retain energy, hummingbirds consume the equivalent of 150,000 calories per day for their metabolic rate! During the cooler months, many locations lack the flowering plants and shelter that hummingbirds need to survive. As fall draws nearer, hummingbirds will set out on their journey to find locations with better resources through the winter.
As you look for an attractive hummingbird feeder, chances are you’ll find an abundance of red, red and more red! Why do hummingbirds seem to gravitate towards this fiery color? Scientists have studied to find the answer to this tricky question. Research has shown that while hummingbirds have a heightened sensitivity to the red and yellow end of the color spectrum, they’re also attracted to many more colors that humans can only imagine - so don't let that limit your feeder choices!
Pictured: Female Allen’s Hummingbirds on Modern Hummingbird Feeder - Solid Red (Model# MHF4)
If you ever come across a hummingbird hanging upside-down from a branch or a hummingbird feeder, there’s no need to panic! The most likely cause of this backwards behavior is actually sleep. Hummingbird sleep, or torpor, is a state of lowered body temperature and metabolic activity that allows hummingbirds to conserve energy. Torpor occurs most often in cold conditions but can sometimes happen during hot days as the body’s response to save energy. Torpor can last anywhere from 20 minutes to an hour, so if you see a hummingbird hanging upside-down for a long period of time, leave them alone and they will eventually awaken in search of nectar to recover.
Seeing your sweet hummingbirds become bullies at the bird feeder can leave you wondering how something so cute can exhibit such hostile behavior! There are a few reasons why hummingbirds fight and chase each other around feeders and flowers. Although they’re one of the world’s smallest birds, these tiny fighters can show great aggression to claim their territory from other hummingbirds by charging, chasing, and even following the intruder far away from the feeding area.
Male hummingbirds will also chase and dive at females during courtship attempts. This impressive show of territorial behavior also allows the male to chirp loud and clear directly at their potential mates.
Although hummingbirds aren’t capable of producing complex songs like other wild birds, they do have a variety of chirps, calls, and squeals they use to interact with each other. What they may lack in vocal communication, they make up for in physical displays of behavior. Hummingbirds are known to show their feelings by chasing, tracking, diving, and charging at each other during displays of courtship and territorial defense.
Like other wild birds, hummingbirds are most likely to come out and visit a feeder around dawn and dusk, or early in the morning and late in the afternoon before sunset. But since they have one of the highest metabolic rates of all backyard birds, hummingbirds need to eat almost constantly to keep their energy up. That means hummingbirds can be seen feeding at various times throughout the day!
Pictured: Ruby-throated Hummingbirds on Artisan Gravity Hummingbird Feeder - Sunny Day (Model# AGF3)
Not all hummingbirds migrate! Most hummingbirds in the United States and Canada will travel south in search of nectar-rich flowers, insects, and longer daylight hours. But one type of hummingbird has begun to stick it out through the Pacific Northwest winters. The Anna’s Hummingbird has been known to stay year-round in regions ranging from Seattle, Washington to Vancouver, BC. How do hummingbirds survive the winter in these chilly locations? Winters here are mild, with temperatures around 45°F (7°C) during the day and only about 5 in/12 cm of snowfall per year. Many winter-blooming flowers, along with plenty of generous hummingbird feeder hosts, are able to provide the nectar hummingbirds need to generate the energy to stay warm in the colder weather and occasional snowfall.
Pictured: Male Anna’s Hummingbird on Illuminated Hummingbird Feeder (Model# GHF7)
Most hummingbirds are migratory birds, meaning they leave and return from a specific area seasonally. Hummingbirds have excellent memories. As they return from migration and end up in their ultimate destination, they will remember the source of their first meals - oftentimes coming back to the same feeders repeatedly. They have even been known to return to the same feeders and flowers from their birthplace! For the best chance of attracting hummingbirds to your hummingbird feeder, it is recommended to have them up and ready about two weeks before they typically return from their winter migration.
5 most common hummingbirds in the US & Canada
]]>Ruby-throated Hummingbird
Anna’s Hummingbird
Black-chinned Hummingbird
Rufous Hummingbird
Allen’s Hummingbird
Difference between Allen’s and Rufous Hummingbird
What hummingbirds eat
How hummingbirds nest
How to attract hummingbirds
Identifying Ruby-Throated Hummingbirds: Beating their wings on average 53 times per second, these quick little birds are a bright emerald green on the back of the head down to the tail. While both male and female have a grey-white underside, only the males have a very distinct ruby red patch on their throat. The shade of red and size of the patch can vary from bird to bird, with the feathers sometimes appearing very dark until catching the light.
Left: male. Right: female.
Where Ruby-Throated Hummingbirds Live:
This particular species of hummingbird lives in forest edges, meadows, grasslands, open woodlands, and in gardens, parks, and backyards. During the summer months of breeding season these birds can be found across the Eastern half of the United States and the southern portion of Canada. This is the only species of hummingbird found in the Eastern United States. Despite their small stature, most of these little birds make the amazing trek all the way to southern Mexico for winter months, while a small number may remain in the southern most tip of Florida.
Identifying Anna's Hummingbirds:
At just under 4 inches in length, Anna's hummingbirds are small in comparison to other birds but in the hummingbird realm they are medium-sized and somewhat stocky. Mostly pale gray on the underside with an iridescent emerald green back, tail, and wings (sometimes also extended around the abdomen), the Anna's hummingbird is distinguishable from the Rufous hummingbird because it lacks any orange or rust-colored markings. While sometimes appearing a dull brown without direct sunlight, the male's face and throat are covered with brilliantly colored fuchsia feathers.
Left: male. Right: females.
Where Anna's Hummingbirds Live:
These dazzling jewels can be found year-round along the western coast of the US and into Arizona. Occasionally Anna's hummingbirds can be seen in parts of New Mexico in winter months and in rare occasions they can be sighted north along the very coastal western strip of Canada.
Identifying Black-chinned Hummingbirds:
These quick little birds are a dull metallic green on the back of the head down to the tail. While both male and female have a grey-white underside, only the males have a very distinct black patch on their throat. The shape and size of the patch can vary from bird to bird, with a thin iridescent purple strip at the base, sometimes unnoticeable until catching the light.
Left: male. Right: female. [Photo credits to: Joan Gellatly | Flickr & ©Marky Mutchler | Macaulay Library]
Where Black-chinned Hummingbirds Live:
These hummingbirds inhabit the Western United States during breeding season. They can be found in Texas, New Mexico, parts of Colorado, Wyoming, and Montana and West to the Pacific Coast. They have even been found to travel as far North as the southern part of British Columbia. After the breeding season, some adults will first move to higher altitude mountain habitats where flowers are still abundant because making the long migration south to winter in western Mexico.
Identifying Rufous Hummingbirds:
These small hummingbirds are roughly 2.8-3.5 inches in length and have fairly straight bills and short wings that don't reach the end of the tapered tail when perched. Male Rufous hummingbirds are fiery orange in good light with a bright iridescent red throat. Females are green on their backs with rust colored feathers on their flanks, tail, and often a small patch of orange on the throat as well. Both male and female Rufous hummingbirds are aggressive and can typically be found performing aerial launches to chase off any other hummingbirds that appear, even in areas where they're spending only a short amount of time passing through for migration.
Left: male. Right: female.
Where Rufous Hummingbirds Live:
During summer breeding season this particular species of hummingbird resides mainly in the Pacific Northwest into the Southwestern strip of Canada in open or shrubby areas of forest openings, yards, and parks, and can also sometimes be found in thickets, swamps, and meadows ranging from sea level to about 6,000 feet. When in their wintering grounds in Mexico, these hummingbirds are found between 7,500 to 10,000 feet elevation in shrubby areas and thorn forests. These birds can also often be found in the Southwestern portion of the United States on their migratory path to Mexico although only for a short period of time while passing through.
Identifying Allen's Hummingbirds:
Allen's hummingbirds are rust orange and green all over. Adult males have a rust colored tail, eye patch and belly with a deep red-orange throat. Immature males and females have similar coloring with only small spots of iridescent bronze on their throats.
Left: male. Right: female.
Where Allen's Hummingbirds Live:
When the earliest signs of spring begin to show, as early as January, Allen's hummingbirds make their appearance in their breeding grounds along the western coast of California and Oregon. Males can be found in open areas of coastal scrub where they can be seen perched conspicuously keeping a close watch on their territory. The females visit these areas to find a mate but will retreat into the forest or thickets to build her nest and raise the young. There are two subspecies of Allen's hummingbirds; one which stays in California year-round and a second which migrates to Mexico during the winter months. These two subspecies are not distinguishable in the field.
Both Allen's hummingbirds and Rufous hummingbirds share many of the same physical characteristics and can be extremely hard to distinguish in the field, even by experienced birders. The only true way to decipher between these species is by subtle differences in the shape of their tail feathers. In the Allen's hummingbirds, all tail feathers are narrower than their Rufous counterpart. The Rufous hummingbird has a subtle but distinct notch at the top of the R2 feather (second from center).
Hummingbirds feed on nectar from tubular flowers and insects which they catch during flight or may even pull from spider webs or plants. Hummingbirds will also readily consume artificial nectar from hummingbird feeders. Nectar can be made using a ratio of 1 cup white sugar to 4 cups water. The use of dye or food coloring in artificial nectar is not necessary for attracting hummingbirds to a feeder and is not recommended due to the sensitive nature of these tiny birds.
Most nests are typically located between 6 to 12 feet above the ground on an exposed horizontal branch well below the canopy. Roughly the size of a large thimble (1 inch deep and 2 inches wide), the female builds the nest out of soft down held together with strands of spider silk and cocoon fibers. Nests in cooler areas will typically have thicker walls than those found in warmer climates.
A clutch size is typically 2 eggs that are roughly 0.3 inches wide and 0.5 inches in length. The tiny eggs are white and weigh less than half a gram. Eggs hatch in 12 to 16 days and will fledge the nest after an additional 21 days. Hummingbirds can have between 1 to 3 broods per season depending on the weather and breeding location.
Placing feeders near flower beds or planters may help attract more hummingbirds to your feeder. For the best chance of hummingbirds discovering your feeder, it is recommended to have it up and ready before they return from their winter migration. Be sure to research the migratory pattern of hummingbirds in your area to make sure you haven’t put your feeder out too late, since this can cause them to overlook it later in the season. Feeders with built in perches can help these tiny birds conserve energy and feel more comfortable feeding, prolonging feeding times and increasing hummingbird viewing.
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Eastern Bluebirds on Bluebird Box House (Model# CWH3)
Not all birds use birdhouses. Bluebirds, tree swallows, titmice, wrens, chickadees, and nuthatches all prefer to nest in a cavity, whether it be a tree cavity or a birdhouse. Wrens and chickadees will also use a hanging birdhouse that freely swings. Here is a complete list of backyard songbirds that will use a birdhouse:
Bluebird house:
Wren house:
It's important to select a birdhouse with features that benefit the birds while making it quick and easy for you to clean and maintain. Consider it an added bonus if it's a beautiful style! In general, it’s best to look for a birdhouse that has these features:
Tree Swallow nest in Bluebird Box House w/Viewing Window (Model# CWH4)
To protect nesting birds and their young from predator birds like starlings, grackles, and House Sparrows, make sure your bluebird house has an entry hole with a diameter of 1 1/2" for most species of birds, or 1 9/16" in diameter for Western Bluebirds. Wren houses should have entry holes with a diameter of 1 1/8" to accommodate wrens and chickadees.
Also consider using a birdhouse with a predator guard that extends the entrance hole. This makes it difficult for predators to reach inside the house.
House Wren on Bluebird Box House (Model# CWH3)
Birdhouses that are placed in sunny locations can become very hot, especially in extreme heat. Internal temperatures of over 107 °F can be harmful to the eggs. It’s important that your birdhouse has proper ventilation to promote airflow and cool the house.
Birds can see in color, with some species able to see even more colors than humans. There has been little scientific research to prove that birds prefer one color of birdhouse over another. While the birds may not be too picky about the color of the birdhouse they choose, as the birdhouse host, turn your attention more towards the safety and convenient clean out features of a quality birdhouse rather than the color.
Keeping safety in mind, there are some birdhouse owners who worry about birdhouses with a black roof. While a black roof may absorb some heat, as long as there is ample ventilation, the house will not reach unsafe temperatures. However, if you are located in a territory with extreme temperatures during nesting season, you should stay away from birdhouses that are completely dark in color (both roof and body) as it can absorb heat. Any birdhouse should receive some mid-day shade to protect it from overheating to provide for successful broods.
Birdhouses with perches should be avoided. Birdhouse perches can add a nice decorative feature to a house, but they can make it easy for dangerous predators to come inside the birdhouse. Birdhouse perches can also offer non-native invasive bird species greater access and allow them to kill young and take over the nest. All birds that use birdhouses are able to cling onto the entrance hole to enter and exit the house, making birdhouse perches unnecessary.
