ScienceAlert: Hummingbirds Can See Colours We Can't Even Imagine, Experiment Reveals.https://t.co/p5vof6Wcaf— The Best Nest of GA (@TheBestNest_GA) June 16, 2020
via @GoogleNews
Tuesday, June 16, 2020
Hummingbirds and Colors
I just had to pass this along. Fascinating!
Thursday, June 11, 2020
Contaminents in Western Milkweed
Interesting article on contamination of the western milkweed varieties. Even though we are on the east coast we probably have the same issue.
Milkweed, only food source for monarch caterpillars, ubiquitously contaminated https://t.co/PnirO73CxA via @physorg_com— The Best Nest of GA (@TheBestNest_GA) June 11, 2020
Sunday, June 7, 2020
Millet Gets a Bad Rap
When you own a wild bird seed store (like I do) you gain a preference to particular seeds and seed blends. On the other hand you develop prejudices for others. Preference vs. Prejudice = Seeds vs. Grains.
In the layman's world, in which I live, the difference between a seed and a grain comes from its shell. Seed tend to have shells that can be removed, think sunflower, and grains have an outer coating that is difficult to remove, think corn.
Also in the layman's world seeds are relatively expensive compared to grains. Almost by a factor of 2x. So you can immediately tell by price if your seed blend has a lot of grain in it. The more expensive the wild bird seed blend the more seeds and nuts in that blend. The less expensive wild bird seed blends will have mainly corn, millet, wheat, etc.
One such grain that gets a bad rap is millet.
Millet is a very small round seed that is plentiful in the world. It is basically a grassy weed. There are several different varieties but all are inexpensive. Many birds will eat millet (and many humans as well, it is considered a "cereal grain"). Cardinals, Chipping Sparrows, Mourning Doves, Cowbirds any many, many more will eat this grain. I throw about 3 large handfuls on the patio everyday.
The bad rap with millet stems from its ability to grow quickly. The issue for most low end seed blends is that the bag is fill with so much millet and other grains that there are not nearly enough birds to eat it all. Thus... The "grassy weed" begins to grow and prosper!
I did this video years ago to show just how fast millet can grow. In about 5 days it's time to mow!
So, inconclusion, millet does get a bad rap. It's not that birds will not eat it, in fact many, many wild birds love it, it is the fact that if it is NOT eaten it will immediately germinate (i.e.: Produce Weeds).
My advice, if you want more birds, particularly ground birds that don't come to feeders, due to their size or other factors, is to purchase millet separately. Just take a handful or two everyday and throw it on the ground. You can get a pound of it at my store for way under a $1 and a pound of millet is a lot of grain.
David Peterson is the owner of the Best Nest of Georgia, Inc. which includes in its corporate family a retail store called the Wild Bird Center of Johns Creek Georgia. The Wild Bird Center focuses on bringing nature to your backyard using bird seed, bird feeders, mealworms, and bird houses to attract wild birds to your yard. You can reach the Wild Bird Center at 770-418-1990 or by contacting David via email: david@thebestnest.net
In the layman's world, in which I live, the difference between a seed and a grain comes from its shell. Seed tend to have shells that can be removed, think sunflower, and grains have an outer coating that is difficult to remove, think corn.
Also in the layman's world seeds are relatively expensive compared to grains. Almost by a factor of 2x. So you can immediately tell by price if your seed blend has a lot of grain in it. The more expensive the wild bird seed blend the more seeds and nuts in that blend. The less expensive wild bird seed blends will have mainly corn, millet, wheat, etc.
One such grain that gets a bad rap is millet.
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| Male and female cardinals enjoying millet. |
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Chipping sparrow eating millet
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I did this video years ago to show just how fast millet can grow. In about 5 days it's time to mow!
So, inconclusion, millet does get a bad rap. It's not that birds will not eat it, in fact many, many wild birds love it, it is the fact that if it is NOT eaten it will immediately germinate (i.e.: Produce Weeds).
My advice, if you want more birds, particularly ground birds that don't come to feeders, due to their size or other factors, is to purchase millet separately. Just take a handful or two everyday and throw it on the ground. You can get a pound of it at my store for way under a $1 and a pound of millet is a lot of grain.
David Peterson is the owner of the Best Nest of Georgia, Inc. which includes in its corporate family a retail store called the Wild Bird Center of Johns Creek Georgia. The Wild Bird Center focuses on bringing nature to your backyard using bird seed, bird feeders, mealworms, and bird houses to attract wild birds to your yard. You can reach the Wild Bird Center at 770-418-1990 or by contacting David via email: david@thebestnest.net
Thursday, May 7, 2020
A Brown-headed Cowbird Invading a Bluebird's Nest
There is a black bird out there called a Brown-headed Cowbird. You can easily spot the bird. They're about cardinal sized with a jet black body and a head that is completely brown. The cowbird is native to the US but a lot of folks consider it to be a problem child.
The cowbird is considered a problem because it is also a "brood parasite." This means the female cowbird takes NO responsibility raising it's own chicks. In fact it will enter a nest box, remove one egg from the box and then... lay it's own egg.
The interesting part is the actual birdhouse owner (think bluebird, nuthatch, etc.) will raise the cowbird as part of its own brood. Most birds can't recognize that a different bird's egg is in its clutch. Thus it will raise it until it fledges and learns to feed itself.
