www.birdstoreandmore.com
February 201 5 , Volume 7, Issue 1
News
Mid Winter Blah’s Sale
from the bird store
Sunday, February 22, 2015 • 9am-5pm. See inside for details.
Birding for the Common Man
checklists go out on an annual mission - often before dawn.
A review of the wintering birds in our area
For over one hundred years, the desire to both make a
Have you ever wondered what birds are in our area in the winter?
dedicated people to leave the comfort of a warm house
difference and to experience the beauty of nature has driven
Well, for the past 19 years hardy birders have hiked and counted
the birds in a 15-mile circle centered in Sturbridge. This count
is part of the Christmas Bird Count, which is held around the
country each year.
during the Holiday season.
Our Sturbridge Christmas Bird Count was held on Tuesday
December 16, 2014. A total of 35 birders tallied 74 species
on the day of the count and 3 more species in
“count week”. We saw 16,238 individual birds.
From December 14 through January 5 tens
of thousands of volunteers throughout the
Americas take part in an adventure that has
become a family tradition among generations.
Families and students, birders and scientists,
armed with binoculars, bird guides and
It was also a high
count for Common
Raven (11) this year.
Did you even know
we had Ravens in
our area?
While our group saw no new species there were
a few good finds including Common Loon (1),
Rough legged Hawk (1), Eastern Phoebe (1),
Gray Catbird (2), Ruby crowned Kinglet (2),
Palm Warbler (1), Yellow-rumped Warbler (1),
and White crowned Sparrow (1).
But what about the bird feeder birds you ask?
Well the Woodpecker species were all in high
count this year! Other birds with high counts
this year were Carolina Wren, Winter Wren, and everybody’s
favorite the Eastern Bluebird.
The Blue Jay, Black capped Chickadee, and the White
breasted Nuthatch count was higher compared to the last
4 years. We had a count high for Tufted Titmouse (804) this
year, but the American Robin count was lower. The European
Starling count was higher than last year but has declined
significantly over the past 19 years in our area mainly due
to loss of farmland. It was a pretty average count for our
Cardinals, Mourning Doves, Dark eyed Juncos, Goldfinch
and House Finch.
D
If you would like to see the complete list of the birds in our area
go to the Events Page on The Bird Store and More’s website.
D
The Great
Backyard Bird Count
http://gbbc.birdcount.org/
February 13 – 16 2015
Launched in 1998 by the Cornell Lab
of Ornithology and National Audubon
was the first online citizen-science
project to collect data on wild birds and
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Get Involved!
to display results in near real-time.
Since then, more than 100,000 people
of all ages and walks of life have joined
the four-day count each February to
create an annual snapshot of the
distribution and abundance of birds.
It’s easy to participate! Simply tally the
numbers and kinds of birds you see for
at least 15 minutes on one or more days
of the count, February 13-16, 2015.
You can count from any location,
anywhere in the world! Go to
gbbc.birdcount.org to register and
log your information and photos.
Scientists and bird enthusiasts can learn
a lot by knowing where the birds are.
Bird populations are dynamic; they are
constantly in flux. No single scientist
or team of scientists could hope to
document and understand the complex
distribution and movements of so
many species in such a short time.
Scientists use information from the
Great Backyard Bird Count, along with
observations from other citizen-science
projects, such as the Christmas Bird
Count, Project FeederWatch and eBird,
to get the “big picture” about what is
happening to bird populations.
The Great Backyard Bird Count Raffle
If you are participating in the Great
Backyard Bird Count send us a copy
of your checklist after you have logged
it and we will enter you in a raffle for a
20 Pound Bag of Bird Store Blend Seed!
Sunday Feb. 22, 2015 • 9am-5pm
The sale is Sunday - The Bird Store will open EARLY at 9:00am
Parking is also available at Sturbridge Veterinary Clinic next door.
The Veterinary Clinic is closed on Sundays and they have graciously
allowed us the use of their parking lot. Please do not park across the street.
20% off
everything in the store
(optics excluded)
Be an early bird like Myrh and Alf, and join us for
our annual Mid Winter Blah’s 20% off everything in the store Sale.
One day only, Sunday February 22, 2015.
Here’s the rules!
• Doors open at exactly 9:00am not earlier
• Save 20% on your purchases (excluding optics)
• No coupons, bucks, or other discounts apply today
• No special orders, rain checks, internet orders, or phone orders
• Sale is on in stock merchandise only; once it’s gone it’s gone!
• You have to be here to get the goods!
• Sale is Sunday February 22, 2015 only! Not Friday,
Not Saturday…Just Sunday 9:00am till 5:00pm.
