Winter arrives with a vengence - thank goodness for suet.

It's been two weeks now of winter here in Southern Alberta. Not just a little bit of snow mind you - lots of snow and cold and blowing hurricane force wind. Finally this last weekend we had a reprieve and I finally headed out to the feeders to replenish them.


Thank goodness for suet! I had put about 6 suet cakes out at the end of last week and it looks like my poor little birds have been pretty much living on these since my seed was about wiped out. The picture you see is of my downy woodpecker enjoying suet in my backyard. That is what I love about suet. Not only do the little finches and other seed eating birds enjoy it, but the woodpeckers and insect lovers will also eat the suet. It is the perfect food to help birds make it through cold winter days.


It looks like we could be in for a tough winter here. Don't forget the birds....

Thoughts for the day - what does the future hold?

I've had a very busy couple of weeks travelling around Alberta talking to customers and visiting various stores. A couple of things have struck me as I have travelled about. One is how metropolitan the Calgary to Edmonton Hiway 2 corridor is. It is starting to remind me of my days in Toronto commuting back and forth between Mississauga and North York where one city just merged into the next.

Today is my birthday so you have to pardon me for being a bit reflective. I remember Calgary back when I was going to university and Calgary today is so much larger. I guess that shows my age. It struck me though... what will Alberta look like in 40 years. How much farm land will be left along this corridor? What will be the impact on wildlife and native birds? What will be the impact on the environment of this suburban car-based economy? What will our kids be doing? How will Alberta support this huge infrastructure and will the Alberta economy be able to support this commercial development forever? I guess you can see the environmentalist in me starting to come out. I am planning to be around 40 years from now to find out what Alberta looks like - but it scares me a little bit to ponder the changes that may be coming.

So for now, I go out in my backyard and refill my feeders and wonder what the future holds in store for us.

What the heck is suet?

Sometimes when I talk to people about suet, they give me a blank look and say "what the heck is suet?" Well let me tell you - the suet secret is out! Suet is the best way to up your yard's "attraction factor" for birds.

You should find suet in any well stocked wild bird food section of your local wild bird store. Suet is one of most concentrated energy food sources that you can feed birds. This is because it is based on animal fat which has a very high energy value for birds who need help maintaining their body temperature in the winter time. Suet is easily digested and metabolized by birds to give them that energy boost they need to make it through a cold winter day or night.

Many birds love suet including birds that perhaps will not eat out of your other feeders. Suet lovers include woodpeckers, chickadees, northern flickers, nuthatches, and starlings.

When choosing suet, look for a high quality suet. For example our Pine Tree Farm's Suet is made from rendered beef kidney fat. It has been refined to maintain a high melting point for year round feeding. Pine Tree Farms uses top quality seeds, grain, peanut butter and peanuts, to attract a wide variety of birds.

Suet comes in a few different shapes and sizes. The standard type of suet is a 4 X 4 inch cake. However, there are suet plugs (cylindrically shaped suet), and suet balls etc. Just remember when buying suet that you need to have a feeder that works with the type of suet you have selected. Personally I use the Pine Tree Farms suet cakes in a simple cheap wire feeder.

Hang your suet feeder from a tree ideally within good view of a window in you home. If you are feeding suet for the first time and you find you are not attracting birds to your feeder, try smearing some peanut butter on the outside of the feeder and press some seeds into the peanut butter. The birds will recognize the seed and this will attract their interest.

So that is your quick introduction to suet. Give it a try! You will be impressed with who you find at your suet feeder.

Fall Bird Feeding Tips.

Fall is an exciting time for backyard bird feeders. Here is what to think about when feeding birds this fall:

Different birds in your backyard: Fall migration is underway and this means that you may have some unusual birds visiting your feeders as they pass through on their way south. It also means that you may start to see a change over in your regular feeder visitors. For example, redpolls, chickadees, jays, certain sparrows and juncos may visit your feeder more in the winter than the summer, while goldfinches and grosbeaks are not likely to overwinter in your backyard. As your backyard visitors change you need to keep an eye on your feeders. Different birds have different tastes in bird seed. The best way to deal with this is to offer a variety of different feeders and seeds in your backyard so that you are prepared for whoever comes your way.

