The World's Best Birdfeeder? Droll Yankees A-6

Downy & Red-bellied Woodpeckers @ Droll Yankees A-6 feeders

While I'm not always as meticulous as I should be, I work at keeping my bird feeders clean.

When I heard the weather forecast (wet snow turning in to rain) yesterday, I knew I would be doing my "cleaning the feeders" routine at the end of the day.  Wet seed spoils - and sunflower hearts spoil more quickly than seeds with shells.  

My cleaning regimen starts at dusk - emptying the feeders and bringing them into the basement (where I have room to take them part) and soaking them in a hot, soapy, bleach solution in the utility sink.  I don't wash animal feeders in the kitchen because it's important to separate human food preparation sites from potential contamination from bird droppings and potentially spoiled bird food.

Then I bring them upstairs and run them through the dishwasher.  

Every time I clean my feeders (about once a month - more often when it's wet, hot or humid), I can't help but think of Peter Kilham, the engineer and artist who designed "the world's best bird feeder."  Back in 1969, he took a polycarbonate plastic tube, added metal feeding portals and perches, a metal base and top - and created the A-6 tube bird feeder.  This simple design fueled the boom in the hobby of bird feeding.

While the Droll Yankees company has made a number of cosmetic and design improvements (and added new models), their tube feeders have stood the test of time:  they're the best.

Why?

1.  it's easy to clean
2.  it's not likely to injure birds (no rough edges)
3.  the seed levels are visible
4.  it protects seed from bird droppings and "weather"
5.  you can "modify" it to discourage birds you don't want to see (house sparrows, starlings and pigeons, house finches) by adding a tray or removing perches
6.  it comes in several sizes
7.  it comes with a lifetime warranty

For best results use only one type of seed (sunflower or safflower or nyjer) in a tube feeder.  

Here's why it's more economical to avoid seed mixes:

When you mix seeds, birds show their personal preferences by tossing the seeds they don't prefer on to the ground.  Birds that feed on the ground under bird feeders are vulnerable to predators and disease (from spoiled seed/shells and bird feces below the feeder).

When you add up all the wasted seeds - mixes actually cost more!

Dead Bird at the Feeder

Here's what the coulees of west central Wisconsin looked like at 2:30pm today.    Bone-chilling cold.  Snow is in the forecast - again.  We were out looking for raptors in all the usual places.  When the sky clouded over, we headed home and spent the rest of the afternoon checking out the birds at the feeders.

When I started feeding birds years ago, I knew I was doing it for my own entertainment.  I had no illusions that I was "helping" birds survive the winter.  In fact, I still feel some "guilt" about luring birds to an unnatural feeding situation which exposes them to disease and predation.

I do my best to minimize disease transmission.  I'm meticulous about keeping the feeders clean and sanitized.  In the winter, I wash them in hot soapy water every week.  I rake up the debris on the ground below the feeders daily.  And I don't use "mixed" seeds.   I put separate seeds - nyjer, sunhearts, black-oil sunflower, corn and millet - in separate feeders.  

When I spot a finch with conjunctivitis, I take down my feeders and sanitize them in a 10% bleach solution.  I wait for the "sick" bird to disperse before I re-install the feeders.

To minimize predation, I put my feeders close to cover and minimize window collisions by soaping the reflective glass and installing flash tape.

Still, this winter has been particularly tough for songbirds (deer and rabbits too).  It's not easy for animals to get to food under the deep snow with an icy crust.  I marvel at their ability to survive a "real" winter.  And I empathize when I see animals that don't have what it takes.

The other day - at 10am, I spotted a "hatch year" American Goldfinch "sleeping" in my Droll Yankees feeder. 

I went outside to get a closer look.  The bird didn't fly off.  I stood still and watched.  Then I saw her shiver.  She was obviously stressed.  So I went back indoors and watched from my kitchen window.

About an hour later, she was on the ground - literally belly up.  Dead.

I grabbed some plastic gloves and went outside to see if I could figure out why she died.  I blew on her chest to check for fat.  She didn't have any fat deposits - and very little muscle.  While I have no way of knowing the primary cause of death, this bird was starving when she died. 

I left her on the snow and went back inside the house.

How long would it take for a predator to claim her?

I watched for an hour (all the while thinking:  the watched pot... ).  I left the window to make a cup of coffee.  When I returned the body was gone.

Woodpeckers at a Gut Pile

Hairy Woodpecker on a gut pile in the snow

It snowed again last night.  Only an inch or two.  The red liquid in my kitchen thermometer hovered around the "0" line.  I dreaded going outside.  But the birds were a callin' and they wanted the feeders filled. 

I put on my coat and gloves and went outside at 7am.   I shoveled the feeding station and filled the feeders.

I didn't see the "crime scene" until I started shoveling the driveway.  I found it behind the big spruce that shelters my feeding station.  At first I thought it looked like one of those clumps of snow and road sand that I've been kicking off the wheel-wells my Prius.   It wasn't until I got closer that I realized it was something else altogether.

