Here are 9 tips on how to place your hummingbird feeders most effectively so that you can give the birds a good meal and not attract insects! Once the little hummers notice your feeders, they will make them their home, and you will have a garden filled with curious, charming, shimmering creatures!
Wouldn't it be great to look at your hummingbird feeder and “get to know your regulars?”
The hummingbird is one of the most popular birds in North America - as well as one of the cutest and tiniest. There are over 300 species flying around the globe but only 20 of those species visit us in North America and Canada. Out of that 20 - only a handful stay year round.
Many define grackles, as well as starlings and pigeons, as pests. Crop growers see their fields being damaged by crows and blackbirds. Homeowners see them as bullies. Grackles scare their beloved songbirds from their bird feeders and steal their food.
We at Nature Anywhere don’t believe in inhumane treatments such as poison and lethal traps. Crop growers commonly use poison as well as other harmful chemicals to “get rid” of the grackles. But not only is it inhumane, it also doesn’t work. Grackles have the power of numbers! Poisoning birds who roam in large flocks is a lost battle.
As bird-lovers, we know closely that these are the most beautiful creatures in the world and also - the most vulnerable. We know how easily they can become prey as well as fierce attackers, fighting for breeding and roosting territory.
But there are some battles they cannot win. Human activity, deforestation and other world-changing conditions have made a huge impact on our feathery friends and many are now on the brink of extinction.
Hopping and chee-chee’ing around our grasslands, bobolinks are the only member of the genus Dolichonyx. Unfortunately for us they are in decline.
This is truly saddening as no other North American songbird has such a beautiful white back and black underparts, or such sweet sounds as the melodious male chirp - not to mention the unique blonde wig on his head!
We love our seed-munchers in all their forms and shapes. It is so cute to see the way they strut on our lawns, the funny, suspicious look they give us when perched on our bird-feeders or the branch of a tree. This gives us so much joy.
And because of all this, we’ve compiled 10 of the cutest birds in the world! Some you will recognize from your very own gardens and parks and some from other continents entirely. Birds so cute and unique that you may very well get the travel-bug that will make you spread your own wings and fly over to see them up close for yourself!
There are about 40 types of this genus (Falco) which are widely distributed in all the continents, except for Antarctica and high mountains ranges. Among these beauties is the Peregrine falcon,the fastest member of the animal kingdom, which can reach 200 mph during hunting dives!
The enchanting Kestrel Falcon is the tiniest falcon in North America, about the size of a blue jay or a mourning dove, and the most colorful of all raptors!
It is awe-inspiring to see them spread their wings and fly. Their long necks become “S”-shaped and they extend their legs past their tails and soar above us. But when they hunt, it’s striking to watch and teaches us the meaning of patience: they stand completely still or wade slowly through the water then suddenly jab their great yellow bill with lightning speed and accuracy into a juicy fish sometimes half its size, which it then swallows whole.
Greeney and his colleagues disappeared for a year into the Chiricahua mountains of south-east Arizona, to do studies of their own. There Greeney discovered the following quite by chance: he noticed many clusters of black-chinned hummingbird (Archilochus alexandri) nests situated too close for comfort to some of the biggest and scariest predators’ nests: Goshawks and Coopers. (Accipiter gentilis and Accipiter cooperii).
The Bald Eagle has been the national bird of the United States ever since 1782, and the spiritual symbol for native Americans way before then.
But even though they are the proud national emblem, bald eagles were nearly wiped out by hunting, pesticides and pollution. Some say DDT was a major factor for their almost-extinction, some say - a myth.
We all look for the bright reds, yellows and oranges in our gardens, for the cardinals, warblers and orioles - and pay less attention to these cute chippers. But although not flashing any primary colors, these delicate, bubbly beauts still have their own ways to charm us and conquer our affections.
Wouldn’t it be wonderful to wake up every morning and see hummingbirds not only in your bird feeders, but flying around all day in your garden? Imagine hosting a family of hummingbirds from the day the fledglings hatch until the day they learn to sip from your very own bird feeders or honeysuckle!