Don't wait til winter: Now is the time to start feeding the birds before the miserable weather arrives. Birds are looking for the best place to overwinter and if your yard appears to have the food, water and shelter they need, then they will stay. If you start feeding the birds after the snow flies, it may be too late to attract many birds.

Don't forget about shelter: As you are trimming your trees and bushes this fall, don't throw out the trimmings. Create a brush pile about 4 foot high by 4 foot wide. This is a great place for small songbirds to escape the weather and predators and will encourage them to stay in your yard this winter.

Water: The experts say that there is nothing like ice free water to attract birds to your backyard. Think about setting up your winter watering station now. You can buy plug-in water heaters for your bird baths. Shop around and see what is the most practical and best solution for you. I have to admit that I have not yet found the ideal solution for my backyard. I have promised myself that this winter will be different - I will keep you informed as to how successful I am with this one.

High energy food sources: Think about adding a suet feeder or peanut feeder to your bird feeders this winter. Both of these will attract birds that may not eat at your other feeders and can provide all your birds with a quick high energy boost on a cold winter day.

Trick or Treat? Save that pumpkin: Finally, have some fun this fall and think outside the box. When you clean out that pumpkin, save the pumpkin fibre and seeds and offer them to your backyard birds on a flat cookie sheet. Pumpkin seeds are actually a key ingredient in some of our parrot mixes so why not give your jays or other birds a chance at these fresh seeds.

How to recognize a good bird seed mix.

In this slow economy, I have noticed that the bird seed mixes being offered by many of our competitors are changing composition to increase the amount of cheaper, lower quality and less desirable ingredients. Has the consumer noticed? I don't know but I am sure their backyard birds have. How do you compare one bird seed mix against another? Here are the things to consider:

Ingredients: I recently looked at a grocery store competitor's mix. It was over 50% corn, and over 20% wheat, and over 15% milo seed, leaving about 15% of the mix comprised of white millet and a sprinkling of sunflower. Of this mix, the majority of birds will happily eat the sunflower and white millet seed, but less birds are interested in the corn, wheat and particularly the milo seeds and even for these birds, those seeds are not their favorite food source.


I compared this mix to our Mother Nature's Songbird mix with 55% sunflower seed, 20% canarygrass seed, 10% canola seed, 10% cracked corn and 5% red and white millet. Our seed mix is overflowing with desirable ingredients for backyard birds. The Mother Nature's Songbird mix may not be quite as low priced as the grocery store mixture but if you consider that much of the grocery store mixture will end up on the ground or wasted in the feeder, you would find that our mix is considerably cheaper on a $/lb of product consumed.

When you are looking at an all purpose bird seed mix, visually look at the mix and see how much sunflower is actually in the mix. Also take a look at the ingredient list on the package. Desirable premium ingredients include sunflower seed, millet (not milo), canary seed, flax and canola seed, nyjer seed, and peanuts or tree nuts.

Remember that all bird seed mixes are not the same and that price is not the only differentiating factor. Remember also that if you want to attract specific birds to your yard that it is better to buy a mix that is specifically designed to attract that type of bird. For example Mother Nature's Finch mix for wild finches, Mother Nature's Jay mix for jays or woodpeckers, Mother Nature's Chickadee mix for chickadees and nuthatches and so on.

Why do birds migrate?

Now that we have finally gotten into the fields to harvest here in Southern Alberta, we hope that fall will last a long time and that winter is a long way off. There is no doubt however that it certainly is fall, with the crisper nights and the already shortening days. Soon we will see large flocks of birds migrating south for the winter.

Migration is an amazing sight, particularly when you are driving across the prairies in the fall. Often times you can see many flocks of all sorts of different birds flying overhead. The flocks that seem most common to us here on the farm are the snow geese that travel in very large flocks through the area in the fall and spring. We are definitely on their migratory path.

When you see these flocks in the air, you can't help but wonder how do birds know when to migrate? The articles on this subject vary but many experts (source: Lincoln, Frederick C., Steven R. Peterson, and John L. Zimmerman. 1998. Migration of birds. U.S. Department of the Interior, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Washington, D.C. Circular 16. 113pp.) believe that birds have a natural hormonal cycle. A change in the day length in the fall affects bird hormone levels causing birds to eat more and build up fat. These hormones also cause them to molt, thus ensuring that birds have fresh flight feathers for the migration journey. It also appears that the hormone level changes cause birds to become restless and ready to move on.

