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Open a Pdf of the Jul/Aug 2011 Newsletter BIRD’S-EYE VIEW Volume 18 Issue 3 | July/August 2011 In this issue... Feature Article ..................... 1 Chirps .................................. 2 Seasonal Checklist .............. 2 Know Your Backyard Birds ... 3 BlackbirdsWhen is a black bird a blackbird? Carol’s Favorite Feeder ......... 4 +Say “bye-bye” to ill-behaved pests Great ideas ........................... 4 inside > BLOOMINGTON FEATURE ARTICLE 816 West 98th St. (Clover Center) Bloomington, MN 55420 952.884.4103 Summer’s (Least) Wanted... EAGAN PEST 2143 Cliff Rd. (Cedar Cliff Shopping Center) Eagan, MN 55122 651.459.0084 PEST MINNETONKA PEST 4759 County Rd. 101 (Westwind Plaza) By Wayzata Manager MELISSA BLOCK them. Feeders with no perches, short perches, Minnetonka, MN 55345 Just when we get to enjoy the warmth and beauty caged tube feeders and Nyjer® feeders without 952.935.5892 that comes with longer days, along come those trays are designed to discourage larger birds. WHITE BEAR LAKE nasty pests! Nuisance birds, pesky mammals and Adjust your seed mix 2703 East Cty. Hwy. E. (Cty. Rd. E. and Hwy. 120) annoying insects are all a part of summers Avoid starlings by using our Bye-Bye Starling White Bear Lake, MN 55110 in Minnesota. mix. It consists of hard-shelled seeds (black oil 651.653.8705 Strategically select feeders sunflower, stripe sunflower, safflower, and millet) WAYZATA & WILD BIRD DELIVERS Grackles, starlings, and red-wing blackbirds can that starlings have a hard time cracking open. 15710 Wayzata Blvd. overwhelm feeders and crowd out other birds. Customers have also told us that Nutrasaff™ (394 Frontage Rd.) golden safflower or white safflower helps to keep Wayzata, MN 55391 To deter these large nuisance birds, try using 952.473.4283 the Droll Yankees® Yankee Whipper® feeder. both the starlings and grackles away. The perches on the Yankee Whipper are calibrated WILDBIRDSTORE.COM Repel bees and ants to drop away from the feeding port when larger birds Bees and ants on hummingbird and oriole Bird’s-Eye View is published land. Cardinals and chickadees love this feeder! nectar feeders can also be pesky problems. to share the joy of backyard birds with All Seasons Wild Bird Store’s To keep red-winged blackbirds from dominating We suggest treating nectar ports with a dab of customers and friends. your feeders, use feeders that physically exclude pure mint extract to repel (Continued page 4 . ) All Seasons Wild Bird Store | Your local backyard birding experts | WILDBIRDSTORE.COMWILDBIRDSTORE.COM ❈ page 1 CHIRPS SEASONAL CHECKLIST JULY & Mid-Summer AUGUST By Minnetonka Manager CAROL Chenault Discourage invading grackles and squirrels with th 20 Anniversary a Droll Yankees® Yankee Whipper® feeder. The perches Thanks to all of you who celebrated are calibrated to drop away from the feeding port when with us during our 20th Anniversary larger birds or squirrels visit. Other songbirds, like Sale in June! cardinals and finches, love it! We have thoroughly enjoyed serving you Offer mealworms and suet pellets in addition to seed and will do our best to continue to earn your business every day. to provide high energy, high protein fare for parent birds We always say that we can tell a lot about and nestlings. Starlings and grackles a problem? Try the Droll Yankees® a person just by the simple fact that they X-1 Seed Saver Feeder. The cover lowers close to the feeder’s tray to feed birds. Our customers are some of the discourage larger birds from feeding. Smaller birds like cardinals and most enjoyable, honest and caring people chickadees can easily sneak in for a treat! you’ll ever meet. It makes what we do so much fun because you are so wonderful to Eliminate mess and avoid seed germination in your garden and interact with every day. patio areas by using no-hull, no-waste seed like our Medium Chips Times have certainly changed how we do (of black oil sunflower) or Kracker Jax mix. what we do over the years, but our values have stayed the same: we believe in treating Provide an in-shell peanut feeder at a distance from your our employees and customers with kindness, other feeding stations to draw beneficial blue jays away from fairness and respect and the rest tends to easily intimidated smaller birds and fledglings. take care of itself. Family values in a family Provide Bye-Bye Starling, Nutrasaff™ golden safflower business can still stand the test of time. or white safflower to discourage European starlings from Thank you for your continued support! invading your yard. ~Al and Dave Netten Dab nectar ports with mint extract to repel bees and wasps from hummingbird and oriole nectar feeders. Keep ants out of nectar feeders by hanging an ant moat filled with water above feeders. Remember to scrub birdbaths with 9 parts water to 1 part bleach and rinse well. Use Birdbath Protector to maintain a safe and healthy birdbath. ❈ Plant