If you are in your backyard and you see a bluebird feeding a cowbird you now know why.
Yesterday I was taking a picture of one of my nesting boxes and this brought up this blog post (see pic below). The cowbird egg is in the top right. I left it there. There are rules to native birds, even though the brown-headed cowbird is considered a pest, it is native and cannot be destroyed. (Not that I would destroy any of God's work but that another story.)
Nature is beautiful. Bringing nature to your backyard is the goal of our retail store "The Wild Bird Center of Johns Creek" Let nature bring peace to your hectic life.
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Brown-headed Cowbird
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The interesting part is the actual birdhouse owner (think bluebird, nuthatch, etc.) will raise the cowbird as part of its own brood. Most birds can't recognize that a different bird's egg is in its clutch. Thus it will raise it until it fledges and learns to feed itself.
If you are in your backyard and you see a bluebird feeding a cowbird you now know why.
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| 3 bluebird eggs and 1 cowbird egg |
Friday, April 10, 2020
Crossvine: The Perfect Plant for the Arriving Hummingbirds
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| Crossvine |
It's April 10, 2020 and spring here in NE Atlanta is on full display. With the beginning of spring the local backyard wild bird enthusiast are patiently waiting on the 1st hummingbirds of the season.
In early spring and throughout the early summer the ruby-throated hummingbirds are making their annual migration to the Boreal forest in central Canada. They pass right through the Johns Creek area starting around April 1st. You can almost set your clock to it.
Early spring is also when the weather is finally warming up, allowing us to get to our gardens. Garden Centers are packed (even with the Covid 19 virus). Nature is our way to sooth the soul. So let's unwind with nature by putting wild birds and plants together to start a hummingbird garden.
The plant you see in the picture is a climbing vine called a "Crossvine." I love this plant because while the other popular hummingbird plants like sages and salvias are just coming out of the ground this plant is in full bloom at the beginning of spring... just in time for the ruby throated hummingbird.
The plant requires little care. Mine is located in full sun (springtime) yet it is in partial sun during the summer. The crossvine grabs anything it can find so mine is crawling up a tree limb and to the left it's invading a trumpet vine (a summer blooming hummingbird plant).
The crossvine will bloom for a short time. Typically by Mother's Day it is finished. A late hard freeze will also kill the flowers but won't hard the plant. The crossvine will stay green all year long. It doesn't go completely dormant in the winter.
It's early spring, if you are considering a hummingbird garden this year go to your local garden center and check out a crossvine. Unwind and let nature sooth your soul.
Sunday, March 29, 2020
Saturday, February 8, 2020
Tap, Tap, Tap...
What the heck, this wild bird is constantly tapping at the window…
We are in the middle of winter and getting our 1st snow here in NE Atlanta. The store is fairly quiet giving me the chance to cover a topic that is about to happen all over the Northern Hemisphere.
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| The male northern cardinal has know to tap on windows until his beak bleeds. |
In a few short weeks it will be nesting season. Here in Johns Creek, GA it all starts right around March 1st. Very soon the chickadees and the bluebirds will start fighting for nesting boxes and the season will begin.
This beautiful, bountiful season where broods will be hatched, chicks will grow, and fledglings take their 1st flight has but one little downfall.
"I can't keep that darn wild bird from tapping on my window!"
Our customers will start coming in with the same complaint all season long especially concerning bluebirds and cardinals. These particular birds will come to a window or a car mirror and just start pecking. They will peck, peck, peck well past the time their beaks start to bleed. It's obviously a stressful time for the bird and it worries the homeowner to death.
The problem here is that modern window manufacturers have learned how to keep UV rays, moisture, and noise all on the outside of a window and they've learned to keep home air-conditioning and heating inside the house. But... They have not learned or haven't chosen to produce a window with a matt finish. All (that I know of) current windows manufactured around the world are given a glossy, shiny finish.
This window finish reflects everything that comes in near contact with it. Including... you guessed it, that crazy wild bird.
As it turns out the crazy bird isn't so crazy. In fact what is actually happening is that the bird is protecting it's territory. As it flies over its personal territory it notices another bird encroaching on its real estate. That just can't happen during nesting season. After nesting season, before nesting season, no problem but during - during nesting season their can be only one male cardinal per location or one female bluebird per area.
The result is the bird sees the "other" bird in the window and stops to attack it by pecking at it all day long. Naturally you've probably guessed that the "other" wild bird is actually the same bird's reflection.
So how do you stop this issue? Simple... put something on the window that will break the sheen. Crumple up some saran wrap and stick it up there or "paint" the glass with artificial spray-on white Christmas tree flocking (we actually sell this, it is call "stop window attack" by Window Alert). Or, you could simple put up a piece of cardboard on the outside of the window. All these methods and more work.
Be creative the only thing you have to do it break window's sheen so it doesn't reflect the bird own image. For more information stop by your local wild bird store, I'm sure they have heard of and and have already solved this issue.
David Peterson is the owner of the Best Nest of Georgia, Inc. which includes in its corporate family a retail store called the Wild Bird Center of Johns Creek Georgia. The Wild Bird Center focuses on bringing nature to your backyard using bird seed, bird feeders, mealworms, and bird houses to attract wild birds to your yard. You can reach the Wild Bird Center at 770-418-1990 or by contacting David via email: david@thebestnest.net
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