Because of its porous structure and ability to insulate well, the best material for birdhouses is wood. Cedar is the best type of wood for birdhouses because it is insect- and rot-resistant, durable, and naturally weather-resistant.
Pay close attention to birdhouses that have a metal roof. A metal roof is completely safe as long as there is a layer of wood underneath in between the metal and the nesting cavity. A metal roof with no insulating material between it and the nesting cavity can cause house to reach unsafe temperatures that can kill the young inside. You should also avoid birdhouses with a metal frame due to its heat-conductive nature.
Ceramic birdhouses should be avoided since they are heavy, fragile, and more likely to break and not protect the young if the house should fall.
Making your own birdhouse can be both fun and rewarding! The North American Bluebird Society has made available free-to-download fact sheets and plans for basic to moderate birdhouses.
If you’re looking for an easy DIY birdhouse kit with all of the same safety and convenience features as a traditional birdhouse, consider one of these My First house kits! Available in bluebird and wren styles, these build-it-together kits transform into fully functional houses. Build it yourself or guide your child through assembly and decorate them together. You can help teach your child the benefits of conserving and supporting wildlife while creating lasting memories in the yard!
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]]>House Wrens are very small songbirds with rather drab brown coloring, but what vibrancy they may lack in appearance they make up for in the beauty of their song. A small and compact bird with an overall length ranging from 4.3-5.1 inches, House Wrens have a flat head and fairly long, curved beak. Darker brown barring covers short wings and long tail. These birds often can be seen in a rather tell-tale stance keeping their longish tails cocked above the line of the body. In summer months, House Wrens are common in forest edges and open forests or areas with scattered grass and trees. Backyards, farmyards, and even some city parks are perfect habitats.
While these small birds may be fairly dull in appearance, it is their beautiful song which enamors many bird enthusiasts. Males often sing 9-11 times per minute when attempting to attract a mate. Songs are long, shuffled bubbling introduced by abrupt churrs and scolds. They are made up of 12-16 recognizable syllables. Listen to the beautiful song here.
Attracting House Wrens:
House Wrens feed mainly on insects like caterpillars, crickets, beetles, spiders, grasshoppers, and worms. They will visit feeders more infrequently when the weather is mild and these food sources are abundant. Since they rely mainly on these natural food sources, it is always recommended to limit or completely avoid the use of pesticides. Wrens can often be attracted to feeders with meal worms or suet. In addition, making sure to include native shrubs and trees in your landscaping can help to attract these birds by providing them with the cover they prefer.
Erecting a traditional hanging wren house, box wren house, or even a traditional bluebird house can also help to entice house wrens to your property.
Nesting:
Cavity nesters, House Wrens are not overly picking regarding location for their nests. From old woodpecker holes, natural crevices, artificial nest boxes, or even discarded shoes or tins unintentionally provided by humans House Wrens are fierce competitors for chosen nest sites, sometimes even evicting a larger species and claiming its cavity. The seemingly only requirement these birds hold firm to is that the nest sit be located within 100 feet from woody vegetation.
After selecting a nest site, a male House Wren while pile twigs into the cavities of several nest site options. These twigs fill the entire cavity and mound up into a barrier between nest and entrance, seemingly to protect the nest from cold weather, predators, or potentially even other birds that may attempt to disturb the nest. The male will then flutter from branch to branch in a tree or shrub nearby the next sites, singing loudly in attempts to attract a female. The female will inspect the sites and may choose whichever one is to her liking. Once a site has passed her approval, the nest cup itself is built into a depression in the twigs and lined with just a very small amount of feathers, grass, plant material, or animal hair.
Clutch sizes vary from 3 to 10 eggs that are roughly 0.6-0.8 inches in length and 0.5 inches in width and a light white, pink, or gray in color with reddish brown speckling. Eggs are incubated between 9 and 16 days and hatchlings will leave the nest in roughly two weeks after both parents take part in providing food and cleaning the nest to raise the young together.
Leave a comment to share with us your House Wren stories!
]]>These small stocky-bodied finches have large powerful conical beaks, shorter wings, and a seemingly short notched tail. Roughly 5 to 6 inches in length, these streaky grayish-brown finches are dimorphous, meaning male and female birds have different coloration. Male Purple Finches are a delicate dusky pink-red on the head and breast, mixing with brown on the back and cloudy white on the belly. Female Purple Finches have no pink or red coloration anywhere on the body. Instead, they are coarsely streaked on their undersides and have strong facial markings including a whitish eye band and a chunkier dark brown line down the side of the throat. Coloring can vary from bird to bird as the red of the male's coloring comes from pigments contained in its food during molt. This means the more pigment in the food, the more vibrant the male's coloration.
Top perch: breeding female Purple Finch. Bottom perch: breeding male Purple Finch. Feeder shown: Farmhouse Deluxe Easy Clean Feeder
Attracting Purple Finches to Your Feeder:
Purple Finches eat mainly tree seeds such as those from coniferous trees and elms, tulip poplars, and maples, among others. They also eat soft buds, nectar (consumed by biting the bases off flowers versus inserting their beak into the flower like hummingbirds), and a wide variety of berries and fruit, including blackberries, honeysuckle, crabapples, juniper berries, cherries, and apricots. In winter Purple Finches can be seen eating seeds of weeds like dandelions, ragweed, and cocklebur. Including some or all of these plants in your landscaping when possible can help to attract these birds to your yard. These birds also eat some insects, including aphids, caterpillars, grasshoppers, and beetles, so try to limit the use of broad-spectrum pesticides when possible to help increase these natural foodsources.
As with most birds, Purple Finches will readily come to feeders filled with black oil sunflower seed. As is typical for finches, these birds are very social and are often found in large groups. To maximize bird viewing, consider placing feeders with a large number of feeding ports like a tall tube feeder, or wide open feeding access like a tray feeder.
Nesting:
Purple Finch nests are often built far out on the limb of a coniferous tree or, in the southern portion of its breeding range, in deciduous trees such as cherries, oaks, and maples. An occasional nest may also be found in shrubs or among vine tangles. Nests are often built under an overhanging branch or structure for additional shelter and can be found as low as 2.5 feet and up to 60 feet off the ground. The female does most if not all of the nest construction using twigs, stick, or even root pieces as a foundation with an inner cup structure lined with softer animal hair and fine grasses. When completed, the nest will be approximately 7 inches wide and 4 inches tall.
A typical clutch size can range from 2-7 eggs. Eggs are approximately 0.7-0.9 inches long, 0.5 inches wide, and are a very pale greenish-blue to white with fine dark speckles. Incubation period is typically around 12 days and hatchlings are ready to fledge after approximately 14 days in the nest.
Distinguishing between a House Finch and Purple Finch:
Although these two finch species are similar in appearance they can be distinguished quite easily in the field. Both male and female house finches sport a more slender body with a longer tail sporting a shallower notch. The male House Finch's bold coloring is more of a red-orange limited to the face and chest area while the male Purple Finch is a rosier, pink-red coloring that extends past the face and down the back. The female House Finch have a more blurred streaking pattern in the brown and tan feathers on their flanks and also a plainer face. In comparison, the female Purple Finch is coarsely streaked below and has a pronounced darker brown line down the side of the throat and a whitish eyebrow.
When identifying between similar species it is also important to note the location and time of year. While these two species do have territory overlap, Purple Finches are typically only found in the United States during non-breeding months with the exception of the Western cost and most northeastern states whereas the House Finch is found throughout most of the United States year-round.
Left: breeding male Purple Finch. Right: breeding male House Finch. Photo courtesy of The Cornell Lab of Ornithology.
Left: female/immature Purple Finch. Right: female/immature House Finch. Photo courtesy of The Cornell Lab of Ornithology.
Leave a comment to share with us your Purple Finch stories!
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Black-capped Chickadee and American Goldfinches feeding from Deluxe Funnel Flip-Top Tube Feeder (Model# NMFFB-19)
The best place to hang a bird feeder is a location that:
Almost all types of bird feeders come with a built-in hanging hook, allowing you to hang it from your desired location. Whichever hanging method you choose, make sure it’s sturdy enough to support the weight of your bird feeder while it’s filled with seed!
There are an abundance of simple and decorative types of yard poles and hanging hooks available, from a traditional shepherd’s hook to a completely customizable and adjustable hook and display system. You may choose to install several hooks of varying heights for visual interest. Or you could transform an area of your yard into bird feeding statement area with a pergola or decorative trellis with hooks and spaces for feeders to be hung!
Here are some bird feeder hanging methods to help get you started:
Northern Mockingbird feeding from Farmhouse Hopper Feeder (Model# WWLF2-DECO)
While different types of birds feed at various heights due to the natural location of the insects, berries, seed, and flowers that make up their diet, most wild birds will come to bird feeders as long as they feel safe. Follow the tips at the beginning of this article to make sure your bird feeder is in the ideal spot to attract birds.
The best overall height for bird feeders is positioned about 5 feet off the ground, or at eye level. This height makes it convenient for refilling and cleaning your bird feeders.
The best way to view birds from your window is to put up a window bird feeder. Window bird feeders typically use a suction cup mounting system to allow you to mount them directly to your window. You can attract all types of birds to your window with a hummingbird window feeder or a seed window feeder – it all depends on what you decide to fill it with! Visit our blog post to learn everything you need to know in order to use a window bird feeder successfully.
House Finch pair feeding from Clear View Window Feeder (Model# WIN-3)
Birds will feed from a bird feeder whether it is in the sun or the shade. However, if you live in a location where you experience high temperatures, it may be best to place your bird feeder in a shady location, or a location where the feeder receives morning sun and afternoon shade, to preserve the seed or nectar longer.
Bird diseases like the Avian Flu, House Finch Eye Disease, or Salmonellosis can break out locally. It is important to remove your bird feeders if your local wildlife center recommends it. Occasionally, it may be necessary to remove your bird feeders temporarily to prevent the spread of harmful bacteria. As always, it’s extremely important that you keep your bird feeders clean so you can protect the health of your backyard birds.
If feeder pests like bears or racoons become a problem in your yard, taking down your bird feeders temporarily and/or at night can help get rid of these unwelcome visitors. Typically, if feeder pests do not have access to your feeders, they will seek out another location and your bird feeders can go back up.
Backyard bird feeding can be enjoyable and beneficial during every season of the year, especially in the winter. It’s a common misconception that birds don’t need to feed from bird feeders during the summer months. While it is true that resources like fruit and insects are plentiful in the summer, birds in vulnerable stages (like molt) will continue to look for easy sources of high protein and fat.
Still not seeing birds at your bird feeder? Check out our troubleshooting tips to help attract birds to your bird feeder!
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Recognized on the last day of the annual Christmas Bird Count, National Bird Day is widely celebrated to raise awareness of the treatment of birds in captivity and promote the conservation of wild birds. Many exotic and wild birds fall victim to bird trading or breeding, where they are deprived of their natural behaviors. To participate in the holiday, many bird lovers engage in birdwatching, declare support for reputable bird rescues and sanctuaries, and teach children about the importance of wild birds in our ecosystem.
In 1994, Congressman John Porter proclaimed February, one of the most difficult months in the United States for wild birds, as National Bird Feeding Month. Every February, individuals are encouraged to hang a bird feeder to provide food, set up a bird bath for water, and provide natural shelter or birdhouses to help wild birds survive. Additionally, backyard birding is an entertaining, educational, and inexpensive pastime enjoyed by children and adults that can relieve stress and bring you closer to nature!
The Great Backyard Bird Count is a free, fun, and easy event that engages bird watchers of all ages in counting birds to create a real-time snapshot of bird populations. All you need do to participate is watch and count birds for 15 minutes or more, at least once over the four days, February 16-19, 2024, and record your findings online at birdcount.org. These observations help scientists better understand global bird populations before one of their annual migrations.
Why do we love bats? Insectivorous bats are capable of eating up to their own body weight in insect pests each night, helping to keep your yard free of a variety of pesky insects including mosquitoes. These same “pest control services” also help keep a multitude of crops healthy by eating the insects that feed on them. Bats reproduce slowly, with females of most species giving birth to just one pup each year. Therefore, population recovery from any serious losses can be painfully slow and it is difficult to identify significant declines in the species until the situation has become dire. On National Bat Day, take some time to learn about what you can do to help increase the bat population and consider installing a bat house as a safe location for shelter and nesting.
Bird Day was first established in the schools of Oil City, Pennsylvania by Charles Almanzo Babcock, a late-19th century superintendent. Aiming to teach children about the importance of wild birds, Babcock introduced the holiday in his school system and later wrote a book, Bird Day; How to prepare for it which includes information on several common wild birds. Today, Bird Day is recognized on May 4 to foster interest in birds and to advance bird conservation.
