Connect with Nature!
In the dead of winter, there sure aren't many flowers or insects, so Anna's Hummers become regular feeder visitors in my yard. It is unfortunate that as the weather turns very cold, and nectar freezes, that's the time that our hummers need it the most! Read more...
Did you know that the Portland area is the year-round residence of one species of hummingbird? Anna’s Hummingbirds, the largest of coastal Pacific Northwest hummers, are nonmigratory. How do these tiny little birds, so dependent on nectar and insects for food, manage survive this far north? They, like other hummingbirds, have the ability to go into a torpid state to conserve energy. Read more...
If you have an aluminum pie plate, Backyard Bird Shop has everything else to create a no-freeze feeding station for Anna's Hummingbirds. Read more...
It may take a while for birds to find a new feeder, but they WILL find it eventually. Read more...
Offering suet in your backyard is a great way to please insect eaters. Suet products come in many “flavors” and forms, but the basic ingredient is typically pure fat, preferably the calorie-rich beef kidney fat called “suet” at the butcher shop. If you consider making suet another enjoyable facet of bird watching, this article is for you! Below are three recipes for homemade suet . . . Read more...
Sure, birds drink in winter. But did you know they bathe, too? Many birds bathe to keep feathers clean so they retain body heat properly, and they have definite preferences about where to bathe: Read more...
A favorite backyard bird is a small (4-1/2") bird with a distinctive shape -- compact and tapered at both ends! Read more...
For centuries people have marveled as some birds mysteriously disappear each fall. As late as the 16th century people thought birds hibernated! Rather than ending the mystery, the discovery of migration has prompted even more questions. Read more...
Here are a few questions we hear frequently from our customers, and some answers to go along with them! Read more...
Here are a few questions about bats and bat houses that we hear a lot from our customers, and the answer to those frequent questions. . . . Read more...
Last spring I watched what appeared to be an adult male bird feeding an adult female. Why do they do that? Read more...
“The environmentally-oriented gardener can enjoy not only red, orange, yellow and blue flowers, but also red, orange, yellow and blue birds.” … Roger Tory Peterson Read more...
Pine Siskins will delight you all winter long with their aggressive and acrobatic antics in your backyard and at your feeder. This common winter bird has a bright yellow bar on each wing and at the base of the tail that will help you distinguish it from many of its finch relatives. The rest of its body is streaked brown. Read more...
Canada Geese are eye- and ear-catching birds that have captured the imagination of Americans for hundreds of years. Living symbols of the changing seasons, they are a source of wonder and speculation even today. Read more...
When the days of cold rain begin to seem like they have gone on for months, I find myself peering out at the bedraggled balls of fluff at my feeders and wondering how birds survive these winters. The occasional droopy-looking sparrow or siskin reminds me that winters are not easy times for birds. Read more...
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