The hummer cozies come in different sizes and colors, and with two Little Hottie Handwarmers that work for 8 hours.  It’s a great way to keep that feeder thawed during our freezing days!  Affordable, attractive, and easy to use (no electricity required), this is sure to be a popular item this season!

There are two styles available:

Wrap-Around Cozy —comes in various sizes and is made to velcro around a jar-style hummingbird feeder. (illustrated above)

Pocket Cozy—velcro it to the base of a saucer style feeder, such as a Hummzinger Hummingbird feeder. (see illustration below)

To see this year’s photo contest submissions, navigate to “Photos” ,then click on “2011 Photo Contest” (look toward the upper portion of the right side of the page).  Or click here. 

Fall and winter are opportune times to start bird watching.  The leaves are gone (or going) so the birds are easier to spot and identify, plus fewer birds are singing.  Things are manageable.

A good first step to birding beyond your backyard is to walk a nature trail in a nearby park.  Listen for the dee dee dee of the Black-capped Chickadee.  At this time of year you may see it in a mixed flock of Ruby-crowned Kinglets, nuthatches, and woodpeckers.

Notice the birds as they forage in a nearby tree.  Each species will look for food in different areas of the same tree.  You’ll probably see birds that you’re already familiar with from your backyard feeders, making identification more rewarding.  Notice too that sound carries well in the winter woods, which will enable you to search out other birds not seen at your feeder.  This is truly a great time to get out and enjoy our wildlife.

Why not join us on a free bird walk? No scrambling through a guide book on your own—our leaders make it easy.  They spot, identify, and give details about the birds you find.  Welcoming beginning birdwatchers especially, Audubon Society of Portland and Backyard Bird Shop co-sponsor free walks to local Portland hotspots on the 3rd Saturday of each month. 

Migrating geese melodiously announce their departure overhead.  Swallows first cluster in trees or on telephone lines, then begin their trip to the southern hemisphere for winter.  Western Tanagers, Rufous Hummingbirds, and Vaux Swifts leave for warmer environs as well.

The ruckus of House Finches at thistle and sunflower feeders gives way to the aggressiveness of Pine Siskins.  Evening Grosbeaks timidly return for an occasional sunflower seed feast. 

Millet consumption increases in the fall as sparrow populations return from nesting sites in Canada and higher elevations.  White-throated Sparrows, White- and Golden-crowned Sparrows, Fox Sparrows and American Tree Sparrows forage on the ground in mixed flocks.  Oregon Juncos return to our yards in small, single-species flocks.

For protection and increased food-finding success, individual crow families join much larger single-species flocks.  The large, late-summer flocks of goldfinches thin down from hundreds to tens in number.  Goldfinch males lose their brilliant yellow coats, molting back to olive-green garb.

Downy Woodpecker and Northern Flicker visits to feeders increase as natural insect food sources become less prevalent.  Suet becomes more attractive to these birds as well as chickadees, nuthatches, bushtits and jays.

Late autumn is a great time to gear up for birdfeeding in a big way!  Our year ‘round resident birds, plus returning migrants like White-crowned Sparrows, Golden-crowned Sparrows, Spotted Towhees, Varied Thrush, and Dark-eyed Juncos, will all be tempted to make your backyard a regular stop on their daily foraging rounds.

Autumn Offerings:

• Fresh Seed - offer plenty of the favorite,  black oil sunflower seed;  add white millet for the migratory sparrows who have recently arrived, nyjer for goldfinches, and mixed nuts.
• Suet - insect eaters love suet all year, and almost all birds visit suet feeders during our cold months when insects are scarce
• Hummingbird nectar - in cold months, year ‘round resident Anna’s Hummingbirds become very loyal to never-empty never-frozen hummingbird feeders
• Water -  some people don’t realize that a source of water is attractive even in our rainier months!
Less Gardening = More Habitat

Many of us once spent hours in our yards on a large “fall cleanup” effort, removing annual flowers and cleaning up perennial beds, plus ridding the yard of dead leaves and other vegetation, and sticks. The good news is that if we do less cleaning, we leave more natural food and cold-weather shelter for wildlife. Let autumn leaves remain in places that won’t kill your grass, and they’ll insulate those areas.  Leaf-covered soil is a better home to insects and beneficial microorganisms, and helps to prevent soil erosion in our rainy season.  Collect the leaves you must rake into a few piles that could be used by hibernating backyard creatures like lizards and frogs. 