In 1993, the Smithsonian Migratory Bird Center created International Migratory Bird Day to raise awareness for the urgent need for migratory bird conservation. Every year, a single conservation theme is celebrated to help highlight one topic that is important to migratory bird conservation. This year’s World Migratory Bird Day theme focuses on the importance of water for migratory birds and identify key actions for protecting water resources and aquatic ecosystems.
Global Big Day is an annual event held in recognition of World Migratory Bird Day. All you need do to participate is watch and count birds for at least 5 minutes and record your findings online at ebird.org. Your observations help scientists and conservationists better understand global bird populations.
Pollinator Week is an annual celebration in support of pollinator health that was initiated and managed by Pollinator Partnership. We love pollinators (like native bees and hummingbirds) because they help sustain a healthy ecosystem and ensure a stable food supply. There are many ways to celebrate Pollinator week, including planting for pollinators, hosting garden tours, participating in online bee and butterfly ID workshops, installing an insect house, and so much more! Find out more about Pollinator Week and how you can help protect pollinators at pollinator.org.
The Bald Eagle is the national emblem of the United States of America which symbolizes the strength and freedom of America. After suffering near extinction in the late 20th century, Bald Eagle populations recovered, and on July 12, 1995, the species was removed from the U.S. Federal Government’s List of Endangered Species and transferred to the List of Threatened Species. You can celebrate National American Eagle Day by learning more about the American Eagle, visiting a nature center, or watching a Bald Eagle nest cam!
With their iridescent feathers and lyrical flight patterns, it’s no wonder these small but beautiful wild birds have secured their own day of celebration! The hummingbird is celebrated annually on the first Saturday of September. Participating in Hummingbird Day is easy! Put up a hummingbird feeder, share photos, or search online to join in on the hummingbird fun. You can learn more about the most common hummingbird species in our wild bird identification guide or learn how to attract hummingbirds to your yard.
Rufous Hummingbirds on the Artisan Gravity Hummingbird Feeder - Sunny Day (Model# AGF3)
While the exact origin of Bluebird of Happiness Day is unknown, the bluebird has long been recognized as a symbol of joy, hope, good luck, and new beginnings amongst many cultures. Remember to celebrate the small joys of life on this fun bird holiday!
Eastern Bluebirds using Bluebird Box House (Model# CWH3)
Hosted by the Cornell Lab of Ornithology, October 12th is a 24-hour opportunity to participate in helpful bird research. All you have to do is watch birds for at least 10 minutes and report what you see online at ebird.org! Your observations will help scientists understand global bird populations.
The Christmas Bird Count was proposed by ornithologist Frank M. Chapman in 1900 as a response to the historic practice known as the Christmas “Side Hunt”. This holiday tradition was partaken by hunters, who would choose sides and compete for the largest amount wild game harvested. Concerned scientists created The Christmas Bird Count to help promote the conservation of wild birds, rather than participate in the decline. Results of the Christmas Bird Count help scientists study the long-term health and status of bird populations across North America. You can participate by going to audubon.org to find a participating location near you.
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This fairly large songbird is easily identifiable with its long tail, short thick bright orange beak, prominent crest, and long tail. Measuring between 8.3 and 9.1 inches in length with a wingspan ranging from 9.8 to 12.2 inches, the Northern Cardinal is a species with sexual dimorphism meaning the male and female have very distinct coloration. Male cardinals are a brilliant red all over with a black accent on its face directly around the bill.
Attracting Northern Cardinals to Your Feeder:
The Northern Cardinal's diet consists of seeds and fruit, supplementing these with insects when available. These birds can easily be attracted to a variety of feeder types and they can also frequently be found feeding on the ground, usually in pairs, below feeders as well. Black oil sunflower and safflower are seeds commonly fed to attract these birds.
Some common fruits and seeds that these birds eat that can be added to your landscape include dogwood, sedges, mulberry, hackberry, blackberry, sumac, and tulip-tree. Insects they feed on include certain beetles, crickets, katydids, leafhoppers, cicadas, flies, centipedes, and spiders so it is important to limit or avoid the use of pesticides in your landscape whenever possible.
Nesting:
Nests are often found 1 to 15 feet off the ground in a tree, shrub, or vine tangle, tucked into a fork of smaller branches hidden in the denser parts of the foliage. The breeding pair will often begin visiting potential nest sites one to two weeks before they start building. When the time comes, the female constructs the nest with the male sometimes contributing by bringing her materials which she builds into a cup consisting of four layers. The base layer consists of coarse twigs which is covered in a leafy mat, followed by grapevine bark, and finally topped off with a layer of grasses, stems, or pine needles. The finished nest is typically 4 inches across and 2-3 inches tall with an inner depression with a diameter of 3 inches.
Eggs are 0.9-1.1 inches in length, 0.7-0.8 inches in width, and are grayish to greenish white with pale gray to brown speckling. Clutches typically consist of 2-5 eggs and will hatch after an 11-13 day incubation period. Hatchlings will usually remain in the nest for an additional two weeks before fledging. While Northern Cardinals may have 1-2 broods per year, each nest is used only once.
Pictured: Male House Finch
Yes! Not all birds fly south for the winter. Why do some birds migrate and others don’t? It all comes down to available resources and a bird’s specific diet. Birds whose diets are mostly made up of nectar, fruits, or flying insects will find their food sources beginning to diminish as the weather becomes colder. These birds follow the weather pattern not because they would be unable to survive in the cold, but because it would take too much energy to forage for their food in that location.
Seed eating birds, and birds who eat insects on the ground or in trees, are usually the types of birds who can tough it out during the snowy season. Here is a list of the most common backyard birds that stay throughout the wintertime:
Did you know? Not all hummingbirds migrate! Most hummingbirds in the United States and Canada will travel south in search of nectar-rich flowers, insects, and longer daylight hours. But one type of hummingbird has begun to stick it out through the Pacific Northwest winters. The Anna’s Hummingbird has been known to stay year-round in regions ranging from Seattle, Washington to Vancouver, BC. How do hummingbirds survive the winter in these chilly locations? Winters here are mild, with temperatures around 45°F (7°C) during the day and only about 5 in/12 cm of snowfall per year. Many winter-blooming flowers, along with plenty of generous hummingbird feeder hosts, are able to provide the nectar hummingbirds need to generate the energy to stay warm in the colder weather and occasional snowfall.
For the birds who tough it out through the winter, the majority of their time is spent just trying to keep warm. There are several methods birds use to stay warm, depending on their species. Generally, shivering, fluffing their feathers, roosting, and cuddling are how birds keep warm in freezing weather.
Staying warm uses a substantial amount of a bird’s energy. When they must leave the comfort and safety of their winter shelters, it’s usually to find food. Birds spend much of the winter foraging for food under the snow, in vegetation, and in winter bird feeders. And when freezing temperatures hit, they need to seek out available fresh water sources that haven’t been frozen over.
Pictured: Male Northern Cardinal
In the wintertime, nights are long and dark, days are short and cold, and snowstorms threaten to limit the amount of time birds can spend hunting for food. In some locations, nights can be as long as 18 hours! With such little daytime to refuel, wild birds are constantly on the lookout for quick, high-energy food sources. That’s why feeding birds in the winter is extremely helpful for their survival. Learn more about how you can help winter birds survive and thrive in our winter bird feeding guide.
Water is essential to winter birds’ survival. All birds drink water, and with frigid temperatures freezing over freshwater ponds and lakes, birds may be forced to travel long distances for water, or they may even resort to eating snow (if there is any). Wild birds still bathe regularly, even in the cold winter months. It’s important for them to keep their feathers clean and in good condition to make it through the snowy season.
Even while they’re sheltering, birds are expending energy to keep warm by fluffing their feathers and shivering. A wild bird’s winter is spent in a constant cycle of finding and using energy just to stay warm. This, on top of limited daylight, scarce resources, and inclement weather, makes winter a tough season for birds to endure.
While birds are not entirely reliant on feeders to sustain them, bird feeders are extremely beneficial to wild birds throughout the winter as a supplement to their diet and a quick source of energy. Bird feeders keep seeds, nuts, and suet accessible to birds at all times, even during harsh weather conditions. Hanging a bird feeder baffle can help partially protect the contents of your feeder, keeping them drier and fresher.
Pictured: Male Northern Cardinal on Galvanized Weathered Hopper Feeder (Model# WWGF2-DECO)
Tall piles of snow and thick sheets of ice can make finding food in the wintertime challenging for birds. Most backyard birds are omnivores, with diets consisting of both plant-based and animal-based foods. Typically, birds will eat seeds from spent flowers, insects found under tree bark or in the ground, fallen nuts, or suet from feeders or scavenged carcasses. In the winter, you can use bird feeders to provide the birds with a variety of bird seed, nuts, suet or fresh and dried fruits.
Pictured: Blue Jay on Tail-prop Suet Feeder (Model# CWF1)
Contrary to what you might believe, birds don’t use nests in the winter. Bird’s nests are only built and used to nest and raise their young in the spring and early summer. So where do birds go when it’s freezing cold or a blizzard hits? Some birds can fly in snowy conditions, but most will shelter in place in dense vegetation, on the downwind side of trees, or inside a birdhouse or roost box.
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Having bird feeders stocked and ready can provide your backyard birds with the much-needed energy to survive and thrive this winter! Plus, they’ll make your yard busy with birds and give you a fun winter activity you can feel good about!
Pro tip: You may not think it’s as important to clean your bird feeders in the wintertime, but winter cleaning is just as important as any season! Keeping your bird feeders clean can prevent the spread of harmful bacteria and disease amongst birds. Get more cold weather birding tips in our winter bird feeding guide.
In general, it’s best to look for bird feeders that have these features:
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Suet bird feeders
Squirrel proof bird feeders
Window bird feeders
Hopper bird feeders
Platform bird feeders
Tube bird feeders
Suet is a high-energy food source that provides plenty of nutrition and fat to help keep birds warm in the winter. Many birds that typically eat insects in the springtime will eat suet in the winter months to fill the void when their usual food sources are not plentiful. You can attract a wide range of birds with suet including Woodpeckers, Titmice, Chickadees, and Nuthatches. To accommodate larger birds like woodpeckers, some suet feeders are elongated into a tail-prop design, allowing them to balance their body weight by placing their tail against the feeder. If nuisance birds like starlings and grackles are a known problem in your yard, try an upside-down style suet feeder to detract them.
Unlike some other wildlife species, squirrels do not hibernate in the winter. Instead, they forage and stash food in their den to feed on during the cold season, but still venture out in search of calories and fat to sustain them. If you know that squirrels are a problem in your yard, choosing a bird feeder with squirrel-resistant features will help keep these feeder pests at bay. Look for a feeder with a locking roof, collapsible perches, or a seed shield that will make it harder for squirrels to reach the seed inside.
Remember, the most important squirrel proofing step you can take is proper feeder placement. If a squirrel is able to reach over from a nearby foothold and avoid placing any weight on the feeder, it may be able to access the bird seed. To overcome this problem, allow for at least 18 inches/47 cm of clearance around the feeder. This will force the squirrel to climb or jump onto the feeder and cause the perches to collapse under the weight.
You may also choose to feed the squirrels and other wildlife by placing a corn feeder near the woods or in a separate designated location away from the bird feeders. Many bird enthusiasts are successful with luring wildlife to that location and keeping those unwanted critters off the feeders intended for the birds.
A window bird feeder is an excellent choice for any birder wanting to connect with nature from the warmth and comfort of their own home. Window bird feeders typically use a suction cup mounting system to allow you to mount them directly to your window, giving you the opportunity to view your backyard birds up close like never before! The Nature’s Way Clear View window bird feeder is large enough to accommodate birds of all sizes and keeps its contents covered. New to window bird feeding? Learn how to use a window bird feeder.
Larger hopper bird feeders are a good choice for the winter since they can accommodate a variety of small and large birds while giving you the option to feed seed and suet in one feeder. Look for a hopper feeder that has a wide opening for easy filling, removeable parts for thorough cleaning, and a large capacity for less frequent filling. It’s important to make sure your feeder has a seed tray with good water drainage to keep your bird seed fresh in the snowy weather.
Platform feeders are an excellent choice for any birder who wants to attract the widest variety of birds with virtually any type of seed. The open design of this feeder allows many birds of multiple sizes to feed at once, making for a busy and exciting experience! Consequently, its open design does leave it exposed to the elements and may cover the seed if snow accumulates. To combat the weather, use a protective baffle or place the feeder under the cover of an eave or tree, keeping in mind the 18 in/37 cm rule of thumb to deter squirrels.
The most important features to look for in a platform feeder are good drainage and quality materials. Choose a platform feeder with hardware that won’t rust and wood or bamboo that is resistant to rot and insects. A removeable tray with perforations for drainage will allow water to drain and air to flow while making it easy to keep clean.
