Adventures With Mel & Syd: Ways to Attract Birds

SNN (ScrollingNetworkNews) ✿ ✿ Our Mel and Sydney returned to their nesting box with plenty of bonding occurring..but after 2.5 months of Sydney in the box from Dec 2013 to mid Feb 2014, the lack of prey gifts from Mel ( perhaps due to the severe and historic drought underway in California)and they have forgone the nesting process this year as many other raptors ✿ Compared to other owls of similar size, the Barn Owl has a much higher metabolic rate, requiring relatively more food. Pound for pound, Barn Owls consume more rodents – often regarded as pests by humans – than possibly any other creature. ✿ We remind viewers that sometimes owlets may not survive - the parents will dispose of things in "The Owl Way" -viewer discretion is advised, this is nature and the "Owl way". ✿ ~ ✿ “Animals, like us, are living souls. They are not things. They are not objects. Neither are they human. Yet they mourn. They love. They dance. They suffer. They know the peaks and chasms of being.” ― Gary Kowalski, The Souls of Animals ✿ Each species is a masterpiece, a creation assembled with extreme care and genius." ~ E.O. Wilson

Tuesday, May 1, 2012

Ways to Attract Birds - Birdbaths

To increase bird diversity in your backyard, enhance your property by adding a water source, a roost box (try building your own!), or a supply of nest material. As well as improving life for your local feeder birds, you'll increase the chances that species that normally don't visit feeders will set up home nearby.

Birdbaths
Trying to make your backyard more attractive to birds? Just add water! Birds need a dependable supply of fresh, clean water for drinking and bathing—few things are more attractive to them than a well-maintained birdbath. In fact, a birdbath in your yard may attract birds that don't eat seeds and wouldn't otherwise come to your feeders.

Traditional concrete birdbaths sold in garden shops make nice lawn ornaments, but they aren't the best type for birds—they're often too deep, glazed ones may be too slippery, and they’re often hard to clean. Also, they may crack when the temperature drops below freezing. The best birdbaths mimic nature's birdbaths—puddles and shallow pools of water in slow streams; they’re shallow with a gentle slope so birds can wade into the water. Look for one that won't break and is easily cleaned.

You can make your own birdbath using a trashcan lid, saucer-type snow sled, shallow pan, or old frying pan.
For more information on birdbaths such as