Even your firewood pile can provide shelter for backyard wildlife. I regularly see birds hanging out around our woodpile in the winter, utilizing it both for shelter and for insect-hunting.  Dead tree limbs and even whole trees can be very helpful to backyard wildlife, so if you can leave them without threat of danger, consider doing so!  Woodpeckers hollow out snags to use for nest sites, and those woodpecker holes are re-used in cold weather as roosting sites by other birds.

Now is the perfect time to organize your backyard bird feeders (but maybe not as much organizing and cleaning of your backyard) to host wildlife through autumn and winter!  It’s a wonderful season to enhance the beauty of your yard by hosting the birds and other wildlife that can benefit so greatly from your feeders and habitat creation!

During the winter, seed feeder activity increases, and suet and nectar feeders get lots of attention!  What seeds should you offer?  Cornell Lab of Ornithology says that high-energy black oil sunflower seed is the flock-pleasing favorite of birds that visit feeders.  It has a high meat-to-shell ratio; it is high in fat; and its small size and thin shell make it easy for small birds to handle and crack.  Try starting with sunflower seeds, then experiment with other seeds like millet, cracked corn, and nyjer “thistle.”

Welcome your wintertime diners with an open screen feeder, low or on the ground, with millet, cracked corn and some black oil sunflower seed. Then watch for interesting birds that may appear at those feeders!  Some of the newcomers may be:

White-crowned Sparrows— 6-1/2 to 7-1/2” long with a clear grayish breast and a puffy crown striped with black and white. 
Golden-crowned Sparrows—similar to White-crowned Sparrows without the black and white head stripes.  There’s a light yellow central crown stripe instead. 
Varied Thrushes—nicknamed “Alaskan Robins”,  they look like orange robins.  Watch for an orange eyestripe, orange wing bars, and a wide black (male) or gray (female) band across a rusty breast. 
Spotted Towhees—often on the ground, rummaging among dead leaves.  Slightly smaller and more slender than a robin, the male’s head and chest are black with white spots, its sides are red, its belly is white, its eyes red.  The female is a more muted version. 
Dark-eyed (“Oregon”) Juncos—sometimes said to be sparrows wearing black executioner’s hoods. They’re 6” long, with brownish sides and a black head. 

Our family maintains six to eight feeders all year, and this experience has provided a few insights:

Clean feeders mean healthy birds.  Give your feeders a good scrubbing with hot, soapy water fortified with household bleach (10% is about right).  Rinse thoroughly.  Keep the area around your feeding station clean, too.  Rake up and dispose of old seed.  Using seed-catching trays can make clean-up time quick, and offering seeds with no hulls reduces the work even more.

Replenish the feeders as soon as they are empty to establish your feeding station as a regular stop.  Many birds, such as chickadees, actually set up a winter territory around a good food source.  Never put out more seed than will be eaten in a week.  This ensures fresh seed.

When making a feeder purchase, look for feeders that are easy to open and fill.  If it requires too much effort, you’ll put off filling it regularly.  Also, place the feeder in a convenient location!

In addition to black oil sunflower seed, the hands-down favorite of most seed-eating birds, add millet and cracked corn, suet and water to a basic food program.  If you’d like to go beyond the backyard basics, try one of the high-quality mixes we offer at Backyard Bird Shop – mixes designed especially for northwest birds offering nuts, fruits and a variety of seeds.  And don’t forget to offer nectar if you’d like to support an Anna’s Hummingbird or two through the winter.

Now sit back, relax and enjoy the show! We keep binoculars and a field guide handy.  A close-up view is a great way to appreciate the beautiful colors.  That little brown bird you thought was a finch suddenly became a Pine Siskin!

by Scott Lukens

Our family maintains six to eight feeders all year, and this experience has provided a few insights…..

Clean feeders mean healthy birds.  Give your feeders a good scrubbing with hot, soapy water fortified with household bleach (5 to 10 percent is about right).  Rinse thoroughly.  Keep the area around your feeding station clean, too.  I like to use seed-catching trays to reduce the need to clean up, but I must still occasionally rake up and dispose of old seed.