If you’re looking to feed medium and small sized birds, a tube feeder might be the right choice for you. Tube feeders are a smart choice for winter weather feeding since the seed is fully enclosed in the tube and protected from elements. To maximize your bird viewing, look for a tube feeder that has a lot of perches and even-feed baffles that keep a constant seed level at all seed ports. Feeders with a wide funneled opening and a large seed capacity will make for less frequent and easy fillings. For specifically feeding finches, you may choose to replace the regular seed ports with thistle inserts, which come included with every Nature’s Way tube feeder.
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Looking for something cute, sweet and small? Slip one (or two) of our small capacity hummingbird feeders into the stocking of the bird lover on your list!
1. Our best-selling mason jar hummingbird feeder is as cute as it is practical! With a 6 oz. capacity and an easy-clean, easy-fill design, it's the perfect stocking stuffer for beginners or those with limited outdoor space.
2. Choose your capacity with our new traditional glass gravity hummingbird feeders! Select between 13 and 20 oz options which come with beautiful textured glass treatments.
3. These single flower hummingbird feeders have one-of-a-kind look coupled with a bee-resistant design. They come in purple, pink or a red and yellow multi-pack.
Birds come in all shapes and sizes, and so do our feeders and houses! Try out a new style of bird feeder to keep things fresh in the yard.
4. Try a new silhouette for your backyard birds with a new gazebo bird feeder! Designed with a channeled and perforated base, these feeders have proper water drainage to keep seed fresh. The wide opening and push toggle roof make for easy filling!
5. You can attract some of the most colorful birds, like orioles and bluebirds, with a specified bird feeder. Oriole feeders typically have dishes for jelly or nectar and spikes to feed fruit slices. Our bluebird feeder comes with a dish that you can fill with mealworms and spikes for suet balls or fresh fruit!
6. Feed more birds in the same vertical space by connecting multiple feeders from top to bottom! Our Easy Connect hummingbird feeders come equipped with a hanging loop at the bottom, making it easy to connect your feeders together.
Do you have a friend who shouts in delight when they see a hummingbird outside their window? A family member who cares for their backyard birds like their own pet? Consider gifting them a beautiful new hummingbird feeder that will bring even more hummingbirds to their yard.
7. Brand new for the 2024 hummingbird season, these beautiful antique glass gravity feeders come in a variety of shapes and colors. The continuous perching ring, lifelike flexible flower ports, naturally bee-resistant design, and easy to clean two-part base give these feeders hummingbird comfort and functionality from top to bottom.
8. Choose your capacity with our new trio of traditional glass gravity hummingbird feeders! Select between 13, 20, and 28 oz options and a variety of beautiful textured glass treatments.
9. You’ll love the intricate detail on these antique textured glass hummingbird feeders! These beautiful top-fill feeders feature a versatile dual-use basket for either hanging or tabletop placement. A solar-powered LED light on the ANTHF2-I turns this model into an illuminated decoration at night.
10. Gorgeous hummingbird feeder by day. Stunning lantern by night! Our best-selling illuminated hummingbird feeder includes a solar-powered LED that is sure to impress the bird lover on your gift list. This feeder comes in an easy-to-wrap box!
11. Our premium artisan hand blown glass hummingbird feeders serve as both a functional feeder and a beautiful decoration. Unlike painted glass or plastic, these feeders feature actual colored glass with a unique pattern only achievable through the artisanal process - ensuring that the colors remain bold and vibrant for the years to come! This 28 oz. feeder comes in Sunny Day and Spring Rain patterns.
12. Our mason jar hummingbird feeder is as cute as it is practical! With a 6 oz. capacity and an easy-clean, easy-fill design, it's the perfect stocking stuffer for beginners or those with limited outdoor space.
Backyard birdwatching is a relaxing hobby that's simple to try and fun to do no matter the season! Give the gift of fun backyard relaxation with these bird feeding staples for the beginning birder in your life.
13. A platform feeder is an excellent choice for any birder who wants to attract the widest variety of birds with virtually any type of seed. The open design of this feeder allows many birds of multiple sizes to feed at once, making for a busy and exciting experience! Available in 12"x12" and 10"x10" sizes.
14. Don’t be scared of serving suet! It’s one of the easiest feeds to offer and attracts some of the most interesting birds. A plain suet cake will attract woodpeckers, nuthatches, wrens, chickadees, and more. Try out one of our new single suet cake feeders to start!
15. A basic cedar hopper feeder can attract a wide variety of birds of all sizes. Easy to fill and clean, these feeders are sure to become a quick favorite! The attached suet cages give even more options for feeding and attracting birds. Available in 3 qt. and 6 qt. varieties.
16. There’s no better way to get to know your backyard birds than to invite them right to your window! This unique window feeder is built with a suction cup mounting system that attaches directly to your window, giving you a unique opportunity to view the birds up close like never before. Unlike other window feeders, this feeder comes equipped with four side-mounted suction cups, providing you an unobstructed view of the birds.
Know someone who's always complaining about the squirrels raiding their bird feeders? These pesky critters are constantly on the lookout for a quick and nutritious snack no matter if it's meant for them or anyone else! Help stop the squirrels in style with these brand new additions to our squirrel-proof feeder lineup.
17. Defend your bird seed with multiple squirrel-stopping features on our family of Squirrel Shield bird feeders! The weight-sensitive seed shield and quick locking roof on each feeder work together to keep squirrels out! The collapsing perches on the decorative hopper and lantern feeders make it harder for squirrels to gain a secure foothold on the feeder. Plus, no tools are needed to take apart and clean all of our Squirrel Shield feeders.
18. Protect your feeders from top to bottom with a Squirrel Shield baffle! With options to suspend above or attach below, these new metal and plastic baffles are perfect for adding that extra defense against pesky critters.
19. If you can’t beat ‘em, join ‘em! Hang a metal corn cob feeder anywhere in your yard for critter feeding fun! Or set out a hanging platform feeder in a squirrel-accessible location. They’ll soon prefer the easy to reach feeder and stay out of your regular bird feeders!
Home office giving you the blues? Bring the birdwatching experience inside and relax throughout the day as you observe nature while you work.
20. This unique window feeder is built with a suction cup mounting system that attaches directly to your window, giving you a unique opportunity to view the birds up close like never before. Unlike other window feeders, this feeder comes equipped with four side-mounted suction cups, providing you an unobstructed view of the birds.
21. Bring the hummingbirds to your window with our traditional window feeder! This feeder features built-in hummingbird perches to encourage longer feeding times and window-mount technology for the most up-close hummingbird viewing. Or customize your feeding options with our brand new 2-in-1 plastic dish hummingbird feeder! This feeder comes with a hanging hook and window mount, giving you the option to transform it from a traditional hanging hummingbird feeder to a window hummingbird feeder in seconds.
What better way to welcome the birds to your backyard than with our rustic and elegant collection of bird feeders and houses? See our top picks below and shop the entire rustic collection to find the perfect fit for the birder on your list.
22. Take the backyard birds to the farmers market with an inviting farmhouse feeder! With multiple feeder styles in whitewashed and galvanized finishes, you’re sure to find the perfect fit for your farmhouse fanatic friends!
23. Help the birds make a home, sweet home in the backyard with these cozy farmhouse birdhouses! Attract Bluebirds and Tree Swallows with a Bluebird house or wrens and chickadees with a wren house.
Have someone on your list who has everything?
24. Everyone could use a helping hand! Help make it easier to get the chores done by gifting the Handle-it bag clip! Handle-it is an all-in one solution for storing and using big bulky bags of seed, feed, fertilizer or ice melt.
25. The AdjustaPole system is a completely customizable and adjustable outdoor hook and display system; great for bird feeders and plants! This ultra-durable product is stronger than other traditional shepherd's hooks and resists bending or bowing.
It's never too early to get into birding! Help a child learn about birds while having fun with one of these ideas for kids!
26. Our My First series of build-it-together kits transform into fully functional houses as you guide your child through assembly and decorate them together. Help teach your child the benefits of conserving and supporting wildlife while creating lasting memories in the yard! Also available in wren, bee and butterfly house styles.
27. Improve your birdwatching experience inside and out by putting up this unique window feeder! Teach your child about local birds and how to attract them with different seed while keeping a log of which birds you see the most! This window feeder is built with a suction cup mounting system that attaches directly to your window, giving you a unique opportunity to view the birds up close like never before.
Got a gardener on your list? We've got just the thing to help their plants reach their full potential without the use of harsh chemicals or pesticides.
28. Attract gentle solitary bees and predatory insects to the garden with a beneficial insect house! Gentle solitary bees are capable of pollinating up to 20 times the amount of flowers as honey bees and predatory insects such as ladybugs and lacewings eat harmful plant pests such as aphids.
29. Improve the health and performance of plants in the yard with a pollinator tower! Hollow plant stems and pre-drilled wood blocks in these houses provide these power pollinators with the perfect place to lay their eggs, which ensures that you have these helpers around for years to come!
We've got a few ideas for the conservation-conscious shopper!
30. More sustainable and longer lasting than their cedar counterparts, our line of bamboo feeders are naturally insect and squirrel resistant. Available in platform, vertical wave, tail-prop suet and hopper feeder styles.
31. In the last 100 years, 50% of Midwestern native bee species have disappeared from their habitats. Help support the native bee population and provide them the perfect place to lay their eggs and reproduce with a beautiful farmhouse bee barn! See all beneficial insect houses for all available styles.
Give the gift of choice with our digital store gift card!
32. The Digital Store Gift Card arrives by email and/or text to the original purchaser. When gifting to a recipient, we suggest printing out the Digital Store Gift Card or forwarding your gift card fulfillment email.
Shop all the latest bird feeders.
Browse our tried and true best-selling bird feeders, houses and accessories.
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Pro tip: As with any migration season, it’s important to keep your bird feeders clean to avoid spreading diseases among birds. During fall migration, increase the frequency of your feeder cleanings to keep your backyard flocks healthy.
In general, it’s best to look for bird feeders that have these features:
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Hummingbird feeders
Suet bird feeders
Squirrel proof bird feeders
Hopper bird feeders
Platform bird feeders
Tube bird feeders
You might not think of fall as the best time to be feeding the hummingbirds, but these tiny travelers need a lot of energy to migrate south for the winter! If you already have an established feeder in your yard, don’t be afraid to replace it with a new one in the fall, or keep the old one in a nearby location. Once a feeding location is established, hummingbirds learn to seek out this rich food even if the location or appearance of the feeder is changed.
When it comes to the best color hummingbird feeder, the most traditional color for hummingbird feeders is red. However, researchers have proven that hummingbirds are attracted to a variety of colors. So don’t let color be a factor in your decision other than your own personal preference!
As resources dwindle due to colder weather, pests like bees and ants can become more aggressive in their search for food. Choosing a hummingbird feeder with a dome-shaped base can help deter bees while keeping sufficient space for the hummingbird’s tongue to reach the nectar - did you know that a hummingbird’s tongue can stretch twice the length of its beak? Many hummingbird feeders have built-in ant moats, which trap ants in a small cup of water before they have the opportunity to reach the feeder. Even if the feeder you choose doesn’t have a built-in ant moat, one can be purchased and installed separately if needed.
One of the most important features to look for in a hummingbird feeder is the ability to clean it thoroughly. It is inevitable that sugar water will eventually break down and cause mold, fungus, or other harmful bacteria to grow inside of a hummingbird feeder. To prevent mold growth, hummingbird feeders need to be cleaned frequently - at least every 4-5 days. Since you’ll be cleaning it often, make sure that your hummingbird feeder has removable parts that are easy to clean. Some feeders are even dishwasher safe!
We recommend having your hummingbird feeders out and filled with homemade nectar until about 2 weeks after you see your last hummingbird. This will help feed any latecomers on their way south.
Still not sure which hummingbird feeder is best for you? Use our hummingbird feeder selector and answer a few quick questions to get personalized results just for you!
Suet is a high-energy food source that can provide much needed nutrition to prepare for fall migration. Plus, many birds that eat insects to round out their diets will eat suet in the fall and winter months to fill the void when the insects they typically feed on are not plentiful. You can attract a wide range of birds with suet including Woodpeckers, Titmice, Chickadees, and Nuthatches. To accommodate larger birds like woodpeckers, some suet feeders are elongated into a tail-prop design, allowing them to balance their body weight by placing their tail against the feeder. If nuisance birds like starlings and grackles are a known problem in your yard, try an upside-down style suet feeder to detract them.
Squirrels are the most active in the spring and fall seasons when they are in search of food. If you know that squirrels are a problem in your yard, choosing a bird feeder with squirrel-resistant features will help keep these feeder pests at bay. Look for a feeder with a locking roof, collapsible perches, or a seed shield that will make it harder for squirrels to reach the seed inside.
Remember, the most important squirrel proofing step you can take is proper feeder placement. If a squirrel is able to reach over from a nearby foothold and avoid placing any weight on the feeder, it may be able to access the bird seed. To overcome this problem, allow for at least 18 inches/47 cm of clearance around the feeder. This will force the squirrel to climb or jump onto the feeder and cause the perches to collapse under the weight.