additional sunflowers by July 1st in your garden to provide blooms Become a Frequent Feeder Member into the fall. Goldfinches, house finches and chickadees will eat from the Members receive a 10% discount on purchases throughout the year and special seed heads as the plants mature. member-only offers. Register or renew at any Planning a summer vacation? Purchase the Feed and Fill Service All Seasons Wild Bird Store location for just to keep your feeders full while you are on vacation. Know someone who $15/1 year or $25/2 years (may not loves the birds but can’t manage the bulk seed? Set them up with be applied to gift certificates, delivery, services or membership fees). delivery service anywhere in the metro. Call our Wayzata store for details All Seasons Wild Bird Store | Your local backyard birding experts | WILDBIRDSTORE.COM ❈ page 2 KNOW YOUR BACKYARD BIRDS What’s a By Wayzata Manager MELISSABlackbird? BLOCK and marshy areas. The bulk of their diet is change color: from grayish in the fall, to yellow “Blackbird” can be a misleading term! insects, but they love almost any kind of in the spring. Females and males model the Though sharing a similar plumage, black- birdseed available! same colors. Their diet includes insects, and colored backyard birds come from several Common grackle all the bird seed and suet they can find. different biological families, including: The common grackle is another summer Icteridae (red-winged blackbirds, grackles, migrant to Minnesota. The male has a black Family Corvidae and cowbirds) Sturnidae (European starlings), body and an iridescent blue/black head. The and Corvidae (crows and ravens). Here’s a females are similar to males, but smaller and guide to common backyard black birds: a little duller. Grackles dine on fruit, insects, and, of course, birdseed. Family Icteridae Brown-headed cowbird Brown-headed cowbirds are the only parasitic bird in Minnesota. Instead of building their own nests, females lay eggs in existing nests American crow (left) and common raven (right) of other species, abandoning their young to be raised by unsuspecting foster parents. Their large size, long and strong bill, Like other blackbirds, brown-headed cowbirds and nostrils covered by forward-pointing are summer migrants to Minnesota. Males bristles characterize this family of perching are a glossy black with a chocolate brown birds. Aside from black birds such as crows head. Females are slightly duller in color and and ravens, the Corvidae family also includes have a streaked chest. Cowbirds eat insects jays and magpies. and seeds, the latter which includes most any American crow kind of birdseed. The American crow is a large (18") bird with an all-black body, bill, legs and feet. Males Clockwise from top: Red-winged blackbird, Family Sturnidae and females look alike. This highly intelligent brown-headed cowbird, common grackle This family of non-native birds are sharp- bird—it’s been observed using tools to obtain Though Icterids are diverse in color and billed, with shorter tails than Icterids. food and even inventing games—eats fruits, lifestyle, you can best identify them by their The black Sturnidae you’re likely to spot in insects, mammals, fish, carrion and anything long, sharp bills. Icterids include many your neighborhood is the European starling. put out in a bird feeder. familiar black species of birds, such as European starling Common raven grackles and cowbirds, but also include Although non- The Common raven is larger than the colorful birds like meadowlarks, bobolinks, native, European American crow (24") with a large, powerful and orioles. Common black Icterids, such as starlings reside bill. More slender and less social than crows, those shown above, often travel together in in Minnesota ravens are more commonly found farther mixed flocks. year-round. In the north in Minnesota. Among the smartest of all Red-winged blackbird fall and winter, birds, the raven is a terrific problem solver. ■ This common backyard bird is usually the first starlings are an of the summer migrants to arrive. The male iridescent purple/ DID YOU KNOW...? red-winged blackbird has a red and yellow European starling black covered Starlings are renowned mimics, not only patch on its shoulder, but sometimes only the with white speckles. As their feather tips wear imitating the calls of other birds but also yellow shows. The female is more subdued in in the spring and summer, the white speckles the sounds of ringing phones, family pets color, with a streaked brown body and white disappear, and they take on an all-iridescent and sounds heard around the farm! eyebrow. Red-winged blackbirds love swamps purple/black appearance. Their bills also All Seasons Wild Bird Store | Your local backyard birding experts | WILDBIRDSTORE.COM ❈ page 3 Summer’s Least Wanted Aspects® HummZinger or Bird’s Choice™ raccoons from climbing up the pole.
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