Some, but not all, birds will migrate at night. Many smaller birds do this and it is believed that this is to avoid enemies and secondly to allow the birds to feed during the day when more food is available to them.

So how do birds know where to go? It appears that this varies from bird species to bird species. However, in general, birds who only migrate short distances seem to learn the route from other more experienced birds, while birds that travel long distances seem to have an innate ability to determine where they need to migrate to. Studies show that some birds appear to navigate according to stars. However, some birds will travel even on a cloudy night so the earth's magnetic fields, the location of the setting sun, topographic features of the landscape (coastlines, rivers, mountain ranges, for example),and prevailing wind patterns are all possibly used as cues for migration.

So what does migration mean for backyard bird feeders? Well during the seasons of spring and fall you may see birds in your yard that you do not regularly see. These weary travellers will likely be looking for a well-stocked feeder or fresh water to help them make it through the next phase of their journey.

Weird weather - what's next?

OK we have suffered through a miserable August and September here in Southern Alberta. Hardly any of our crop is harvested and much of it is languishing out in the field wet and on the verge of sprouting. Now I hear it is going to be 25 degrees on Saturday and nice for the rest of the week. Now that is what we need on the farm to get crops off. This weird weather does make me wonder though what is coming next for fall.

October is usually a time of year when many birds start migrating. Will this weird weather throw them off? Have they started migrating already? I haven't seen our snow geese come through our fields yet. Every year we have a huge number of snow geese migrate through this area - we are definitely on their flight path. It is a wonderous sight to see.

More on bird migration - next time.

So Who Are You Feeding Anyway? Squaring off against the squirrels

They are cute alright, but these innocent looking bandits can make away with your bird seed and rob you of the pleasure of communing with your favorite birds. So how do you foil these furry critters? Here are a few tips on how to discourage the squirrels from camping out at your bird feeder.

Baffle 'em with a baffle: A baffle is a dome shaped cover that typically hangs over the top of your feeder and prevents squirrels from accessing the seed. Remember, though, that squirrels can jump quite a distance so unless your feeder is very isolated and high off the ground, this may not be an effective solution.

Beat them with technology: You can find feeders that are weight activated that will eliminate access to the seed if a heavy enough animal (aka squirrel) steps on the perch. You can also find feeders that are caged. This allows small birds to access the seed and protects them from cats and predatory birds, while protecting the seed from squirrels.

Make it hot: Mammals can taste the hot sensation in chili peppers but birds can not. Using the same principle that we use in our Pine Tree Farms Hot Pepper Suet, you could add a little cayenne pepper to your bird seed. It may convince the squirrels to find another food source.

If you can't beat them, join them: In the spirit of good will to all, you could just decide to feed the squirrels too. In that case, find yourself a nice squirrel feeder and place it somewhere in your yard that is a long ways away from your other feeders. Provide corn or nuts and you will have happy squirrels.

Harvest has started...finally.

Harvest has started and what a late harvest it is this year. Our sunflower is now blooming beautifully, well behind last year's blooms that were finished and dried down by this time of year. Everyone in southern Alberta is behind this year for harvest so what does that mean for the everyday bird feeder.....
Well, the crops are at risk of frost and if we do get an early frost then that will affect the quality and quantity of seed out there for bird seed. So we farmers are hoping and praying for warm fall days so we can get the crop in the bin in good shape.

How to keep your bird seed fresh.

We often get questions from people about storing bird seed. What is it's shelf life and how do you store bird seed to keep it fresh? First of all we recommend that you try to use up all your birdseed within 3 months to keep your seed fresh. However, if you are going to store your seed for longer then here are some important seed storage tips:

1. Storage container: For longer storage, a bag just won't suffice for storage of bird seed. Most bags have small pin prick holes in them to let air out or perhaps are loosely woven. This means that insects could potentially get inside the bag. Storing seed in a plastic or metal storage container with an airtight lid is an ideal solution.

2. Temperature: It is always a good idea to store seed in cold temperatures, in fact, most homes are too warm to store seed for a long period of time. It is better to store seed in your cool garage or a cool outdoor garden shed. In warm summer months it is best to move the seed to your freezer if you have room there. The cold will not hurt the seed's quality and it will ensure that the seed does not get overheated thereby leading to possible spoilage.