You may also choose to feed the squirrels and other wildlife by placing a corn feeder near the woods or in a separate designated location away from the bird feeders. Many bird enthusiasts are successful with luring wildlife to that location and keeping those unwanted critters off the feeders intended for the birds.
Larger hopper bird feeders are a good choice for the fall since they can accommodate a variety of small and large birds while giving you the option to feed seed and suet in one feeder. Look for a hopper feeder that has a wide opening for easy filling, removeable parts for thorough cleaning, and a large capacity for less frequent filling. It’s important to make sure your feeder has a seed tray with good water drainage to keep your bird seed fresh.
Platform feeders are an excellent choice for any birder who wants to attract the widest variety of birds with virtually any type of seed. The open design of this feeder allows many birds of multiple sizes to feed at once, making for a busy and exciting experience – especially in the fall when birds are migrating and plentiful! The most important features to look for in a platform feeder are good drainage and quality materials. Choose a platform feeder with hardware that won’t rust and wood or bamboo that is resistant to rot and insects. A removeable tray with perforations for drainage will allow water to drain and air to flow while making it easy to keep clean.
If you’re looking to feed medium and small sized birds, a tube feeder might be the right choice for you. To maximize your bird viewing, look for a tube feeder that has a lot of perches and even-feed baffles that keep a constant seed level at all seed ports. Feeders with a wide funneled opening and a large seed capacity will make for less frequent and easy fillings. For specifically feeding finches, you may choose a mesh feeder or replace the regular seed ports with thistle inserts, which come included with every Nature’s Way tube feeder.
How to prepare for fall migration
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Blue Jays
Cardinals
Juncos
Finches
Verdins
Chickadees
Hummingbirds
Orioles
Titmice
Catbirds
Known for their striking feather pattern and boisterous personalities, Blue Jays are among some of the most recognized backyard birds in North America. But did you know that Blue Jays aren't actually blue? Many brightly colored birds, like the Northern Cardinal, produce a brightly colored pigment, but a Blue Jay's feathers don't contain any blue pigment at all! Instead, they contain a brown pigment called melanin. Due to a phenomenon called light scattering, our eyes only perceive the feathers as blue.
Feeder pictured: Stained Glass Hopper Feeder (Model# WWTF2-UV2)
Eyes playing tricks on you? Surprisingly not! On very rare occasions, a genetic plumage variation called xanthochroism results in boldly colored yellow Northern Cardinals. It's estimated that there are two to three yellow Northern Cardinals spotted each year, making this golden bird one in a million!
Did you know that cardinals mate for life? During courtship, male Northern Cardinals express affection by feeding their females seeds in a method known as “beak to beak.” If use your imagination, you could say that the birds look like they are kissing!
🎵 Gone away is the Bluebird 🎵 Here to stay is the…snowbird? 🎵
Did you know that the Dark-eyed Junco is nicknamed the snowbird? Staple winter residents, these birds are said to bring with them snowy weather from their wings.
Have you ever heard of a bird igloo? Goldfinches have been known to make small burrows underneath the snow to help keep them warm in the wintertime. How else do they stay warm? The Goldfinch is the only known finch species to molt twice a year. After their late summer molt, they develop an undercoat of soft feathers to help insulate them in cold temperatures.
What makes the American Goldfinch appear so sunny yellow? It turns out with this species, you are what you eat! The bright yellow feathers on a breeding male Goldfinch is caused by the bird’s diet. Carotenoid pigments from the plants in its diet give the birds their colorful appearance.
Feeder pictured: Hanging Platform Feeder (Model# WWCF23)
The Verdin can be found in the southwestern most states of the USA as well as northern Mexico. While they're typically found foraging in trees and foliage for insects, these birds have are known for having a sweet tooth and often snack on fruits and even nectar from hummingbird feeders!
Feeder pictured: Mason Jar Hummingbird Feeder (Model# MJF1)
Can you crack the code? Chickadees communicate with intricate calls to convey information to their flock. Sometimes there is only one dee at the end of the chick-a-dee call and other times there are multiple. The more dee notes in a chickadee-dee-dee call, the higher the threat level!
Feeder pictured: Vintage Deluxe Easy Clean Tube Feeder (Model# WM4-S)
Bringing home the award for the most agile bird in the world, the hummingbird is the only bird that can fly backwards!
Out of every species in the animal kingdom, the Ruby-throated Hummingbird has the fastest metabolism of them all! Needing to eat every 10-15 minutes to retain energy, these tiny flyers consume the equivalent of 150,000 calories per day for their metabolic rate.
Feeder pictured: Illuminated Hummingbird Feeder (Model# GHF7)
The Baltimore Oriole is one unlikely pollinator. They help pollinate several tree species as they transfer pollen from tree to tree while eating nectar from their flowers. You can attract them to your backyard by offering them nectar, grape jelly, and orange halves!
Feeder pictured: All-In-One Oriole Buffet (Model# OFP1)
The Tufted Titmouse typically selects one seed from a feeder at a time. They shell it and hide the kernel within 130 feet of the feeder from which they obtained it.
Feeder pictured: Funnel Flip-Top Squirrel Resistant Feeder (Model# PSP2)
The Gray Catbird eats mostly berries and insects, but these birds will also round out their diets with bird seed. They've even been known to snack on a bizarre assortment of items including donuts, cheese, boiled potato, and corn flakes - although we'd recommend something more nutritious!
Feeder pictured: Hanging Platform Feeder (Model# WWCF23)
]]>Most birds are comfortable coming up close to buildings to feed. The types of birds you’ll see at your feeder will largely depend on your geographic location as well as the vegetation in your backyard. It’s important to select a window feeder that will accommodate the size and type of the bird you’re wanting to feed. For example, if you want to attract larger birds like jays and cardinals, make sure your window feeder has an opening large enough for them to be comfortable feeding in.
A window feeder should be mounted on a clean window using the suction cup mounting system. Try to mount the feeder on a window facing away from incoming weather patterns. When possible, place your feeder roughly 10 feet from a natural shelter such as trees or shrubs to offer a resting place for birds between feedings and quick refuge from any predators.
Just like with any new bird feeder, it may take up to two weeks for the birds to discover your window feeder. It may also take some additional time for them to become confident enough to figure out a new landing pattern or feeding mechanism.
If you’re still not seeing any birds at your window feeder after about 2 weeks, we recommend trying out a few of these tips to help the birds get comfortable with your feeder.
Suction cup bird feeders have been tested to hold quite a bit of heavy seed and can also hold the weight of birds as large 4 oz. Make sure you mount your window bird feeder according to the manufacturer's instructions for the most secure placement possible.
Millions of birds die each year due to reflective glass on our home windows. To help prevent fatal window collisions, a window bird feeder can break up the reflective surface of windows to decrease the amount of bird collisions. For more information on how you can retrofit your windows to prevent bird collisions, visit the American Bird Conservancy website.
Before mounting suction cups to your window, make sure it has been thoroughly cleaned to prevent any dirt buildup from getting in between the cup and the window. You may use rubbing alcohol on the suction cups and allow them to dry before installing.
Suction cups will adhere better to a warm surface. If you’re installing your window bird feeder on a cold day outside, try lightly warming your window with a hair dryer or other warming device to help it hold better.
Make it a habit to push in the suction cups each time you refill and clean your window bird feeder. Releasing any air bubbles that have formed will help improve the suction.
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In general, it’s best to look for bird feeders that have these features:
Skip to section
Hummingbird feeders
Oriole bird feeders
Squirrel proof bird feeders
Hopper bird feeders
Platform bird feeders
Tube bird feeders
Hummingbirds will come eagerly to feeders stocked with sugar water. Once found, they will learn to seek out this rich food even if the location or appearance of the feeder is changed. Although the most traditional color for hummingbird feeders is red, researchers have proven that hummingbirds are attracted to a variety of colors. So don’t let color be a factor in your decision other than your own personal preference!
If pests like bees and ants are a problem at your feeder in the summertime, look for a design with a dome-shaped base to help deter bees. This design helps prevent the bees from reaching the nectar while keeping sufficient space for the hummingbird’s tongue - did you know that a hummingbird’s tongue can stretch twice the length of its beak? Many hummingbird feeders have built-in ant moats, which trap ants in a small cup of water before they have the opportunity to reach the feeder. You may also choose a feeder without an ant moat and add a separate one later.
One of the most important features to look for in a hummingbird feeder is the ability to clean it thoroughly. It is inevitable that sugar water will eventually break down and cause mold, fungus, or other harmful bacteria to grow inside of a hummingbird feeder – especially in the summer heat! To prevent mold growth, hummingbird feeders need to be cleaned frequently - at least every 4-5 days. Since you’ll be cleaning it often, make sure that your hummingbird feeder has removable parts that are easy to clean. Some feeders are even dishwasher safe!
Still not sure which hummingbird feeder is best for you? Use our hummingbird feeder selector and answer a few quick questions to get personalized results just for you!
Feeding the orioles can be a summer treat! With one of the shortest migratory seasons, most orioles start returning south for the winter around August and September. Since their diet is composed mainly of nectar and ripe fruit, Oriole feeders typically have dishes for jelly or nectar and spikes to feed fruit slices. When selecting an Oriole feeder, look for one that has a protective baffle that shields the feeder and its contents from the weather to keep them fresher longer. Since the sweet offerings of an Oriole feeder can attract unwanted pests, some Oriole feeders have bee-resistant and ant-resistant features to keep them at bay. To encourage the Orioles to feed for a longer period of time, use a feeder with built-in perches so they can stop and rest.
Squirrels are an ever-present nuisance at bird feeders no matter the season. If you know that squirrels are a problem in your yard, choosing a bird feeder with squirrel-resistant features will help keep these feeder pests at bay. Look for a feeder with a locking roof, collapsible perches, or a seed shield that will make it harder for squirrels to reach the seed inside.
Remember, the most important squirrel proofing step you can take is proper feeder placement. If a squirrel is able to reach over from a nearby foothold and avoid placing any weight on the feeder, it may be able to access the bird seed. To overcome this problem, allow for at least 18 inches/47 cm of clearance around the feeder. This will force the squirrel to climb or jump onto the feeder and cause the perches to collapse under the weight.
Hopper bird feeders are a good choice for the summertime since they can accommodate a variety of small and large birds. Look for a hopper feeder that has a wide opening for easy filling and removeable parts for thorough cleaning. Since the summertime can bring unpredictable weather and rain, it’s important to make sure your feeder has a seed tray with good drainage to keep your bird seed fresh, even in the heat.
Platform feeders are an excellent choice for any birder who wants to attract the widest variety of birds with virtually any type of seed. The open design of this feeder allows many birds of multiple sizes to feed at once, making for a busy and exciting experience! The most important features to look for in a platform feeder are good drainage and quality materials. Choose a platform feeder with hardware that won’t rust and wood or bamboo that is resistant to rot and insects. A removeable tray with perforations for drainage will allow water to drain and air to flow while making it easy to keep clean.
If you’re looking to feed medium and small sized birds, a tube feeder might be the right choice for you. To maximize your bird viewing, look for a tube feeder that has a lot of perches and even-feed baffles that keep a constant seed level at all seed ports. Feeders with a wide funneled opening and a large seed capacity will make for less frequent and easy fillings. For specifically feeding finches, you may choose a mesh feeder or replace the regular seed ports with thistle inserts, which come included with every Nature’s Way tube feeder.
Get 30% off storewide now through June 13th, 2023! Use code DAD30 at checkout. See offer details.
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For the dad who has it all
For the hummingbird host
For the different dad
For the oriole obsessed
For the basic birder
For the squirrel stopper
For the finch feeder
For the gardening dad
For the DIY dad
We could all use a helping hand in the yard! The Handle-it Bag Clip is the all-in-one solution for using and storing big bulky bags of bird seed, lawn fertilizer, pet food and more! Simply clip and secure the Handle-it Bag Clip onto bags up to 40 lbs and up to 16” wide and use the built-in handle to carry them back and forth as you complete your chores. The built-in funnel and pour spout make precision pouring easy with less mess to clean up afterwards. Eliminate the need for extra bulky storage bins and maximize organization in your garage or shed.
Is dad on hummingbird watch this year? Help make it easy for him to care for his hummingbirds with a beautiful new feeder that’s easy to clean and loved by the birds.
Birds come in all shapes and sizes, and so do our feeders! You can bring the birdwatching experience inside and help dad observe nature through the window. Or try out a colorful and durable metal gazebo feeder! Help him attract a beautiful bluebird with a bluebird feeder that allows you to feed mealworms, fruit slices, and suet balls simultaneously!
Orioles are a must-see on any backyard birder’s list. Although they’re known to be more skittish than other birds, you can attract orioles to a bird feeder by offering jelly, nectar and fruit slices.
