Hungry, Migrating Birds

   

Leaf it be

In Autumn, the leaves drift softly down from the trees to layer the yards. We often rake and blow them into piles, which are fun for kids to jump in, but then they are disposed of, and birds and other wildlife lose an important part of their habitat. This year, if you leave the leaves, the birds will thank you! 

Many birds are still migrating in October! We have tips to help keep them healthier during their migration.

 

 

   

 

Happy Autumn!

Did you know during the Autumn, many types of birds are caching their winter supply of feed to dine on later?

Why is Caching Important?

Chickadees, Nuthactches, Titmice, Jays and Woodpeckers are among some of the birds that naturally cache food. This helps them prepare for the Winter by having stores of berries, seeds, insects and nuts according to the types of food they eat. Some birds cache food long-term, while others cache food for only a few hours up to a day. Longer-term caching birds like to cache in the Fall for their Winter supply, while others will continue to cache throughout the Winter from your feeder, making now a perfect time for you to help the birds caching now, and grow your own supply with a discount for when more birds are caching in the Winter!

What types of food should you cache for the birds?

Many types of birds enjoy caching seeds they can find at your feeder!

  • Tufted Titmice, for example, like to cache the largest Sunflower Seeds they can find. 
  • Some Nuthatches tend to prefer Sunflower Seeds already out of the shell, likely due to transportation convenience. They typically gather their food to cache in the morning
  • Some Jays like to gather peanuts to cache

Try these Wild Birds Unlimited Products to help the birds cache:

Sunflower Chips

Premium Oil Sunflower Seeds

Quick Clean Peanut Feeder

Eco Clean Medium Seed Tube Feeder

Migration is Upon Us!

How Can You Help keep the Birds Safer and Healthier?

Don't forget, you can track migrating birds here at Birdcast for both real-time and past migratory information.

Birds face many perils during migration, but there are several things you can do to help save the songbirds! Providing a good food source and turning off non-essential lights are two important ways. For October, we are focusing on making windows safer for birds, to prevent bird strikes. The Nature Centered Podcast October episode is out now! It has lots of great tips to help you help the birds be safer around windows. You can read the show notes here.

A few quick tips:

While your regular backyard birds are at risk for window strikes and should still be protected as much as possible, migrating or Stranger Birds, are unfamiliar with the environment and where windows are located.
Bird feeders should be placed with consideration of their distance to windows. Three feet or less helps birds to have less impact from speed upon a bird strike, hopefully preventing greater injury. A distance of ten feet or more helps birds be able to see and avoid.
Seeing and avoiding for birds has been scientifically shown to have several complexities. Simple deterrents, like screens in windows are helpful but not comprehensive. It is important to take other measures, specifically those which break up the reflection of normal bird habitat in window. Some suggestions include hanging paracord in front of the window from a hook. It is important to ensure that it is not simply a shadowy object hat birds might just try to divert around, causing them to still hit the window.

 

A Seed is a Seed is a Seed...Or is it?

Not all seeds and feeds are the same! Choose the best for your feather friends

Maybe you're wondering why you should spend the money on a WBU feed when there are plenty of options at other stores, maybe even cheaper? Well, a seed is a seed is a seed...or not. Common bird feed blends contain many fillers that simply become waste for the birds in your backyard. Don't pay money for filler products that aren't nutritious or as likely to attract the birds that would naturally pass near your backyard. At WBU, our blends are specifically tailored to the birds that are common in our areas, offering them attractive and nutritious options that will keep them coming back for seconds, and thirds. It's healthier for the birds, strengthens your birdwatching opportunities, and doesn't waste your money on inefficient feeds. That's what sets our feeds apart.

Our products are naturally great, because they focus on nature, both the health of nature and our enjoyment of it. With careful research and understanding of birds, these products are designed to provide them with the best feeding experience, and to provide you with the best bird-watching and bird-enjoying experience.

As the birds are caching for Winter, it is even more important that they have food packed with nutrition and thoughtfully curated to their needs. The birds will enjoy it, and they will thank you for it!

So, Ready, Set, Ejoy!