3. Quality check: If your seed has been stored for a while, ensure that there are no signs of insect cobwebs or insects in the seed, you should see no discoloration on the seeds related to spoilage and you should smell the seed to ensure it smells fresh and not "off".

4. Buy fresh looking seed: If the seed looks dusty or you see discolouration in the seed inside or any sort of cobwebs, do not buy the seed. If the bag looks weary and worn then perhaps that bag has been on the shelf too long. Look for a best before date on your seed or check for a manufacturing date code to help you determine the age of the seed.

Seed can be stored for a long time, but it must be stored properly to ensure excellent seed quality.

Black Oil Sunflower versus Striped Sunflower - what's the difference?

There are two types of sunflower available for wild bird feeding: black oil sunflower and striped (confection) sunflower. Here are the key differences between the two:

Striped sunflowers are generally larger than black oil sunflowers. In fact, striped sunflowers are the same type of sunflower you would buy yourself at a convenience store (roasted sunflower seeds - like Spitz for example). However, striped sunflowers for bird feeding have been screened to select smaller seeds that are more suitable for birds.

Oil sunflowers are smaller than striped sunflower and therefore are easier for small birds to handle and contain more oil per gram than striped sunflower. In addition, oil sunflowers have a thinner shell meaning that some birds find it easier to open black oil sunflowers than striped sunflowers. That said, larger birds like jays, woodpeckers and grosbeaks love striped sunflower. Also smaller birds like chickadees, titmice and nuthatches can easily open the shells of striped sunflower seeds. However, some birds like House Sparrows and blackbirds do have more difficulty cracking open striped sunflower seeds. So if you are suffering from an abundance of these types of birds, you could try feeding more striped sunflower seed. This may reduce the number of undesirable birds at your feeders and improve the diversity of birds in your backyard.

Bringing birding identification to your ipod.

Many people now own an iPhone or alternatively own an iPod Touch. I took the time recently to play with a couple of birding applications available for these devices and thought that you might be interested in hearing about these. The two applications I reviewed are "Chirp USA" and "Audobon Guides". These applications are available to purchase from the ITunes store.

Chirp USA ($2.99 to purchase): This app familiarizes you with the birds in your area and their songs. The first thing to note on this application is the "USA" in the title. This means that the birds are based on the states and regions of the US. So in order to use "location" as a selection criteria you will need to select a state that is similar or close to your province.

That aside, you can choose "all birds" as well which selects all the birds in the database. After you have selected a location or all birds then you can go the "Listen" or "Challenge" section of the application. In the listen section, you can sort birds by the most common types of birds, by bird song style or by alphabetical order. Then you can listen to the songs of the birds you are interested in. Also, you can link from the bird song to the Cornell website which provides you with more information on the selected bird.

The "challenge" section of the website is great. There you can select the birds that you are most interested in, and quiz yourself on their calls. A bird song is played and you have to pick the picture of the bird it belongs to.

I think this application would be good for a beginning birder. If you are out in the wilderness with your iPhone or iPod touch, you would be able to use this application to help you identify birds and their calls.

Audobon guides ($19.99 to purchase): This app is like the Audobon field guide but on your handheld device. The guide has multiple pictures and also multiple song examples for each type of bird. It also has textual descriptive information on each bird. It also allows you to do some data recording: for example documenting bird sitings and organizing your own birding photographs in albums.

The field guide provides the functionality for sorting birds by families and provides the option of finding similar birds - again this is great for trying to identify an unknown bird.

Audobon guides is not USA specific so it is a bit better from a Canadian perspective. However, it doesn't have nice features like sorting by common birds or sorting birds by location. It is a bit less user friendly and it doesn't have the fun aspect of the challenge exersises that you find in Chirp USA. However, I would say that for serious birders, this application is probably the better of the two.

Birding applications on handheld devices are neat tools for anyone who enjoys identifying birds while hiking or camping. These are two applications to choose from - you be the judge.

Nests are coming soon to a tree near you!

I was looking out the coffee room window at work recently and noticed a bunch of House Sparrows hopping around on the ground. At first I thought that they were just looking for food but then I realized that they were actually foraging for nesting materials.

