Archive for February 1st, 2010

Birds That Amuse and Entertain

Monday, February 1st, 2010
sunarsih asked:


Recently my 89 year old mother came to live with us permanently. She has clouded vision, mild dementia and isn’t about to do the things that always kept her busy, cooking, gardening, reading, crossword puzzles, etc.

We reserved a chair in our “sunroom” for her. If anyone else sits in it, she gets worried that she’s sitting in someone else’s seat. So we all try to stay clear of it so she can be assured it’s hers alone. Right by that seat is a window. We’ve afixed a bird feeder to the window that can be purchased in any bird supply store - like co-ops, specialized bird stores, catalogues, etc. We fill the little feeder with sunflower hearts, and the birds take over - providing Mom with countless hours of amusement. They chatter, argue, chase one another away. They remind us of busy-body old ladies, and we love each and every one! Mom and I try to imagine what they seem to be arguing about. Occasionally one will seem to bully the other birds, not letting anyone join him in the feeder. He’ll just scold and scold. Then sometimes a really funny thing will happen. A bird, like a Jay, will try to get into the feeder. The ones we have are designed for the smaller birds, and the big old Jay will get a little stuck and it’s hilarious to watch him try to extricate himself.

What a joy for older ones to observe and comment on throughout the day!

Read more about Window Bird Feeders. Visit our site for lots of Wooden Bird Feeders Information.





Battery Back Up Sump Pumps
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How to Attract More Birds to Your Backyard and Birdhouses

Monday, February 1st, 2010
Alvin Loh asked:


If you have already put up some birdhouses in your own backyard, you are probably wondering how you are going to attract and get more birds to come and visit your birdhouses. This article provides some ideas that you can easily implement to attract more birds to your backyard and your birdhouses.

First, as with humans, food is always a popular way to attract birds to your birdhouses and your backyard. You can provide different kinds of food to cater to different types of species of birds. Some of these food include nectars, small insects, fruits, nuts and seeds. In addition to these food sources, you should also always provide fresh water to the visiting birds. Bird baths and small ponds are some good ways to provide the visting birds with water.

The fastest way to a bird’s heart is through its stomach. By providing food and water to the birds, you are performing bird feeding. Bird feeding is also a great way to observe different species of birds and their respective unique characteristics. Bird feeding is particularly important to birds because it provides them with a source of food and water during periods when food and water are scarce such as winter time. However, bird feeding can be done all year round as it supplements the visiting birds with their food needs. As such, its a great way to attract more birds to your birdhouses and backyard.

So how can you use this knowledge to attract more birds to your birdhouses and backyard ? For one, you can choose a safer spot in your backyard and set up a simple feeding station. The spot you choose should preferably be away from predators. You can take some precautionary measures to make the chosen spot safer like installing a ultrasonic cat deterrant and making sure there are no food near the spot so as to avoid attracting hungry animals. You can encourage birds to visit your feeding station by placing bird food in different areas around the feeding station. You can then vary the distance and shorten it as time goes by.

As mentioned, you don’t have to build or buy an elaborated feeding station. The most important factor that your feeding station should have is the ease in which you can maintain it. It should be easy to refill, it should display the food prominently to birds, it should also hold a reasonable amount of food so you do not have to keep topping it up with food and finally it should be able to hold more then one bird at one time. Some of the simple feeding station you can consider buying would be the tube-feeder in which the seeds stay dry and its design prevents spillage of food or you can choose the hopper type of bird feeders which dispenses food automatically when they are needed.

As for water, it is essential if you want to attract more birds to your birdhouses. You should note that different species of birds have different requirements of how deep they like their water source to be. For example, some species of birds like small puddles while other birds like bird baths that are relatively deep. Providing various depths of water will attract different species of birds. However, do take note that your water depth should not be more then 2 inches deep as some birds may drown and do not choose a bird bath with an elaborated and striking pattern or design at the bottom of the bath as it may confuse the birds and discourage them from using the bird bath.

Besides all the points mentioned above, you should also keep in mind the number one factor that influences the attractiveness of your birdhouse to visiting birds. What’s the number one factor that people always don’t take note ? Its the safety of your birdhouses to the visiting birds. If you are attracting a certain kind of species of bird, customize the entrance opening hole of the birdhouse to suit just the species of bird you want to attract. Removable of birdhouse perches and the reduction of backyard predators also play a big part in making your birdhouse safer and more attractive to birds.



Sliding Closet Doors
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