The gut pile in my driveway

Here's what was left at the scene:  The fur and tracks (on the right) belong to a cottontail rabbit.    Feather and talon tracks (on the left) belong to an owl - a Great-horned or Barred.  I've heard them both in my backyard.

It looks like an owl spotted a rabbit early this morning.  The bird killed it and eviscerated it on the spot;  then flew off with the body, leaving the rabbit's intestines and a swatch of fur behind.

Will the owl come back?  Will another creature eat what was left behind?  Inquiring minds want to know.

I moved the guts to a place I could watch from the comfort of my kitchen window.

Downy Woodpecker on rabbit intestines

Minutes later, a Downy Woodpecker discovered the now-frozen guts and started pecking away at the pile.  As I was setting up to take a photo, a Hairy Woodpecker flew over, scared the Downy away and started pecking

I couldn't stay and watch, but when I got home at 4pm, some of it was still visible from the kitchen window.  I'll be surprised if it's still there in the morning.  Stay tuned...

A Junco at the Deer Carcass

I went over to check out the birds at the deer carcass birdfeeder at the Maxville Alternative High School.  I was hoping to get a photo of a Dark-eyed Junco eating suet.  This time the birds cooperated.

I also documented the juncos eating thistle.

A Red-breasted Nuthatch at the upside-down suet feeder.

 

And this "mystery" bird.  With the black head, my first thought was:  Rose-breasted Grosbeak?

Too small.    

Here's another view:

 

It's a very dark male purple finch!

A New Squirrel-Proof Suet Feeder

Late yesterday, UPS delivered a new upside-down squirrel-proof bird feeder.  Before the sun disappeared over the bluffs, I filled it with a peanut butter suet cake and hung it from from the pole outside my kitchen window.

When I got up this morning, it was snowing.  Birds were everywhere.

Everywhere but on my new feeder.

Okay.  I'm impatient.  I admit it.

Eventually a downy woodpecker will find it.  Before I could finish that thought, it became a reality.  Just like that - a female downy woodpecker gave it a try.

I like this feeder.  It's easy to fill and easy to clean (it fits in my dishwasher).  The big birds can access it and it's easy on the eyes.  It does a great job protecting the suet from dust, dirt and bird droppings.

While I don't have a squirrel challenge, I know what they can do.   I can't see squirrels getting to this one.

Want to see more feeders like this?  Check out the ERVA products catalog.

Birds at the Deer Carcass

A couple of months ago, our local DNR conservation warden delivered a deer carcass to the Maxville Alternative School, just down the road from where I live.   The students strung it up by the birdfeeding station - then waited and watched to see who might show up.

I've made a point of stopping at least once a week to take a look myself.

The first visitor?  A very friendly Black-capped Chickadee.
The biggest surprise?  A Dark-eyed Junco.

The most likely visitor?  A Downy Woodpecker.

Plenty of coyote tracks.  No eagles yet...

Squirrels & Birdfeeders

Squirrels are not a problem where I live.

My house is surrounded by corn and alfalfa fields, across from the largest intact floodplain forest in the upper midwest.  I have a few trees in my yard, but not enough to attract a steady stream of arboreal rodents.   So when I see a squirrel, it's a big deal (in a "good for the squirrel" and "fun for me" way). 

During the really cold spell around Christmas (when the temperature dropped into the -20s), a very cute fox squirrel showed up for a day or two.   I'm sure she was attracted to the walnut tree next door, but when she showed up at my feeders, I couldn't resist putting out a little pile of sunflower seeds just for her.

But even when I lived in squirrel-infested suburbia, I never had problems with squirrels.  What's the secret?  It's really quite simple: 

     1.  Don't use bird seed mixes. 

     2.  Invest in squirrel-proof feeders and/or squirrel proof poles.

I'll be writing more about specific strategies with seeds, feeders and poles in upcoming blogs, but here's a picture of what a squirrel-proof suet feeder can get you:

I was amazed that the male downy (on the back left) would let the 3 females near "his" feeder.  But it was late in the day and very cold.  Before I took this photo, there were 6 downies on this feeder (another in the back and one underneath) all at the same time.  Amazing!

Other than bird capacity - what should you look for in a suet feeder?

Is it squirrel-proof?  If they cannot get to the suet, they will leave it alone.

Is it is easy to fill? 

Does it "protect" the suet from dirt and bird droppings?

Is it accessible to woodpeckers of all sizes? 

And is it easy to clean? 

The Early Bird and the Hawk

I was an early bird this morning - up and about before the sun slid over the horizon.  I couldn't resist taking a look at my birdfeeders before I fixed myself an espresso.

It was dark, and at at first glance, I didn't see any birds.    Then I saw something moving in the bottom branches of the big spruce.

I grabbed my trusty little Bushnell 7x26 Custom binoculars for a better look.  I expected to see our local Northern Shrike.   It was a little Sharp-shinned Hawk.

I watched him pluck his breakfast.   It looked like a junco, but there wasn't enough light to be sure.  Despite the "bad" light, I pulled out my newly cleaned camera and snapped a photo.