It was fascinating to watch these little birds busily pick away at the grass and twigs and evaluate the material they were gathering. One little bird picked up a fairly large twig and tried a number of times to fly off with it. However, it was either to unwieldly or too heavy to be managed in flight so finally the bird gave up and went off looking for something else. Each bird that was there flew off in different directions so I expect we will have a number of different nests around the seed plant this summer. However, all this activity got me thinking about bird nest building and how interesting it is.

Nests vary by bird species: When I got looking into nest building I found it quite interesting to discover that the nests vary greatly between bird species.

For example, an American Goldfinch nest can be found just above ground level to several meters above ground level in the shady dense canopy of a bush or tree. The nest itself starts out with twigs connected by spider silk. Then small roots and plant materials are added to the nest cup and finally the nest is lined with plant material that is "downy" in texture.

On the other hand, a Robin's nest is usually 3 - 7 meters from the ground in deciduous or conifer trees. It is an open cup of grass or twigs that are glued together with a thick layer of mud and lined with grass. So it appears that nests are as individual as the birds who build them.

A great resource site for information on different types of nest is NestWatch at the Cornell Lab of Ornithology. There you can find information on the nests of many of the more common backyard birds and also join up and provide data on your own nest observations.

SUMMER BIRD FEEDING TIPS

Just got back from vacation in Sandpoint Idaho - beautiful spot by the way. I was pleased to see that my feeders still had some food left in them and that my goldfinches, pine siskins and doves were still frequenting the yard.

Speaking of summer, alot of folks forget to feed birds during the summer and think that birds do not need human help to get through the summer months. However, remember that summer is nesting and breeding time for many birds and your bird food can help the parents find food close to their young ones. There are many other reasons to feed birds during summer months including just being outside in the backyard enjoying sunshine and watching the birds at your feeder in person instead of through a window. However, there are some things about summer bird feeding that you need to keep on top of:

Feeder cleanliness: Summer temperatures provide the ideal climate for bacteria growth. It is important to ensure your feeders remain clean by scrubbing out your feeders with hot soapy water about once a month and letting the feeder air dry. More frequently, it is a good idea to wipe perches and feeding portals with a cloth dipped in weak bleach solution to prevent the spread of salmonella. In terms of filling feeders, do so frequently with small amounts of seed so that food in the feeder does not spoil or rot, again posing a risk to bird health. If the feeder is an open tray feeder, remove feed that has been soaked due to rain and try to remove bird droppings that can contribute to the spread of disease.

Sugar water solution feeders will attract hummingbirds, orioles, sapsuckers, purple finches, tanagers, warblers and others. However, you will need to to replace the sugar water solution every couple of days in hot weather so it does not get mouldy.

Bird baths: Birds love water and while open water is more available in summer months than winter, a bird bath will attract more birds to your yard at any time of year. Bird baths, however, can become a breeding ground for mosquitos and with West Nile Virus transmitted through mosquitos you need to be careful to ensure the water is changed daily and that bird baths are scrubbed out periodically too.

Summer bird feeding is very rewarding and can attract a great variety of birds to your yard, just don't forget to monitor feeder cleanliness and seed quality to ensure your birds are kept healthy and happy.

So what's so sad about the Mourning Dove?

I woke up this morning to the woo hoo hoo of a Mourning Dove and sure enough when I looked out the window, there the dove was. This is a first for our yard. We used to get doves at our old house but don't normally get them here.

My son was saying -"Hey Mom, there is a gray big bird in our yard with a small head". Well that's one way to describe a Mourning Dove I guess. Then, he asked why they were called Mourning Doves. I speculated that it is because their song is kind of mournful.

Doves are ground feeders and like to forage on the ground. They like seeds including cereals like corn and millet but this mourning dove seems to be enjoying the sunflowers in our Mother Nature's Chickadee Mix.

Mourning doves are gentle birds and doves are symbols of love and peace. It makes me sad to report per the Cornell Lab of Ornithology that Mourning Doves are the most frequently hunted species in North America. My dove is safe though in our backyard - just has our noisy dog to cope with from time to time.

How to attract gold finches and other finches to your yard.

I am very pleased to find goldfinches in my yard again this spring. Spring and summer are great times of the year for feeding finches. Goldfinches become a beautiful yellow in these months and house finches, purple finches and pine siskins are plentiful. So how do you attract these little birds to your feeders?