Whether he’s a beginning birder or a seasoned expert, you can’t go wrong with these birding staples! Made with rot-resistant cedar and rust-free hardware, these basic essentials will be sure to give dad years of birding enjoyment.
Help him keep the squirrels at bay with a new Squirrel Shield lantern feeder or hopper feeder! These feeders feature locking roofs and weight-sensitive seed covers that block the squirrel's access to seed.
Does dad love feeding these frequent feeder visitors? Gift him with a specialized mesh finch feeder or gift him with choice! All Nature’s Way tube feeders come with thistle inserts that allow you to feed smaller seed like Nyjer® or finch blends with less spillage.
Help the plants in dad’s garden reach their full potential without the use of harsh chemicals or pesticides by using a beneficial bee house! Gentle solitary bees are capable of pollinating up to 20 times the amount of flowers as honey bees.
For the dad or grandpa who loves building projects with the kids, our My First series of DIY kits are the perfect gift! These kits transform into fully functional houses as you guide a child through assembly and decorate them together. Help teach children the benefits of conserving and supporting wildlife while creating lasting memories in the yard!
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Northern Cardinal
Blue Jay
Eastern Bluebird
Ruby-throated Hummingbird
Black-chinned Hummingbird
Anna’s Hummingbird
Baltimore Oriole
Red-winged Blackbird
Mourning Dove
American Goldfinch
House Finch
Downy Woodpecker
Black-capped Chickadee
Tufted Titmouse
White-breasted Nuthatch
Pileated Woodpecker
Tree Swallow
This fairly large songbird is easily identifiable with its long tail, short thick bright orange beak, prominent crest, and long tail. Measuring between 8.3 and 9.1 inches in length with a wingspan ranging from 9.8 to 12.2 inches, the Northern Cardinal is a species with sexual dimorphism meaning the male and female have very distinct coloration. Male cardinals are a brilliant red all over with a black accent on its face directly around the bill.
Female Northern Cardinal (above left) / Male Northern Cardinal (above right).
Click here to learn more about the Northern Cardinal.
A large-crested songbird with broad, rounded tail, Blue Jays measure on average 9-12 inches from bill to tail with a wingspan of 13-17 inches (smaller than crows and larger than robins). With a white or light gray underneath, various shades of blue above, and a bold black "necklace", the Blue Jay is aptly named and can bring a wonderfully vivid pop of color to your feeders. Its tail and wings are barred with black, and it has a bold white wing bar (a distinct field mark on the top of a bird's wing caused by contrasting colors on the tips of the primary and secondary coverts).
Click here to learn more about the Blue Jay.
Eastern Bluebirds are small, beautifully colored thrushes. Averaging between 6-8 inches in length with a wingspan ranging from 9-12 inches (slightly larger than sparrows but smaller than robins), these blue beauties are fairly easy to identify. They can often be seen perched in a somewhat "hunched" position on wires or fences in fields and open woodlands. The adult male bluebird has a vibrant blue back, head, and tail that are hard to miss, especially during breeding season. A rust colored accent across the throat and breast above the white belly clearly distinguish the Eastern Bluebird from its Mountain Bluebird relative. Female markings mimic those of the male but in more subdued hues - their "blue" can often look more like a shade of grey.
Top: Male. Bottom: Female.
Click here to learn more about the Eastern Bluebird.
Beating their wings on average 53 times per second, these quick little birds are a bright emerald green on the back of the head down to the tail. While both male and female have a grey-white underside, only the males have a very distinct ruby red patch on their throat. The shade of red and size of the patch can vary from bird to bird, with the feathers sometimes appearing very dark until catching the light.
Left: male. Right: female.
Click here to learn more about the Ruby-throated Hummingbird.
These quick little birds are a dull metallic green on the back of the head down to the tail. While both male and female have a grey-white underside, only the males have a very distinct black patch on their throat. The shape and size of the patch can vary from bird to bird, with a thin iridescent purple strip at the base, sometimes unnoticeable until catching the light.
Left: male . Right: female. [Photo credits to: Joan Gellatly | Flickr & ©Marky Mutchler | Macaulay Library]
Click here to learn more about the Black-chinned Hummingbird.
At just under 4 inches in length, Anna's hummingbirds are small in comparison to other birds but in the hummingbird realm they are medium-sized and somewhat stocky. Mostly pale gray on the underside with an iridescent emerald green back, tail, and wings (sometimes also extended around the abdomen), the Anna's hummingbird is distinguishable from the Rufous hummingbird because it lacks any orange or rust-colored markings. While sometimes appearing a dull brown without direct sunlight, the male's face and throat are covered with brilliantly colored fuchsia feathers.
Left: male. Right: females.
Click here to learn more about the Anna’s Hummingbird.
Slightly smaller and more slender than an American Robin, Baltimore Orioles range from 6.7 to 7.5 inches in length and feature long legs, a thick neck, and long pointed bills. Adult male Baltimore Orioles have black feathers on their head and wings, bright orange tell-tale plumage on their chest and underside, and a single solid white bar on each wing. Females and immature males are a more muted yellow-orange with grayish shading on the head, and gray wings with two white bars on each wing.
Above left: A female Baltimore Oriole on a specialized jelly and orange feeder.
Above right: A male Baltimore Oriole on a specialized feeder offering nectar, jelly, and oranges.
Click here to learn more about the Baltimore Oriole.
Roughly the same size as robins, breeding male Red-winged Blackbirds are pretty hard to mistake. Average length beak to tail ranges from 7-9 inches with a wingspan of 12-16 inches. True to their name, these stocky, broad-shouldered blackbirds have bold red and yellow shoulder patches on either side. The females look much different with a streaked brown and tan pattern. Nonbreeding male Red-winged black birds' pattern looks somewhat like a marriage of the two: paler, often incomplete red shoulder patches with some tan streaking showing through the black.
Left: Breeding male. Middle: Female. Right: Nonbreeding male.
Click here to learn more about Red-winged Blackbirds.
Plump-bodied and long-tailed birds with short legs, Mourning doves range from 9-13.5 inches from beak to tail with a wingspan of around 17.5 inches. These birds have a small bill, short reddish colored legs, and a head that looks small in comparison to the body. Their coloration is typically light grey and brown and generally muted in color with a dusting of larger black spots on their lower wings.
Click here to learn more about the Mourning Dove.
This small finch has a short conical bill and a short, notched tail. American Goldfinches are typically 4.5"-5" in length with a wingspan of roughly 7.5"-8.5". During early spring and summer months, breeding males have a vibrant yellow body with a black forehead and black wings with white markings above and beneath the tail. Adult females share the same color pattern but in much more dull tones that may appear more olive or tan in color.
During winter months, these birds are drab, solid olive or light brown with blackish wings and two pale wing bars. In fact, the American Goldfinches are the only finch that molts body feathers twice a year, once in late winter and again in late summer. Spotting a male Goldfinch with brightening yellow feathers in early spring is one of the welcome signs of approaching warmer months!
Left: Male. Right: Female.
Click here to learn more about the American Goldfinch.
These small bodied finches have large beaks, shorter wings, and a comparably long slightly notched tail. Roughly 5 to 5.5 inches in length, these streaky grayish-brown finches are dimorphous, with the males distinctly marked by rosy red coloring around the face and upper breast. Coloring can vary from bird to bird as the red of a male House Finch comes from pigments contained in its food during molt. This means the more pigment in the food, the redder the male.
Pictured: Male and female.
Distinguishing between a House Finch and Purple Finch:
Although these two finch species are similar in appearance they can be distinguished quite easily in the field. Both male and female house finches sport a more slender body with a longer tail sporting a shallower notch. The male House Finch's bold coloring is more of a red-orange limited to the face and chest area while the male Purple Finch is a rosier, pink-red coloring that extends past the face and down the back. The female House Finch have a more blurred streaking pattern in the brown and tan feathers on their flanks and also a plainer face. In comparison, the female Purple Finch is coarsely streaked below and has a pronounced darker brown line down the side of the throat and a whitish eyebrow.
When identifying between similar species it is also important to note the location and time of year. While these two species do have territory overlap, Purple Finches are typically only found in the United States during non-breeding months with the exception of the Western cost and most northeastern states whereas the House Finch is found throughout most of the United States year-round.
Left: breeding male Purple Finch. Right: breeding male House Finch. Photo courtesy of The Cornell Lab of Ornithology.
Left: female/immature Purple Finch. Right: female/immature House Finch. Photo courtesy of The Cornell Lab of Ornithology.
Click here to learn more about the House Finch.
Ranging from 5.5 to 6.7 inches in length and featuring a straight, chisel-like bill, blocky head, and wide shoulders, the Downy Woodpecker is a small version of the standard woodpecker build. Compared to other woodpeckers, the Downy Woodpecker's bill is significantly smaller in relation to its head, however it is still a forceful tool for extracting insects from trees. Sporting a black and white checkered appearance, both males and females have a white underside, black upper wing and checkered lower wings with a boldly striped face and white stripe down the center of the back. The center of the tail is black, outlined by white border feathers that are typically lightly speckled with black spots. Males are easily differentiated by a bold red patch on the back of their heads.
Left: Female Downy Woodpecker. Right: Male Downy Woodpecker
Distinguishing between a Downy and Hairy Woodpecker:
Downy Woodpeckers are roughly two-thirds the size of Hairy Woodpeckers. Since this can be fairly hard to establish in the field, some birders use their feeders as indicator of size and scale. Another establishing feature of the Downy Woodpecker are distinguishable black bars on the white tail feathers in contrast to the all white side tail feathers of the Hairy Woodpecker. If the bird's bill is visible, the major difference in bill size. The Downy’s bill is roughly one-third the length of the bird’s head, while the Hairy’s bill is almost as long as the its head - a railroad spike in comparison. An additional, less reliable distinguishing feature is that the male Hairy Woodpecker's red patch is often split in two, while the Downy’s is not.
Left: Hairy Woodpecker. Right: Downy Woodpecker. Illustrations from the book "A Field Guide to the birds" by Roger Tory Peterson.
Click here to learn more about the Downy Woodpecker.
This tiny bird has a short neck and a large head, giving it a distinctive round body shape. Chickadees measure 4.5-6 inches from beak to tail on average with a wingspan of 6-8 inches. With a gray back and white belly, these birds have a very distinct black cap and "beard" accented by white cheeks, helping make them fairly easy to identify.
Click here to learn more about the Black-capped Chickadee.
This small songbird has soft silvery gray feathers above and white feathers below. A black patch just above the beak and a rusty or peach-colored wash underneath the wings are helpful identifiers. Tufted Titmice are roughly 5.5"-6.3" from beak tip to tail with a wingspan of 7.9"-10.2". These birds are regular visitors to bird feeders, and can be a treat to watch, the tuft of feathers at the front of its head communicating much of its emotions and "attitude".
Click here to learn more about the Tufted Titmouse.
The largest of the nuthatches, the White-breasted nuthatch is still a small bird averaging 5" to 5.5" in length with a wingspan ranging from 8"-10.5". With gray-blue coloring on the back, a white face, and white underparts this bird features a very short tail. Typical of most nuthatches, the White-breasted nuthatch has a large head and almost no neck. Its long, narrow bill is straight or sometimes slightly upturned. Males feature a black cap that runs from the beak down the back of the neck (on females this cap is dark gray). Most commonly found in woods and woodland edges of deciduous forests, these agile birds can often be seen creeping along tree trunks and large branches, often turned sideways and upside-down on vertical surfaces as they forage.
Click here to learn more about the White-breasted Nuthatch.
This large woodpecker has a long neck, a distinctive triangular red crest that sweeps off the back of the head, and a long chisel-like bill. Average length from beak to tail ranges from 16-19 inches and the wingspan can be as large as 26-29 inches. Both male and female have black bodies with white stripes on the face and neck. Males can be distinguished by the red stripe on the cheek.
Pictured: Male
Click here to learn more about the Pileated Woodpecker.
These small, streamlined songbirds have a short slightly notched tail and long pointed wings. Measuring between 4.7 and 5.9 inches in length with a wingspan ranging from 11.8 to 13.8 inches, these iridescent passerine are known for their aerial displays while foraging insects midair. Adult males have white undersides cloaked with shimmering blue-green feathers on their head and back with blackish wings and tail and a thin black eye mask. Females appearance varies only in the intensity of blue, with their feathers being somewhat duller at times with more brown feathers in their upperparts.
Click here to learn more about the Tree Swallow.
]]>Two important notes: 1) If you’ll be planting native perennials or annuals, be sure to check your hardiness zone! Native plants are great for your garden because they attract native insects, don’t need artificial fertilizers or pesticides, and are preferred by birds and other wildlife. 2) If you plant seed-bearing plants, don’t prune them back at the end of the season to attract even more wild birds. Non-migratory birds love to eat the seeds from the spent flowers, especially in the wintertime when other food sources are scarce.
