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Got Squirrel Damage to Blue Bird Houses?
Okay…so this may not be a bluebird house, but it does represent a typical squirrel-enlarged entrance. Has this happened to any of your birdhouses?Early fall is the perfect time to clean birdhouses in preparation for winter. Resident birds like chickadees, titmice, and wrens will use houses to roost on cold winter nights. Our bluebirds actually stuck around and over-wintered here in North Georgia last year, so blue bird houses should also receive a thorough cleaning.
An old spatula works well to remove nesting materials, and makes the perfect scraper to remove stuck-on debris. Discard nest material away from the birdhouse, as this will likely attract predators. For the safety of your health, never breath in the dust from the nest materials either. Rubber gloves are helpful too.
To salvage an enlarged entrance and restore your birdhouses, predator guards are available. Simple metal portals work well, and fit right over the entrance, denying large birds or squirrels back inside the house. Two small nails will tack these down securely and in a jiffy! Decorative predator guards are also available, and will undo the damage done to your birdhouse.
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Heated Bird Baths Allow Some Birds to Over-Winter
With the end of summer, so comes the migration south for many song birds. A few favorites may stick around if their habitat suits them well enough. Bluebirds in my yard for example, surprised me last year when they decided to over-winter. Probably because of the juicy live worms they were offered everyday, and mostly because of the heated bird baths in the yard. This season we had three successful broods!Heated bird baths really are important to wild birds. As temperatures drop and local water sources tend to freeze over, the baths offer an oasis for drinking and bathing. Clean feathers are a must for birds to stay warm too. When you see them “puff up” it is a mechanism they use to retain body heat. Some folks believe birds can eat snow for water, and they can, but it takes them many calories to convert the snow to water. And these are precious calories needed to just stay warm.
If you already have a favorite bath, please don’t empty it and turn it over for winter. Consider adding a heater or deicer to it for the birds. They need fresh water in winter just as much as hot summ
er months. Many of the newer heaters are safe for use with all bird baths, so there’s no worry about having a metal heater in a plastic or resin bath. The Heated Rock for example, is an innovative new heater that’s safe with all types of baths. Mat-type heaters can be used with all baths as well.Help birds to thrive and flourish this winter by offering a consistent fresh water source with heated bird baths. You never know who may surprise you and decide to stick around?
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Bluebird Houses in the News: Proven Beneficial
It’s difficult to convince folks sometimes, and all the blogging in the world may not make a bit of difference. But when the Associated Press does an article on the benefits of backyard birding…it seems a bit more substantial. Bluebird houses have been proven beneficial in the fight against unwanted insects. Much better than ineffective pesticides, most of which have been rendered useless….read on!
DEAN FOSDICK
This Jan. 23, 2005 photo shows an Eastern bluebird photographed near McLeansville, N.C. Eastern bluebirds are voracious insect feeders, especially during nesting and rearing periods. Their primary diet includes flies, katydids, beetles, worms and spiders. They’re aerialists, catching insects on the fly or pouncing on them on the ground. (AP Photo/Dean Fosdick)Growers are beginning to understand that common birds can be of uncommon value to fields, lawns and gardens.
Many avian species earn their keep by eating insects and small mammals, and destroying weed seeds.
“Commercial growers are turning to birds as an alternative or supplement to pesticides,” said Marion Murray, an Integrated Pest Management project leader with Utah State University Cooperative Extension. “But you have to have the environment or habitat before inviting them in.”
That means mimicking nature by providing plenty of food, water and cover. Put up some bluebird boxes or nest boxes for raptors, said Marne Titchenell, a wildlife specialist with Ohio State University Extension.
“Monitor the bluebird boxes so sparrows don’t take over,” she said. “Brushier habitat provides protection for insect-eating songbirds. Allow the edges of your woodlot to grow up a bit. Berry-producing shrubs are excellent things to have around for all kinds of wildlife.”
Birds occupy a unique place in nature, according to the authors of a timeless 1912 study, “Red Bird, Green Bird: How Birds Help Us Grow Healthy Gardens,” by Harry A. Gossard and Scott G. Harry (Ohio State University Extension, revised edition 2009). “Each species performs a service which no other can so well accomplish,” the authors said.
Raptors such as hawks and owls chase down field mice, moles and grasshoppers. Insectivores like bluebirds, chickadees and woodpeckers stalk beetles, worms and grubs.
Meadowlarks are ground feeders, favoring meadows and farm fields where they gorge on grasshoppers and weevils. Robins focus on lawns and gardens, where they pull up cutworms, wireworms and other larvae injurious to crops.
Chickadees are birds of the forest, eating tent caterpillars, bark beetles and plant lice. Goldfinches prefer open country where they can pursue caterpillars and flies. “No other bird destroys so many thistle seeds,” the authors say.
“An individual tree swallow, barn swallow, purple martin or chimney swift can eat up to a thousand flying insects a day,” said David Bonter, assistant director of Citizen Science with the Cornell Lab of Ornithology. “They can have a big impact.”
While it’s great to have these specialized bug hunters around if you’re a grain farmer, small commercial farmer or orchard grower, recruiting should be directed toward a variety of species, said Margaret Brittingham, a professor of wildlife resources at Penn State University.
“All insect eaters feed at different heights, on different plants and prefer different insects,” she said. “Having some (bird) diversity is important in maintaining insect populations. What we don’t want to wind up with is having a monoculture with birds as we frequently do with plants, inviting problems.”
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Online:
For more about birds for alternative pest management, see this Utah State University fact sheet http://utahpests.usu.edu/htm/utah-pests-news/fall-09/
You can contact Dean Fosdick at deanfosdick(at)netscape.net
Birding Tips, Information & News
This Jan. 23, 2005 photo shows an Eastern bluebird photographed near McLeansville, N.C. Eastern bluebirds are voracious insect feeders, especially during nesting and rearing periods. Their primary diet includes flies, katydids, beetles, worms and spiders. They’re aerialists, catching insects on the fly or pouncing on them on the ground. (AP Photo/Dean Fosdick)