Replenish the feeders as soon as they are empty to establish your feeding station as a regular stop.  Many birds, such as chickadees, actually set up a winter territory around a good food source.  Never put out more seed than will be eating in a week.  This ensures fresh seed.

When making a feeder purchase, look for feeders that are easy to open and fill, and that are easy to clean.  If it requires too much effort, you’ll postpone filling it regularly.  Also, place your feeders at convenient heights so they’re easy to maintain.  Birds learn where the reliable food sources are, and frequent them.

In addition to black oil sunflower seed, the hands-down favorite of most birds, and millet, add suet and water to your program.  Don’t forget a hummingbird feeder with “nectar” for our year-round resident Anna’s Hummingbirds!  I like to offer a great variety of seeds and nuts, to attract the widest variety of birds to my yard.  Check out the selection of seed and nuts available at any of our 7 Backyard Bird Shops – we have proven food choices that Portland area birds prefer.

Now sit back, relax and enjoy the show.  We keep binoculars and a field guide handy.  A close-up view is a great way to appreciate the beautiful colors.  That little brown bird you thought was a finch suddenly became a Pine Siskin!

Most importantly, birds’ bodies and physiology are adapted to life in the air.  Their air mobility enables them to travel great distances to find habitats most favorable to their needs at different times of the year.  The result of this mobility is the phenomenon of bird migration:  the recurrent seasonal movement of bird populations from one geographic area to another.  While seasonal migration is certainly taxing to birds’ bodies, the benefit of being able to live part of a year in two different locations during the time of year when each location provides favorable conditions, outweighs the physical challenge and risk of the journey.

How do birds know where to migrate?   Genetics may explain the direction, timing and distance of migration for some species.  But others, like geese and cranes, learn migration routes through social contacts with family and other flock members.  Birds use landmarks like rivers, mountains and forests to orient themselves over familiar territory.  The sun acts as a daytime compass, and birds are able to compensate for its movement to keep a straight course.  On overcast days, at night, or over featureless oceans, birds use the stars and the earth’s magnetic field to guide them.

Many birds have heightened senses that may assist in navigating.  Some birds have pressure sensors in their middle ear that can detect an approaching weather front.  The eyes of other species are very sensitive.  And some birds have heightened senses of smell and memory for those odors which help them find their way.

One of the best places in Portland to see the fall migration is Sauvie Island.  Ducks, geese, cranes and eagles will delight the eyes in numbers not seen anywhere else in the metro area.  Don’t forget to take your binoculars!

I watched House Finches at the Black Oil Sunflower feeder, Juncos at the Millet feeder, Robins looking for worms in the grass, Crows patrolling the lawn for goodies, and Flickers pecking into the sidewalk cracks for ants;  each adult was accompanied by a boisterous baby who seemed utterly helpless.

From the young hummingbird learning some serious wing coordination to the just fledged Osprey trying for its first fish, all birds must learn how and what to eat if they are to survive to adulthood.  The same thing happens with people, but over a much longer time and, fortunately, with much less at stake.  Still, we can relate - the busy parents delivering food to the rapidly growing youngster; the first tentative flaps as the chick discovers its wings; and, having left the nest, the fledgling repeatedly begging for food in a high-pitched voice. Sound familiar?

July and August are typically when we see these noisy songbird fledglings following the adults around our yards learning to pull up worms, eat berries or seeds, or glean insects from trees and bushes. Most songbirds are as big as or bigger than their parents; they sport a fresh coat of feathers and have been fed a steady diet of protein rich, insect “chick chow” since hatching.  Telling the youngsters apart from their parents isn’t a matter of size, but a matter of behavior and plumage color.  These confusing “teenagers” often just sit around, act a little dopey and often are subtly colored or spotted to be better camouflaged from predators.  But they will learn quickly from their attentive parents, set off on their own and soon another breeding season will be complete.

So when you’re looking around your summertime yard, wondering why there isn’t much activity at the feeders, you can rest assured that the local songbirds are busy stuffing their chicks full of insects and soon, if you’re observant, you’ll be able to watch some of these new families in your own backyard