Try filling your garden with a few of these beautiful blooms to bring more hummingbirds to your home this season!
Bee balm is one of the hummingbirds’ favorite flowers! This tubular perennial is easy to care for and gives off a fresh minty aroma. Blooms occur in mid-summer, and you can stimulate a second flowering by deadheading the flower buds immediately after they’ve finished blooming to give the hummingbirds some extra nectar as they prepare for fall migration.
Plant type |
Perennial |
Hardiness zones |
4-9 |
Sun exposure |
Full, partial |
Bloom time |
Summer |
Columbine is the perfect plant to attract the first hummingbirds of season! Its nectar-filled spurs attract a variety of pollinators and coincides with the return of migratory hummingbirds around May. If columbine is on your list, make sure you plant it early to take full advantage of its spring blooms!
Plant type |
Perennial |
Hardiness zones |
3-8 |
Sun exposure |
Full, partial |
Bloom time |
Spring to summer |
Petunias produce a sugary nectar that hummingbirds love. Their vast color variety makes them an attractive choice to add color to your garden, hanging baskets, or containers. Place them near your hummingbird feeder for best chance of hummingbird sightings!
Plant type |
Annual |
Hardiness zones |
10-11 |
Sun exposure |
Full |
Bloom time |
Spring to fall |
Zinnias are a great choice for adding colorful blooms to your summer garden and are well-loved by hummingbirds. As a bonus, each zinnia head is packed with seeds which are a favorite of finches!
Plant type |
Annual |
Hardiness zones |
2-8 |
Sun exposure |
Full |
Bloom time |
Spring to fall |
The flowers from the butterfly bush not only attract butterflies but are especially attractive to hummingbirds because of their high nectar count. These hardy bushes come in a variety of colors that are sure to bring bright blooms and hummingbirds to your garden. Look for the gorgeous tri-color variant for even more bursts of color!
Plant type |
Perennial |
Hardiness zones |
5-9 |
Sun exposure |
Full |
Bloom time |
Summer to fall |
This drought-loving perennial is the perfect choice for warmer, dry climates. Hummingbirds love the tubular shape of its flowers and the sweet nectar insides. If you reside in a cooler climate, you can still plant salvia as an annual in the summertime after the first frost, or choose a variety that works well for your hardiness zone.
Plant type |
Perennial |
Hardiness zones |
10-11 |
Sun exposure |
Full, partial |
Bloom time |
Summer to fall |
Penstemon, or desert beardtongue, thrives in hot, sunny, dry climates. This springtime bloomer brings much-needed nectar to hummingbirds early in the season as they migrate north. Ranging in color from pinks and reds to purples, hummingbirds love the tubular shape of the flowers, making penstemon a great addition to a drought tolerant garden.
Plant type |
Perennial |
Hardiness zones |
3-8 |
Sun exposure |
Full |
Bloom time |
Spring to summer |
What’s not to love about hummingbird mint? As the name suggests, hummingbirds are attracted to the brightly colored flowers, high nectar count, and tubular flower shape of the hummingbird mint plant. An added bonus: this hardy perennial detracts unwanted garden pests like rabbits and deer!
Plant type |
Perennial |
Hardiness zones |
3-10 |
Sun exposure |
Full |
Bloom time |
Summer |
Delphinium is a versatile plant that can be used as an annual or perennial in containers and gardens. Its tall blooms both attract hummingbirds and detract deer, rabbits, and groundhogs, making it a great option for gardeners with an eye on pests. Typically available in purple, blue, or white, delphinium also comes in a dwarf variety that requires less maintenance.
Plant type |
Perennial |
Hardiness zones |
3-7 |
Sun exposure |
Full |
Bloom time |
Summer to fall |
Trumpet honeysuckle is an attractive vine that is favored by hummingbirds due to its bright and tubular-shaped flowers. Be aware that this vine has a tendency to spread quickly, so regular pruning is required to keep it in the location you desire. This showy perennial is best grown in dry, arid climates where it’s less likely to spread.
Plant type |
Perennial |
Hardiness zones |
4-11 |
Sun exposure |
Full, partial |
Bloom time |
Spring to summer |
These 10 plants provide a good basis for a hummingbird and pollinator garden. To find more plant options that are native to your area, you can search Audubon's native plants database or take a look at the Pollinator Partnership planting guides. And check out these 12 plants to attract even more wild birds to your yard!
]]>Known as one of the more skittish backyard birds, orioles are often heard more than seen as they typically forage high in trees for insects, flowers, and fruit. But you can be successful in attracting them to your backyard with a bird feeder.
One of the simplest ways to attract orioles to your yard is to put up an oriole feeder filled with fresh fruit, jelly, or homemade nectar. Oriole feeders have dishes for jelly or nectar and spikes to easily feed oranges and fruit slices. Since orioles can’t hover like hummingbirds, they need built-in perches to land on and feed for a longer period of time. Since feed like fruit and jelly can spoil quickly, orioles feeders can also have protective baffles that shield the feeder and its contents from the weather.
One downside to offering such sweet treats in your feeder is that they can attract unwanted pests like bees or ants. Typically, if the pests don’t have access to the nectar or fruit, they should eventually move on from the feeder to a more rewarding source. Here are some additional tips to help keep bees and ants off your oriole feeder:
Try these oriole feeders:
Orioles love fruit slices, particularly oranges, apples, peaches, berries, and bananas. As far as jellies or jams, birders have tried several varieties, but orioles seem to prefer plain grape jelly. Look for a natural grape jelly that doesn’t contain high-fructose syrup. Orioles will drink hummingbird nectar, but providing them with a slightly less sweet concentration made specifically for orioles is preferable and more natural to what they typically like. No matter what fruit or nectar you offer in your oriole feeder, always make sure it’s fresh!
Besides the sweet stuff, orioles eat a wide range of insects, like mealworms, caterpillars, moths, grasshoppers, and more, giving them the protein they need to round out their diet.
The formula for oriole nectar is simple: about one part white granulated sugar to six parts water. This specific sugar concentration best mirrors the sugar concentration naturally found in flowers or sap preferred by orioles. The natural sugars found in flower nectar are primarily sucrose, like that of white granulated sugar.
Boil the water for approximately two minutes, add the sugar, and stir to dissolve thoroughly. Cover and allow to cool before using or pouring into a clean storage bottle. A large batch of nectar can be made and stored in the refrigerator for up to two weeks. This makes refilling the feeder easy, so you won't mind doing it every few days.
Additional suggestions:
The location of your bird feeder should make the orioles feel safe and at home. Orioles are likely to feed more comfortably when near natural cover like trees, shrubs, or other vegetation. This provides shelter for them to view their feeding area so they can see any predators while waiting for their turn to feed.
To help prevent fatal window collisions, feeders should be hung or mounted closer than 3 feet or farther than 15 feet from a window.
Since orioles exhibit more shy behavior than other birds, try to keep your oriole feeder away from locations where there is frequent human activity since this can scare them off.
Orioles will look for shallow, moving water to clean and bathe in. Providing a consistent source of clean and fresh water from a bird bath, fountain or a shallow pond will help keep them cool and hydrated in the heat of the summer months. Try setting up a shallow bird bath and add a bubbler, dripper, or mister to give the orioles the movement they’re looking for.
It’s important to keep your water source clean and change the water often to prevent bacteria from forming and spreading amongst the birds. Try to place your water source in the shade to keep it from drying out and getting too hot in the sun. If your water source is stagnant, you can add a fountain to keep the water moving and prevent it from becoming dirty quickly.
Most orioles are migratory birds, meaning they leave and return from a specific area seasonally. As they return from migration and end up in their ultimate destination, they will remember the source of their first meals - oftentimes coming back to the same feeders repeatedly. For the best chance of orioles coming to your feeders, it is recommended to have them up and ready about two weeks before they return from their winter migration. It’s most common to set them out sometime between mid-April and mid-May to catch the first migrants. Be sure to research the migratory pattern of orioles in your area to determine the right time to have your oriole feeder ready.
The most common species of oriole in North America are the Baltimore, Bullock’s, Hooded, and Orchard oriole. The species of oriole that will come to your backyard depends solely on your location, but the bright orange, yellow, and black plumage on the oriole is hard to mistake! Look at each of the different types picture below and take note of the size and pattern to help you identify which oriole is visiting your yard.
2. Bullock’s Oriole
3. Hooded Oriole
4. Orchard Oriole
]]>Two important notes: 1) Select plants that are native to your area. These plants will attract native insects, don’t need artificial fertilizers or pesticides, and are preferred by birds and other wildlife. 2) For seed-bearing plants, don’t prune them back at the end of the season. Non-migratory birds love to eat the seeds from the spent flowers, especially in the wintertime when other food sources are scarce.
Try planting a few of these flowers, bushes, and trees that not only bring colorful foliage and blooms to your yard but will attract a wide variety of wild birds!
One of the most broadly loved seed-providing flowers is the sunflower. But not all types of sunflower will produce edible seed for wild birds. Look for the Mammoth Grey Stripe, Paul Bunyan, or Aztec Gold varieties when planting sunflowers to attract birds.
Attracts: Cardinals, Hummingbirds, Orioles, Finches, Titmice, Chickadees, Nuthatches, Grosbeaks, Woodpeckers
The red mulberry tree produces blackberry-like fruits that provide plentiful amounts of vitamins, iron, and antioxidants. The leaves also attract insects that some wild birds eat to round out their diets, like silkworms.
Attracts: Cardinals, Hummingbirds, Orioles, Jays, Grosbeaks, Finches, Bluebirds, Woodpeckers
The American Elderberry is a handsome shrub that produces both bright white flowers and small, dark berries. Elderberry flowers bloom in the spring, which brings insects that attract omnivorous wild birds. And in the fall, the bush provides dark and delicious berries that many birds love.
Attracts: Cardinals, Bluebirds, Finches, Titmice, Grosbeaks, Orioles
The aster flower makes a perfect addition to any autumn garden! This late-blooming star-shaped flower blooms in purple, white, and blue and will attract beneficial pollinators with their nectar. The seed heads are a favorite for many types of songbirds.
Attracts: Cardinals, Finches, Titmice, Chickadees, Nuthatches
The perennial coneflower attracts a wide variety of native pollinators who feed on the sweet nectar inside. Once the flowers are done blooming, don’t prune them. Birds love to eat the seeds from the spent flowers, especially in the wintertime when other food sources are scarce.
Attracts: Cardinals, Finches, Chickadees, Jays
In the springtime, the serviceberry tree booms with beautiful snowy white flowers which attract insects that attract wild birds. By early summer, the tree produces purple and red berries which are nutrient-dense and appeal to a wide variety of birds.
Attracts: Hummingbirds, Orioles, Grosbeaks, Bluebirds, Woodpeckers, Cardinals, Grosbeaks
Besides providing stunning orange, red, and burgundy foliage in the fall, the sumac shrub produces flower clusters and berries that last from late summer through the winter.
Attracts: Titmice, Chickadees, Jays, Nuthatches, Finches, Jays, Woodpeckers, Cardinals
Zinnias are a great choice for adding colorful blooms to your summer garden and are well-loved by hummingbirds. Each zinnia head is packed with seeds, which are a favorite of finches!
Attracts: Hummingbirds, Finches
The virginia creeper is a climbing vine that boasts bold green leaves in the summer that turn flaming red orange in the fall. In autumn, it produces clusters of dark berries that resemble grapes, and although irritating to humans if consumed, many species of birds enjoy the fruit.
Attracts: Bluebirds, Grosbeaks, Nuthatches, Woodpeckers, Jays, Bluebirds
Blooming in beautiful pink and purple clusters in the late summer months, the blazing star flower attracts insects and provides seeds, which both attract wild birds like titmice, chickadees, and finches.
Attracts: Titmice, Chickadees, Finches
Whether you consider it a wildflower or a weed, there’s no debate that goldenrod is a valuable source of nectar, insects, and seeds for birds and other wildlife. Blooming from August to October, this perennial can continue to provide cover and seeds for birds throughout the winter.
Attracts: Titmice, Chickadees, Finches, Wrens, Juncos,
An early summer bloomer, black-eyed susan will attract a myriad of insects that are favored by insectivorous birds. The seed heads also provide tiny dark seeds which attract a variety of wild bird species.
Attracts: Nuthatches, Grosbeaks, Finches, Chickadees, Cardinals
These 12 plants provide a good basis for a bird-friendly yard and garden. To find more plant options that are native to your area, you can search Audubon's native plants database or take a look at the Pollinator Partnership planting guides.
]]>These small, streamlined songbirds have a short slightly notched tail and long pointed wings. Measuring between 4.7 and 5.9 inches in length with a wingspan ranging from 11.8 to 13.8 inches, these iridescent passerine are known for their aerial displays while foraging insects midair. Adult males have white undersides cloaked with shimmering blue-green feathers on their head and back with blackish wings and tail and a thin black eye mask. Females appearance varies only in the intensity of blue, with their feathers being somewhat duller at times with more brown feathers in their upperparts.