After awhile, I took a break and made my latte.  As I walked back to the window, I knew the hawk was gone.  The feeders were, once again, full of birds. 

Feeding Wild Birds - Bread

Stale, moldy wheat bread under my neighbor's feeder

I don't know where the notion that's okay to "feed bread to wild birds" originated.  (I do however, recall seeing something about stringing stale donuts and holiday pastries in an old Audubon brochure).

I learned it from my parents.  I remember them taking us kiddies down to the local duck pond and pulling out a bag of stale "wonder" bread.  We'd tear the bread into pieces, toss it at the birds and watch the ensuing commotion - the quacking, flying feathers and bill pecking. 

I can only assume my grandparents took my parents to the duck pond when they were little kids too.

I remember the next level of recycling table scraps into wild bird food:  making birdseed suet.   My mother would pickup beef kidney fat from the butcher.  (It was free back then).  We'd boil it up (render it), add some bird seed mix, let it cool in a rectangular pyrex pan, then cut it up into little squares to fit in wire mesh suet cages.

I'll bet my parents did the "rolling pine cones in peanut butter and birdseed" project when they were youngsters too.

I never thought much about whether any of this was "good" for the birds.  It was just something we did - and the adults always seemed to enjoy doing it with us.

I do however, remember my embarrassment when I learned how "bad" these seemingly innocuous activities can be for birds. 

First, the obvious:  despite the fact that birds will eat baked goods, they're not part of their natural diet.  Processed foods provide little or no nutritional value and may actually contribute to wing deformities and starvation. 

“Bread is actually like junk food for waterfowl,” says Michele Goodman of the Webbed Foot Wildlife Rehabilitation Clinic in Connecticut. “Handouts such as whole slices of bread, pizza crusts and bagels can actually cause birds to choke to death.”

Moldy bread is another story.  Birds are especially susceptible to Aspergillus mold pathogens, which can cause a respiratory disease known as Aspergillosis.  For more information, click on this link.

What's wrong with adding a mix of seeds to suet?

Birds that eat suet may eat peanuts, but millet, oats and milo are not high on their list of favorites.  Those seeds end up on the ground below the feeder - where they sit in a froth of feces, spilled seeds and food debris.

And rolling pine cones in peanut butter and seeds?  Again, it's safer for the birds to eat peanut butter from a sanitized plastic feeder - without the mix of seeds.

Remember:  for the best results - for birds and your pocketbook - offer separate seeds (fruits or mealworms) in separate feeders.

Just say "NO" to breads and pastries!

A New Chickadee Feeder

Buffalo County was one of the last strongholds for bison in western Wisconsin.  These days my neighborhood is over-run with white-tailed deer, making driving after dark a challenge.

Last month, a 4-point buck got hit right in front of my house.

I pulled it off the road to keep the birds feeding on the road-kill from becoming road-kill too.  I had planned to pull it all the way to my front yard and watch the birds and coyotes devour it.  But it was so heavy, I was only able to pull it into the ditch along side the road.

By the time I got back outdoors with a wheelbarrow, the dead deer was gone.  The County roadkill removal contractor is very efficient.

Then I thought - maybe I could get him to drop off a deer down the road at the Maxville Alternative High School, so the students could observe winter scavengers

A couple of months ago, I talked with teachers at the Maxville Alternative High School about using the Lower Chippewa Natural Area - the largest intact floodplain forest in the upper midwest - as the integrating context for learning.  It's right outside their back door - and across the street from my house.

I set up a bird feeding station (sunflower, nyjer and suet) outside their classroom window a couple of weeks ago, and asked DNR Biologist Kris Johansen, if he could help us get a deer carcass.  He said he'd try.

 

While I was out of town on Thursday, DNR Warden Bill Wrasse delivered a skinned deer and the students strung it up from the swings.

I stopped by today to check it out.

I was amazed to see the chickadees were all over it - juncos too!

It will be interesting to see who else stops by. 

Insects for Birds

I had a bucket of mealworms (larvae of the tenebrio molitar beetle) taking up space in my mud room recently.   They were leftovers from my bluebird project.  I didn't want to just toss them.  

So, I decided now is the time for my backyard birds to learn to eat them.  I'd tried before, but got no takers.

When I put the mealworms in a dish feeder with sunflower seeds, the goldfinches tossed them out to get to the black seeds.  When I put them in a dish of suet, the Downy Woodpeckers ate around them.  Then this morning, I noticed a Black-capped Chickadee tossing the oatmeal bedding and flying off with an insect.  Success!

Apparently the other birds were watching too.  I've caught the Downy and Hairy Woodpeckers and the White-breasted Nuthatch picking at the oatmeal and scarfing down a mealworm.

I haven't been quick enough to get my camera up and focused.  The best I'd been able to get (and I've had to sort through several blurry images) is this fanny view of the chickadee with a mealworm in its mouth.

With a little luck, I will get a beak-view soon.