While you are patiently awaiting the nesting season to begin here are some specific feeders with specific food for specific birds!!!
*Have your kids help- They can choose the bird they want to see, then as a family buy or build the feeder. Finally let them fill the feeder with food.
All of this information came from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.
Build a birdfeeder…Save a bird =)
*TUBE FEEDER WITH BLACK OIL SUNFLOWER
goldfinches chickadees
woodpeckers nuthatches
titmice redpolls, pine siskins
*ADDING A TRAY TO THE TUBE FEEDER WILL ALSO ATTRACT
cardinals jays
crossbills purple finches
white-throated sparrow house finches
white-crowned sparrows
*TRAY OR PLATFORM FEEDER — WITH MILLET
doves house sparrows
blackbirds juncos
cowbirds towhees
white-throated sparrows tree sparrows
white-crowned sparrows chipping sparrows
*TRAY OR PLATFORM FEEDER — WITH CORN
starlings house sparrows
grackles jays
juncos bobwhite quail
doves ring-necked pheasants
white-throated sparrows
*PLATFORM FEEDER OR TUBE FEEDER AND TRAY — with PEANUTS
cardinals chickadees
grackles house finches
titmice house sparrows
sparrows starlings
mourning doves white-throated sparrows
jays juncos
*NIGER THISTLE FEEDER WITH TRAY
goldfinches house finches
purple finches redpolls
pine siskins doves
chickadees song sparrows
dark-eyed juncos white-throated sparrows
*NECTAR FEEDER
hummingbirds orioles
cardinals tanagers
woodpeckers finches
thrushes
*FRUIT
orioles tanagers
mockingbirds bluebirds
thrashers cardinals
woodpeckers jays
starlings thrushes
cedar waxwings yellow-breasted chats
*HANGING SUET FEEDER
woodpeckers wrens
chickadees nuthatches
kinglets thrashers
creepers cardinals
starlings
*PEANUT BUTTER SUET
woodpeckers goldfinches
juncos cardinals
thrushes jays
kinglets bluebirds
wrens starlings
*HANGING PEANUT FEEDER
woodpeckers
chickadees
titmice
The Mockingbird is known for its imitation of other bird calls. It can have 25-30 songs that it sings all year and even into the night.
It’s back is gray with a white underbelly. It’s wings and tail are darker gray with patches of white. The male and female look alike.
They are found in the suburbs through all of the United States into Northern Mexico. It eats insects and fruit.
The female lays 2-6 eggs and incubates them for 12-13 days. The chicks fledge at 12 days. The parents fiercly protect the nest by swooping down on people and animals.
In 1927 both Florida and Texas made the Mockingbird its state bird. The Women’s clubs voted it in Arkansas in 1929. It’s growing popularity led Tennessee to adopt it in 1933 and Mississippi in 1944.
Here is a printable color sheet.
Have you ever noticed going through a day without ever seeing or hearing a bird. Well I think today would have been that day for me. Granted the day is not over yet, but I have not seen a Sparrow or heard a Mockingbird or hoped to scare away a Grackle. I am pretty sure the hecticness of changing diapers and making meals and running off to the store did not blind me from noticing the birds.
I am even more convinced of the need for birdhouses now. Have we industrialized ourselves so much that now we can actually go through half of a day without seeing a feathered friend. I have 3 large trees in my yard and I went out even now and looked up and listened, not a chirp or a feather.
I am here to help save the birds from the impending concrete disaster. Please join me. Build a birdhouse…Save a bird!
