When a predator shows up at your backyard feeders the songbirds need a place to hide. If you don’t have any evergreens, you can make an instant shelter with a brush pile.
Brush piles don’t look tidy but they benefit birds. Look how this one frustrates an active Coopers hawk in Wisconsin.
Here is one of the Cooper’s or one of the Sharp-Shinneds in the area attacking the bird brush pile! We spend a lot of time repairing it, but the small birds love it for protection! #birding #backyardbirding #Wisconsin pic.twitter.com/Xjzw4vKQSK
— Ricky L. Jones? (@RLJSlick) February 5, 2020
The Great Backyard Bird Count is coming this weekend, 14-17 Feb 2020. Here are 3 quick things to make your backyard a better place for birds.
- Clean your feeders: Bird feeders accumulate mold and bacteria, including Salmonella. Clean them every two to four weeks by emptying and soaking for 10 minutes in a weak solution of 10% bleach (1 part bleach, 9 parts water) described at The Spruce: Bird Feeder Cleaning Tips.
- Keep your cat indoors.
- Provide shelter (described above).
(photo by Marcy Cunkelman, video tweet from @RLJSlick)
Kate – ICYMI. Amazon has kindle book ‘ 100 Birds and How They Got Their Names’ on special for $1.99.