Get rid of the mid winter blah’s and think spring!
www.birdstoreandmore.com
Species Spotlight
February 201 5 , Volume 7, Issue 1
Feed the Birds not the Bears
Carolina Wren
It won’t be long before the Bears in our area will be up and
active again. It is possible to still feed and enjoy your birds
Teakettle teakettle, it’s the distinctive call
without having the feeders damaged by the bears. Installing a
of the Carolina Wren a small but chunky bird
bear proof feeder pole that is 12 feet high and made from heavy
with a round body and a long tail that it often
gauge galvanized steel will keep the bears from bending the pole
cocks upward. The head is large with very little
and destroying the feeders. We have tested our own bear proof
neck, and the distinctive bill marks it as a wren:
long, slender, and down curved. Both males and females are a
bright, unpatterned reddish-brown above and warm buffy-orange
below, with a long white eyebrow stripe, dark bill, and white chin
and throat. This hardy bird has been wintering farther and farther
pole and found that once the bear tried to get to the feeders and
failed it would come through the yard on occasion but seemed
not to bother with the feeders. Apparently it is more effort than
they want to deal with.
north in recent decades and is regularly seen here in the winter
Our bear proof poles are custom
They are regularly showing up on the Bird Store’s peanut feeder.
hooks and a squirrel/raccoon
months. This little bird is a cheery sight at our winter bird feeders.
Insects and spiders make up the bulk of this wren’s diet. Common
foods include caterpillars, moths, stick bugs, leafhoppers,
beetles, grasshoppers, crickets, and cockroaches. Carolina Wrens
occasionally eat lizards, frogs, or snakes. They also consume a
small amount of plant matter, such as fruit pulp and seeds from
bayberry, or poison ivy. In the winter it is commonly seen at suet
feeders and picking at seed and peanuts in the feeders.
A pair bond may form between a male and a
female at any time of the year, and the pair
will stay together for life. Members of a pair
stay together on their territory year-round,
and forage and move around the territory
together. Only the male Carolina Wren sings
their loud song. The Carolina Wren has one
of the loudest songs per volume of birds.
They are apt to sing anytime and anyplace
made with a choice of 2, 3, or 4
baffle installed above the area where the
bear can reach. The squirrels, fox, raccoon,
and possum all forage on the seed that
happens to fall beneath the feeder. Everyone
is happy…except for the bears of course!
Check out our web site for information and a
video of the Bear Proof Pole in action both in
our own yard and in a great video
from a satisfied customer.
Did You Know:
that one captive
male Carolina
Wren sang
nearly 3,000 times
in a single day.
they happen to be.
Carolina Wrens nest in open cavities 3–6 feet off the ground, in
trees, overhangs and stumps. The first nest is sometimes built on
vegetation-shaded ground. Near homes, they’re versatile nesters,
making use of discarded flowerpots, mailboxes, propane-tank
covers, and a variety of other items. Their nests have even been
found in old coat pockets and boots. Males often build multiple
nests before the pair makes
a final selection.
As we have personally seen,
the Carolina Wren pair will
use any place to roost. We
have a pair that roost nightly
in an old Eastern Phoebe nest
under our front porch. It will
be interesting to see what
happens when the Phoebes
return in the spring.
http://thebirdstoreandmore.com/news-updates/
bear-proof-bird-feeder-pole/
Reminders:
The Great Backyard Bird Count
February 13 – 16, 2015
Mid Winter Blah’s Sale
Sunday, February 22, 2015 • 9am-5pm
Valentines Day
Don’t forget your sweetie! We have loads of
“calorie free” treats for your special Valentine.
Open Water is important to the birds in winter.
Make sure that your heated birdbaths are clean and filled.
Make sure to check
your nest boxes in
early March to get them ready for spring.
Clean out any wintering mouse nests or old nesting
materials and repair the boxes. If you have problems
with Sparrows invading your boxes leave them open
until later in the spring to discourage the
sparrows from overtaking them.
www.birdstoreandmore.com
Product Spotlight
K Feeder Super Carousel
February 201 5 , Volume 7, Issue 1
Woodstream manufactures and markets over 2500 products
including Perky Pet, No No and Havahart.
Recently we discovered this feeder was being manufactured again
and one of our distributors is carrying it. So we thought it time
to re introduce the feeder to you.
Many of you may remember this
feeder; it holds a lot of seed and
The Super Carousel feeder holds an
works well. The Super Carousel
amazing 8 pounds of seed and has 8
was a customer favorite feeder
feeding ports. It has a powder coated
for years. Many of you were
zinc die-cast base and 16 inch clear
disappointed when it was no
acrylic baffle top and an easy screw off
longer available.
cap with hanging loop. This feeder can
also be pole mounted.
The original manufacturer was
K Feeders Enterprise, Inc of
The Super Carousel Feeder gives us
Warwick, RI. The company was
another option in the large capacity
bought out by Havahart Brands
feeder line up. And large
and then in turn bought out by
capacity is a nice
Woodstream and many of the
K Feeders were discontinued.
feature on these
cold winter days.
10:00am-6:00pm Monday - Saturday
11:00am-5:00pm Sunday
Bird Store Hours:
4 Cedar Street,
(Route 20, Cedar Street Intersection)
Sturbridge, MA 01566
www.thebirdstoreandmore.com
Phone: (508)-347-BIRD
Mailing Address: P.O. Box 736, Fiskdale, MA 01518
Sunday, February 22, 2015 • 9am-5pm. See inside for details.
Mid Winter Blah’s Sale
PERMIT NO. 65
SOUTHBRIDGE, MA
PAID
PRSRT STD
U.S. POSTAGE