Backyard Birding
Turn your backyard into a bird haven with tips on feeders, habitats, and attracting your favorite species.
Feeders and Food
Top 10 Reasons to Love Suet Dough
I first became aware of the powers of peanut butter suet dough when Carrie Griffis of Port Orchard, Washington, sent us photographs…
Keeping Squirrels Off Your Feeders
An acrobatic squirrel reaches for a backyard feeder. Photo by Shutterstock. People often go to extremes to keep their feeding stations squirrel-free….
Top 10 Backyard Questions
“There’s a bird question on line one. Can somebody pick it up?” Between the telephone calls, regular mail, and e-mail, we get…
Top 10 Weird Things to Feed Birds
A male Baltimore oriole visits a feeder offering grape jelly. Photo by Tammy Simmons. Sunflower seed may be the hamburger of the…
Essential Tips for Summer Bird Feeding
Bird feeding is a rewarding pursuit—for us and the birds!—that can be enjoyed year-round. Whether you’re offering sugar water to hummingbirds, suet…
Feeders and Feeding: Orioles
I feed the birds all winter here in Missouri. We help each other survive the cold, snowy months. Do I quit feeding…
Feeders and Feeding: Peanut Butter Suet
Help birds endure the harsh winter weather with a special treat! This recipe is popular with jays, titmice, nuthatches, chickadees, woodpeckers, sparrows,…
Hummingbird Feeding Tips
Ruby-throated hummingbird (male). Photo by Bill Thompson, III Find me a person who does not like hummingbirds. I’ll bet you can’t. Even…
Common Backyard Feeder Problems (and How to Solve Them!)
Bird feeding provides enjoyment to millions of North Americans each year. However, this hobby we all enjoy comes with its own challenges….
DIY Projects
Do It Yourself: Bird Bath Heater
Keep your birdbath water warm all winter long When winter comes to our farm, the daily ritual of feeding our birds intensifies…
Do-It-Yourself Stovepipe Predator Baffle
Materials: Aluminum electrical conduit, ½-inch diameter, 5-foot length Iron rebar, ½-inch diameter, 5-foot length One hanger iron (two 7-inch strips attached with…
How To: Woodpecker Box
Build an Easy Box for Golden-fronted, Red-headed, and Hairy Woodpeckers Download detailed plans you can use to build your own woodpecker box….
Build Your Own: Bird Bath Fountain
Birdbath and fountain: sound and motion make for special allure A home-made garden sculpture at a fraction of the retail cost. A…
Do-it-yourself Pipe House
A new use for PVC pipe! by A.J. Hamler, excerpted from the March/April 2011 issue of Bird Watcher’s Digest Many do-it-yourselfers use…
Backyard Tips: How to Make Your Own Hummingbird Nectar
Hungry hummingbirds sip at a backyard feeder. Photo by J. Quinn. ’Tis the season for hummingbirds! Hanging a hummingbird feeder in your…
Do It Yourself: Birdbath Tips
Easy Drippers We know that water in motion attracts birds, and I’ve discovered an inexpensive, easy way to add a dripper to…
Build Your Own: Build a Brush Pile
Create a winter shelter for wildlife in your backyard High on the list of important microhabitats you can create for wildlife in…
Do-It-Yourself: Prevent Squirrels from Raiding your Bird Feeder
This baffle prevents squirrels from accessing a hanging feeder from above. Two metal salad bowls, one 10-inches and another 18-inches in diameter,…
Hummingbirds
How to Revive a Faded Hummingbird Feeder
Using a shockingly bright red nail polish, I carefully paint a red flower around the feeding hole, being sure to avoid the…
Hummingbird Behavior – Feeding, Foraging, and Reader Observations
The Avian Nectar Feeders When the words “nectar feeder” come to mind, most people envision hummingbirds gracefully flitting around flowers in a…
Frequently Asked Questions about Hummingbirds
1. How I can estimate how many hummingbirds I feed each day? A: Hummingbird experts Nancy Newfield and Bob and Martha Sargent…
An Introduction to Hummingbirds
General Info The hummingbird family, Trochilidae, occurs only in the Western Hemisphere, where it is second only to the tyrant flycatchers in…
Hummingbird Resources
The Hummingbird Society – The Hummingbird Society is a nonprofit charitable organization that strives to teach about hummingbirds and works to prevent extinction…
Autumn is Here! Should I Take Down My Hummingbird Feeder?
This answer depends upon where you live. Some regions of North America host hummingbirds all year long, so the answer for them…
Gardening Tips for Hummingbirds: Tips for Your Region
Continental East Imagine you could plant a garden so lush, green, and full of blooming things that angels would come down from…
Red Food Coloring and Hummingbirds
What about red food coloring in hummingbird nectar? Is it harmful? I decided to research this question when an injured hummingbird came…
What do Hummingbirds Eat?
Introduction “What do hummingbirds eat?” is a question often asked of hummer enthusiasts. It’s a simple question, and you’d think the answer…
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