Start with the right feeder: Purchase a tube thistle finch feeder. This will be a long cylindrical feeder with small perches and very small seed holes.

Put the feeder in the right location: Mount the feeder in a tree or bush where you have seen finches before. You can move the feeder closer to the house once you have regular visitors to your feeder.

Choose the right food: The variety of ingredients in Mother Nature's Finch Mix is designed to attract redpolls, pine siskins, goldfinches, housefinches and other finches. It is also a more economical choice than feeding pure nyjer seed. Our Mother Nature's finch mix contains ingredients that these small birds love including nyjer seed, finely chopped sunflower seed, canola seed, canarygrass seed, and gold proso millet.

Do you have tips on attracting finches to your yard? I'd like to hear about them. Drop an email to seed@chinridge.com or comment on this blog.

Who's coming to dinner in your backyard?

I was just reviewing the results of the Wild Bird Feeding Industry's Project Wildbird study. This research project was a landmark study of seed and feeder preferences of wild birds in the United States and Canada that began in 2005 and wrapped up on December 2008. What is interesting about the study is that scientists have identified the most bird preferred types of bird seed. They have also identified which birds are most plentiful at backyard feeders in North America.

The study showed that the most preferred types of bird seed were: black-oil sunflower, chopped sunflower meats (we call these fine and medium sunflower chips), nyjer seed, and white millet. Of these, black oil sunflower in shell attracted the most species of birds and the highest number of birds. So if your goal is to attract many different types of birds and a high number of them then black oil sunflower should be a main ingredient in your bird seed mixes.

The study also tracked the most common birds at backyard feeders. Those were in order of most common to less common: House Sparrow, House Finch, American Goldfinch, Brown-headed Cowbird, Northern Cardinal, Black-capped Chickadee, Mourning Dove, Pine Siskin, Common Grackle, and Purple Finch. Now my own experience is slightly different - as I said in a previous posting I rarely get cowbirds in my yard and Northern Cardinals are not usually found in Alberta. In my back yard the most common birds are probably robins but of course robins don't typically eat at feeders. From my bird feeder perspective I would say the most common bird is the House Finch, redpolls (depending on season), goldfinches, siskins, grackles and Northern Flickers (who eat my suet and some of the bird seed). I see the odd nuthatch but they are pretty rare, the occasional jay and crow, and I have yet to see a chickadee in my current backyard.

I am doing a poll of my facebook friends - what are the most common birds at your feeders this spring? Drop a comment on the facebook wall or email me at seed@chinridge.com

Winter's back in southern Alberta

Woke up this morning to snow! I don't think it froze over night but it is obviously cold enough at higher altitudes to have snow falling. Unfortunately this canceled our Town's parade that was supposed to be today.

On the upside though, this morning I spotted a beautiful yellow goldfinch in my yard. My finch feeder was wrecked in a wind storm a couple of weeks ago and I haven't replaced it yet. I have got to do that tomorrow. I guess the other feeders in the yard or other birds in the yard must have captured the goldfinch's interest. It was too quick for me to get a good picture of it but I do have a picture of another unusual visitor to my yard.

I think this is a cowbird. It was a bit of a process of elimination for me as I do not regularly get cowbirds in my yard. I used my ipod application Chirp Bird Songs USA ($2.99)to help me identify it's call. I'll do a separate article sometime on ipod apps for bird identification. My parents say they had a baltimore oriole at the farm this morning which I have never seen personally but looking at the Cornell website I guess that would still be within it's summer range. In any event, it seems that spring storms bring interesting birds to backyard feeders.

Will we get the sunflower seeded?

Oh my goodness! We have had about an inch of rain since 3:00 AM this morning and there is more in the forecast. Of course this has shut down our seeding operations on the farm and our sunflower crop isn't completely in the ground yet. We think this rain is going to keep us out of the field til about June 2nd now which is getting quite late for seeding sunflowers.

Speaking of sunflowers, did you know that black oil sunflower is the top choice for seed eating birds. You just can not beat black oil sunflower in a feeder. You can feed black oil sunflowers in shell or you can feed the sunflower kernels (we call these sunflower chips). Sunflower chips especially chips that are not whole and have been chopped in some way are the perfect no mess bird food solution. They will not sprout under the feeder, there are no shells to clean up and birds love them so much that they will totally clean up the feeder and the ground if any spill.


