Pine Grosbeaks

Pine Grosbeaks are amongst the largest of finches. They are easily identified by their long tail, stubby body, and, slightly hooked bill. The males are rather striking with red plumage which is a stark contrast to the females who sport a dowdy olive gray colour.

Pine Grosbeaks like their yellow cousins, the Evening Grosbeak, are a rare sight indeed. Unlike Evening Grosbeaks, which will migrate all the way down to Mexico, Pine Grosbeaks tend to stay North even during the winter. There does seem to be a more southerly migration during particularly harsh winters when food is scarce.

Fortunately for birders across Northern Ontario the Pine Grosbeaks have made their way to our area. The flocks have been exceedingly strong in the Sudbury area. Pine Grosbeaks like most birds favour Black Oil Sunflower Seeds and simply cannot resist Hulled Sunflower Seeds (both of which are available in store!). These beautiful birds are ground feeders. Simply tossing the feed on the snow would suffice, though you may also go the route of a tray feeder that reduces the spread of the seeds limiting the mess that the birds can sometimes leave behind. We carry many styles of tray feeders in store, as well as “fly-through” feeders which they will also frequent. 

Pine Grosbeaks are a wonderful addition to any yard. These birds are exceptionally tame and highly tolerant of human activity, making them a favourite amongst birders. The Backyard Birder does not, however, encourage direct interaction with the birds!

Make sure to stop by the store and pick up all you need to attract and keep the Pine Grosbeaks coming to your yard!

Also hit us up on Facebook and post your pictures of Pine Grosbeaks and let us know if they are visiting your yard!

Redpolls

The Redpolls are back!

These birds which breed in the far North of Coastal Greenland, Baffin Island, and, areas of the Hudson Bay follow no particular migratory pattern. They do, however, commonly head south in search of food during the winter. How far they go varies with the years this often makes them absent in the Sudbury, and surrounding, area.

Redpolls are small sparrow sized finches with gray-brown streaks on their back and sides. Their distinguishing feature is the red cap on their head as well as their black throat patch. Male Redpolls also have light pink plumage on their chests.

Fortunately for Northern Ontario birders the redpolls have come to us in search of food. They are a favorite amongst birders because of the large flocks the move in, up to one hundred strong.

Redpoll’s seed of choice is Nyjer, though they will also eat sunflower seeds. Redpolls will move on if they find a lack of food so it is essential to keep your feeders filled!

At the Backyard Birder Nature Gift Shop we have many different styles of Nyjer feeders as well as sunflower seed feeders which can be seen on our website http://www.backyardbirder.ca/#!birds. We also carry both nyjer seeds and sunflower seeds in store!

Also check us out on Facebook and share your Redpoll stories and pictures!

Winter Feeding Tip #1 - Suet!

Suet, Suet, and, even more Suet!

One of the best things you can serve up for your feathered friends is Suet. Suet is the dense white fat that collects around beef kidneys and loins. This provides a high level of energy that the birds so desperately need in our rather frigid winter conditions. It is often mixed with seeds and nuts to further attract the birds.

Suet is best offered in a hardware cage that is hung from a tree branch or off a hook. At the Backyard Birder Nature Gift Shop we have a wide selection of suet feeders. From simple cages that the preformed suet cakes slide into to more decorative suet holders designed for the highly sought after suet balls.

We offer a wide variety of suet to better suit individual species. The Backyard Birder suggests the eco-friendly Suet Plus, which uses 80% less packaging than the comparably sized Scotts suet.

Our suet ranges from $1.99* (CAD) for a single suet cake to $8.99*(CAD) for two cakes of premium suet. Our very popular suet balls that are rolled in peanuts for extra appeal are $3.49*(CAD). Though it is most beneficial for the birds during the cold winter months suet is just as appealing to them in the warmer summer months, and is carried in store year round.

Putting out suet is a sure fire way to attract Woodpeckers, Chickadees, Nuthatches, and, Blue Jays.

*Prices do not include Ontario Harmonized Sales Tax (HST)

Seed Prices on the Rise!

As many have noted over the past few months there has been a not so insignificant increase in wild bird seed prices. Though it is hard to get a solid answer from anyone as to why they have increased so much we can shed some light onto the various factors that have caused this upwards trend.

As a commodity prices are never set in stone and are affected by several factors. Two of the most significant factors to rising seed prices are environmental changes and uncertain economic times.

Economic uncertainty has caused many farmers to switch to higher profit grains and seeds. One of the leading factors in smaller harvests, which lead to higher prices, is corn production. Due to the increased popularity of ethanol many farmers have started to devoted more time and land to corn because of the higher profitability. Because of a lowered supply of sunflower seeds, and also safflower seeds, prices inevitably increase.

Perhaps the greatest factor of all of these is environmental changes. Large scale flooding, late springs, and delayed harvests have all negatively impacted the price of the commonly used black oil. There has been a similar trend in peanut production. This year a devastating drought and heat wave has sent peanut prices up from around $450 per ton to over $1200 per ton. This has unsurprisingly also affected the price of peanuts used for wild bird feeding because more of this year’s harvest will be used for human consumption.

So what does all of this mean to the consumer? Unfortunately this means that many have had to cut back. Though it is perhaps a frivolous expense to some, to others it is a lifelong hobby. The simplest way around the rising cost is to adjust how you feed. By reducing the amount of seed you put our each day you can stretch out how long a bag of feed lasts. There are also a many different types of feed that can be used to attract all sorts of birds for a lower price point allowing you to continue to enjoy the birds!

Tips on how to feed on a lower budget to come!

Welcome to the Backyard Birder Blog!

The Backyard Birder is proud to launch our new blog!

Here you will be able to read insightful and engaging posts about birdfeeding, gardening, and home decor and holiday entertaining tips and tricks. We will also keep you "in the loop" regarding our upcoming events and events throughout the city that we are participating in. Our blog will be your one stop shop for everything Backyard Birder.

At the Backyard Birder we love a good contest and after the success of our last contest the "Front Door Appeal Contest", we will surely be having more! We will use our blog to announce new and exciting contests and of course the lucky winners!

Our new blog comes as a partner to fast approaching relaunch of our website http://www.backyardbirder.ca/. A new user friendly design will help you navigate our site finding what you need with ease.

On our website you will be able to view items that we have in store and purchase online through our web store. You will also find great links to all sorts of great birding sites.

We look forward to developing our new blog in the very near future! Get your binoculars out and be on the lookout on Twitter and Facebook for new blog posts and news!