Tree swallows typically reside in fields, shorelines, wooded swamps, or marshes. They prefer to live near bodies of water that can produce a larger number of the flying insects that are the birds' diet. These birds will often be spotted in open spaces displaying their aerial acrobatic prowess as they chase insect prey in the air and will sometimes converge in larger numbers in an insect swarm. If you have ever been mowing the lawn and seen a group of birds appear continuously swooping down around there is a high probability this was a group of tree swallows gorging on the insects the mower was kicking up!
Attracting Tree Swallows:
The tree swallow's diet consists mainly of aerial insects such as damselflies, mayflies, months, beetles, and flies. Although they may eat some plant foods during inclement weather if prey is scarce, tree swallows are not birds that will be found at a feeder. To attract tree swallows to your yard, avoid spraying pesticides as these will deplete the birds' natural food source. Birders located in the typical breeding range (the northern half of the continental US, almost all of Alaska, and the southern two-thirds of Canada) can have success attracting tree swallows to their yard by erecting nest boxes. More information on selecting a location and mounting a nest box, see our blog.
Above: A pair of tree swallows bringing insects to their young in a Nature's Way Bluebird Box House w/ Viewing Window (Model# CWH4)
Nesting:
These birds are highly social and pairs will often nest close together if nest boxes are numerous. Tree swallows are cavity nesters, meaning they will nest in the natural cavities in dead trees and also nest boxes. The female constructs majority of the nest, taking roughly two weeks to complete the build. Nests are comprised almost entirely of grasses, but may also include pine needles, animal hair, or aquatic plants. Tree swallow nests are distinguishable from the nest of bluebirds who will also use these houses by the tidy lining of the nest cup with feathers.
Tree swallow eggs are roughly 0.7 inches in length and 0.5 inches in width, are a very pale pink the first few days after being laid, and turn pure white by day 4. A typical clutch size ranges from 4 to 7 eggs depending on the location, time of year, and brood. Eggs will be incubated for 11 to 20 days and the hatchlings will spend another 15 to 25 days before fledging the nest. There may be up to two broods in a nesting season.
Leave a comment to share with us your Tree Swallow stories!
]]>Bluebird hatchlings in Bluebird Box House (Model# WWCH3).
Bird nesting season usually occurs from mid-March to mid-June and may fluctuate between geographic regions. Beginning in the spring, food sources are typically becoming more plentiful with the rise in temperature and increase in rainwater.
The first stage in the nesting cycle is courtship, or creating a pair bond between a male and female bird. You might be surprised to find that many of the ways birds attract a mate are similar in humans. Wild birds show off their talents by singing intricate songs and dancing with daring moves to prove their intelligence and maturity. Some choose to showcase their nurturing abilities, like nest-building and feeding, to demonstrate their ability to provide suitable shelter and foraging for their future young. Or simpler yet, they flaunt their finest features in displays that show off their bright plumage, health, and strength. This courtship generally lasts 1-2 weeks as the birds search for the perfect mate to nest with.
Depending on their species, the most common backyard birds will choose a variety of suitable nesting sites from tall grasses to birdhouses. Often building their nests at a fork in the branches of tall trees are hummingbirds, cardinals, and jays. Some birds, like juncos, make their nests in tall grasses, at the base of a tree or in exposed roots. Cardinals like to nest in dense shrubs or bushes, while finches will nest in a range of the previously mentioned locations. Woodpeckers prefer to nest in the cavities of live or dead trees but will not use nest boxes.
Bluebirds, tree swallows, titmice, wrens, chickadees, and nuthatches all prefer to nest in a cavity, whether it be a tree cavity or a birdhouse. If you’d like to try attracting a pair of nesting birds to your backyard, put up a Bluebird house or wren house ahead of the springtime and watch to see if your house becomes host to a growing family! Not sure where to put one? Check out our mounting and care instructions for Bluebird houses and wren houses.
A pair of Bluebirds using Bluebird Box House (Model# CWH3).
Bluebird Houses:
Wren Houses:
A bird’s nest can take anywhere from two days to two weeks to complete. There are many factors that can affect how long it takes for a bird to build a full nest. Material availability or quality, weather, and the bird’s experience level can all influence the number of days needed to construct a suitable nest.
In most cases, birds do not reuse their old nests. Some birds, like woodpeckers and hummingbirds, may build on top of their old nests out of convenience or if it’s in their preferred location, but typically birds will move on to build a new nest in a new location as part of the nesting process.
If you have a birdhouse, it’s recommended that you clean it out after every brood has fledged. At minimum, once a year prior to nesting season. You can safely clean your birdhouse to reduce potential parasite problems and increase occupancy throughout the year.
A clutch of eggs is the total number of eggs laid in one nesting attempt. A female bird doesn’t lay the same number of eggs in every clutch. The total number of eggs per clutch can vary widely depending on the species, or even the brood. Below is a list of the most common backyard birds, their potential number of broods, the size of each clutch, and a description of the egg to help you identify the nest.
Bird Species |
Number of Broods |
Typical Clutch Size |
Egg Description |
Nest Description |
Northern Cardinal |
1-2 broods |
2-5 eggs |
Grayish white, buffy white, or greenish white speckled with pale gray to brown. |
Open cup made of twigs, weeds, grass, bark strips, leaves, rootlets, lined with fine grass or hair. |
1 brood |
2-7 eggs |
Bluish or light brown with brownish spots. |
Bulky open cup made of twigs, grass, weeds, bark strips, moss, sometimes held together with mud. Lined with rootlets and other fine materials, often decorated with paper, rags, string, or other debris. |
|
1 brood |
1-13 eggs |
White with fine reddish-brown dots or spots. |
Foundation of moss or other matter, lining of softer material such as animal hair. |
|
1-2 broods |
2-7 eggs |
Pale bluish white, sometimes with small faint brown spots around large end. |
Solid, compact cup of plant fibers, spiderwebs, plant down (especially from thistles); nest is so well-made that it may even hold water. |
|
1-6 broods |
2-6 eggs |
Pale blue to white, speckled with fine black and pale purple. |
Open cup of grass, weeds, fine twigs, leaves, rootlets, sometimes with feathers, string, or other debris added. |
|
1-3 broods |
2-7 eggs |
Pale blue or, rarely, white. |
Loosely constructed cup of weeds, twigs, and dry grass, lined with finer grass, sometimes with animal hair or feathers. |
|
Tree Swallow |
1-2 broods |
4-7 eggs |
Pale pink, turning to pure white within 4 days. |
Cup of grass, weeds, rootlets, moss, pine needles, other plant materials. Usually lined with many feathers (from other kinds of birds), mostly added after first eggs are laid. |
1 brood |
5-9 eggs |
Creamy white to pinkish-white, speckled with reddish brown, gray, or purple. |
Simple cup of bark fibers, grasses, twigs, hair. Sometimes adds mud to rim of nest entrance. |
|
House Wren |
1-2 broods |
3-10 eggs |
White, pink-white, or grayish, speckled or blotched with reddish brown. |
Foundation of twigs, topped with softer cup of plant fibers, grass, weeds, animal hair, feathers. |
American Robin |
1-3 broods |
3-5 eggs |
Sky blue or blue-green and unmarked. |
Cup of grasses, twigs, debris, worked into solid foundation of mud, lined with fine grasses and plant fibers. |
1 brood |
3-9 eggs |
White to creamy white, spotted with chestnut-red, brown, purple, or lilac. |
Foundation of grass, moss, leaves, bark strips, lined with soft materials, especially animal hair. |
|
1-2 broods |
1-3 eggs |
Tiny, white, weighing about half a gram. |
Compact cup of grasses, plant fibers, spider webs, lined with plant down. The outside is camouflaged with lichens and dead leaves. |
|
1 brood |
3-8 eggs |
Completely white. |
Cavity entrance is often surrounded by fungus or lichen, helping to camouflage site. |
A clutch of five Tree Swallow eggs inside the Bluebird Box House w/Viewing Window (Model# CWH4).
From the birth of the hatchling (a newly hatched bird that can’t walk or fly with few or no feathers and closed eyes) until the time they are a fledgling learning to fly varies between bird species but is generally between 10 days and 3 weeks. For fledglings, learning to fly takes a little bit of practice and lot of instinct. Fledglings usually begin attempting to fly when they are around 2 weeks old, after a period of stumbling and falling around the nest. Practicing flight usually involves flying or falling from the nest and finding their way back to it. After a few attempts, they’ll learn how to spread their wings and begin flapping to avoid falling to the ground.
If you find a baby bird on the ground, first identify whether the bird is a hatchling (a newly hatched bird that can’t walk or fly with few or no feathers and closed eyes) or a fledgling (mostly covered in feathers of a dull color with stubby wings and tail). A fledgling who is learning how to fly can make its way back to the nest without any help. If the bird is a hatchling, don’t be afraid to place the bird back in the nest if you can locate it. Birds don’t have a strong sense of smell and they will not abandon their young if you touch them.
If the bird is injured, do not touch it. Contact your city or county extension office to reach your local wildlife management department. Or, if you have a local park district, there may be a rehabilitation center who will accept injured birds or wildlife.
Which birds are you hoping will nest in your backyard this season? Share your nesting season stories with us!
]]>One of the simplest ways to attract hummingbirds to your yard is to put up a hummingbird feeder filled with fresh homemade nectar. Surprisingly, hummingbirds aren’t too picky when it comes to the type of feeder you use, as long as there is sufficient distance for their tongues to reach the sweet nectar reward inside. You’ll often see information encouraging you to fill your yard with red feeders, red flowers, or even red nectar, but researchers have proven that hummingbirds are attracted to a wide spectrum of colors even beyond human perception! It turns out they care less about the color of the feeder and more about what’s inside. So, choose a beautiful feeder that’s easy for you to fill, clean, and one that brings you joy.
You don’t need to have a backyard to hang a hummingbird feeder. If you live in a building without a yard or balcony, try out a window hummingbird feeder! Hummingbirds have been known to visit feeders at elevation even without plants nearby.
If you’re having trouble with pests like bees or ants at your hummingbird feeder, take a look at our helpful guide that breaks down common hummingbird feeder challenges and solutions.
The tried-and-true formula for hummingbird food is simple: about one part white granulated sugar to four parts water. This 20% sugar concentration best mirrors the sugar concentration naturally found in flowers preferred by hummingbirds. Also, the natural sugars found in flower nectar are primarily sucrose, like that of white granulated sugar.
Boil the water for approximately two minutes, add the sugar, and stir to dissolve thoroughly. Cover and allow to cool before using or pouring into a clean storage bottle. A large batch of nectar can be made and stored in the refrigerator for up to two weeks. This makes refilling the feeder easy, so you won't mind doing it every few days.
Additional suggestions:
The location of your bird feeder should make the hummingbirds feel safe and at home. Hummingbirds are likely to feed more comfortably when near natural cover like trees, shrubs, or other vegetation. This provides shelter for them to view their feeding area so they can see any predators while waiting for their turn to feed. To help prevent fatal window collisions, feeders should be hung or mounted closer than 3 feet or farther than 15 feet from a window.
Placing feeders near flower beds or planters may help attract more hummingbirds to your feeder. If you want to try planting specific flowers to attract more hummingbirds to your yard, make sure you choose plants that are native to your area. Consider creating a blooming schedule to make sure your garden has blooming flowers all spring and summer long.
Being one of the smallest wild birds in North America, hummingbirds will look for shallow, moving water to fly through, bathe, or splash around in. The typical bird bath is often too deep for hummingbirds to comfortably bathe in. Try setting up a shallow bird bath or add a bubbler, dripper, or mister to an existing bird bath to give the hummingbirds the movement and cascading water they prefer.
Most hummingbirds are migratory birds, meaning they leave and return from a specific area seasonally. As they return from migration and end up in their ultimate destination, they will remember the source of their first meals - oftentimes coming back to the same feeders repeatedly. For the best chance of hummingbirds coming to your feeders, it is recommended to have them up and ready about two weeks before they return from their winter migration. Be aware that if you set up a feeder too late in the season, it may cause some hummingbirds to overlook it, but if hummingbirds are already in your area, don’t be afraid to set out a feeder for them to try. Be sure to research the migratory pattern of hummingbirds in your area to determine the right time to have your hummingbird feeder ready.
Like other wild birds, hummingbirds are most likely to come out and visit a feeder around dawn and dusk, or early in the morning and late in the afternoon before sunset. Since hummingbirds have one of the highest metabolic rates of all backyard birds, they need to eat almost constantly to keep their energy up. That means hummingbirds can be seen feeding at various times throughout the day!
The type of hummingbirds that will come to your backyard depends solely on your location. Learn more about how to identify, the migratory range, and nesting habits of each of the five most common types of hummingbirds in North America:
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