Now back to the agronomics of sunflowers. Sunflowers have a fairly long growing season. Fields are seeded usually well before now in the spring and then sunflowers will grow quite tall - up to 50 - 60 inches tall at maturity. Sunflower fields burst into bloom in early August and are a beautiful sight to behold. We have calls from people asking us when the sunflowers will be in bloom so they can come and take pictures. By late August, though, the blooms are starting to die off as the field ripens.

Sunflowers are usually the last crop to be harvested in fall, since fall frosts are necessary for drying down the crop. Most of our sunflower crrops do not come off the fields until late October to mid November.

We still plan on seeding the remaining fields we have penciled in for sunflower. We just have to hope for a long and mild fall.

Wet fields and wet lands.

The fields are very wet this spring. In fact so wet that some of our farm equipment is getting stuck in the field. This is unusual in our neck of the woods in Southern Alberta. There are all sorts of little sloughs in the fields too and lots of Mallard ducks are enjoying these new watering holes. I was getting concerned about what was going to happen to these ducks when the watering holes dry up. Would they nest near them and then run out of water for their little ones?


I searched for information on this on the Ducks Unlimited website which indicates that Mallards ducklings are usually all hatched by the end of May. Then it takes 2 months for them to be able to fly. In my opinion this could be a bit tight for any ducks that have nested near small sloughs in the field which should have dried up by the end of July. Let's hope our ducks have picked larger watering holes to nest at.

Water in the backyard

Big storm here last night: We had a big rain storm here on the farm last night complete with lightning and thunder. We got another 1/2 inch of rain, which can only be helpful for the crops that are already seeded. Of course, it does slow down the rest of the seeding progress. However, as I see the robins enjoying the puddles in the yard I am reminded how important water is to your backyard bird feeding program.

Birds love water and while open water is more available in the summer than in the winter, a bird bath will attract more birds to your yard at any time of year. Birds love to play in water and have a quick bath. They enjoy having a quick drink especially when it is warm outside. The sound of running water seems to attract birds to the backyard so a fountain or even a bucket of water dripping can be an attraction.

When buying a bird bath remember to buy a shallow birdbath - no more than 2 1/2 inches deep at it's center. Second, it should not have a slippery bottom. If it does, consider adding aquarium rock or small pebbles to the bottom to provide a non-slippery surface. Finally consider what your bird bath is made of - for example concrete bird baths may be attractive but plastic bird baths are less likely to crack in cold temperatures.

Keep bird baths clean: Bird baths can become a breeding ground for mosquitos and with West Nile Virus transmitted through mosquitos you need to be careful to ensure the water is changed regularly and that bird baths are scrubbed out periodically too.

Spring Planting - Bird friendly plants for your backyard.

As you think about your seeding plans for spring either in your garden or in terms of landscaping in your yard, consider plants that will attract birds. Plants not only provide shelter and nesting locations for birds but they also provide food in terms of fruit or seeds and even insects if the plants are hosts to certain insects. Here are some common plants to consider when planting for the birds:

Plants with fruit: You can expand the diversity of birds in your yard by planting fruit trees or fruit bushes. Consider specifically planting mountain ash, dogwood trees, elderberry, chokecherry, saskatoon berry or apple trees. Other fruit bearing plants that are popular with birds include raspberry or strawberry plants and virginia creeper plants. These plants will attract robins, waxwings, woodpeckers, orioles, towhees, and grosbeaks.

Plants to provide shelter: Nothing attracts birds more to a yard than a large number of trees. Many trees and bushes can provide shelter and safety and even a nesting location for birds. Evergreen trees and bushes are particularly popular due to their year round greenery. So if you have the space, consider adding a few evergreen trees or bushes.

Plants with nectar: Plants that produce nectar will attract hummingbirds. Hummingbirds prefer brightly coloured plants with a cup or trumpet shape. Some of the plants that will attract hummingbirds include: hollyhock, columbines, delphiniums, lilies, snapdragons, petunias, honeysuckle and lilac shrubs and morning glory vines.

Annual flowers: Plants in the sunflower family are very popular with birds that love sunflower seeds. Other popular flowering annuals include cosmos, zinnias, and marigolds.