Don't Kick The Can ! Make a Bird Feeder Instead

English: Cuckoo Lane Tree and Bird Feeder At least that looks what the tin on a tripod is for. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

English: Red-headed Woodpecker (Melanerpes erythrocephalus). Canada Rondeau Provincial Park, Ontario, Canada. Image collected at the feeders behind the Visitor Centre. Français : Pic à tête rouge. Parc provincial Rondeau, Ontario, Canada. Cliché pris aux mangeoires situées derrière le centre d'accueuil des visiteurs. 日本語: ズアカキツツキ (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Many of us enjoy watching birds in our back yards. The amount of feeders available really allows us to draw very specific birds to our back yards. If you are just looking to start bird watching while you sip your morning coffee then you may want to start off by making your own bird feeder.
 Making a bird feeder in the fall is a great way to start teaching your kids about birds in your area. It is a great family project to put together a bird feeder . It helps teach the kids and grandkids about caring for wildlife and recycling in you make a simple can feeder.


Sometimes the best feeders for birds are made from the simplest items. You can begin by using an empty coffee can. Clean the inside of the can and strip the label from the outside. At this point, you can choose to paint the can if you like, but leave the inside unpainted. Colors of red, yellow, and orange will attract some bird species. Other species may not care what color your bird feeder is, as they have no known color preferences. After the paint dries completely, find a hard plastic plate that will allow the can to fit nicely in its center.

Before attaching the can however, you will need to cut a few holes into it. The first hole should be at the top edge of the can. This will allow the food to spill out when the can is upside down. The next hole should be at the bottom of the can, in the center. This will allow you to fill the can with seed when it is turned upside down. After cutting the holes, turn the can upside down onto the middle of the plate and use super glue or a hot glue gun to glue the two together. There should be a rim of plate around the can to give the birds something to perch upon.

When you are finished, you will need to find a way to attach the feeder to your tree or other area. If the feeder is just sitting on a stump or a porch, then you can skip this step. If you want the feeder to hang from a tree, you will need a small chain and S hook. You can cut another hole in the can to loop the chain through and attach the S hook at the end of the chain. Then attach your feeder to the tree. If your feeder is really light weight, you can also use fishing line to attach it to the tree.

Be sure to clean out the feeder for the birds at least once every two weeks. This will allow the feeder to be fresh and appealing and keep the birds coming to your home. You can refill the feeder as needed. If you fill the feeder and attract no birds, you may want to change the type of seed you filled it with. Some birds prefer specific types of seeds, so you can try this to attract more birds. Just remember to have fun and enjoy the simple things in life that nature has to offer!

English: Birds around a bird feeder made from a Coke bottle in Johannesburg, South Africa. From left to right, a male Southern Masked Weaver, a male Cape Sparrow, a female Cape Sparrows, and two male Cape Sparrows. It is midwinter, so the birds are in on-breeding plumage. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

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Another coffee can not your cup of tea? Try the Tea Cup Bird Feeder!

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How To Attract Song Birds To Your Yard

Source : Wikimedia Red Headed Wood Pecker In late winter birds are ready to nest and mate. This is a unique opportunity to draw dozens of species of different kinds of bird to your yard by providing artificial nest boxes. Decide what kind of birds you want to attract before building your bird house. Robins and phoebes only nest in sheltered but open areas. They prefer simple sheltered platforms. Wrens, bluebirds and tree swallows are birds who like one unit enclosed bird houses to nest in. Wrens prefer these bird houses be near some sort of cover such as shrubs while bluebirds and swallows prefer more open areas such as along a fence row. All bird houses should have adequate ventilation on the top and adequate drainage on the bottom. The hole on the house should face north or east to prevent birds from over heating. Ideally they will not have a perch outside the entrance as this entices predators. Mounting bird houses on metal poles instead trees also discourages predators. Also, bird houses should be easy to clean as to prevent the spread of parasites from nest to nest each year. Making song birds welcome in your yard should be the goal of the placement of all nesting boxes and feeders. There are four elements s that most song birds need to feel comfortable. These elements are food, water, nesting sites, and shelter. Many of these things are already present in our back yards. We have trees and shrubs to provide nesting areas and place that water pools to provide water. We have insects or grass that has gone to seed to provide food. To make our yard stand out from our neighbors we simply can do a few extra things. Bird Seed dispenser We can provide nesting sites by the standards first discussed in this article. The next most difficult element is providing clean water sources for song birds. Avoid placing water in metal bowels but birds do appreciate warm water left in small containers outside for clean drinking and bathing during the winter months. There is a chance that you will get longer glimpse of song birds in the winter near a warm water bath as birds preen after bathing in the winter to keep ice from forming on their feathers. A good quality seed such black oil sunflower seeds and cracked corn can help songbirds maintain their weight during the winter months and ensure their survival til Spring. Again the type of seed and feeder will determine the type of birds that are attracted to your yard. All bird feeders should be equipped in a way to discourage other four-footed friends in the back yard from raiding the feed. Tubular feeders are a practical feeder that can service a number of different kinds of birds. In nature wild birds never become dependent on just one type of diet. Instinct lets them know that a single food source might dry up. Wild birds have a pretty good system of sampling a buffet of different food sources. We can make it easier on our winged friends in the winter by adding a little variety to their diet. Bird lovers know the more types of wild bird we can attract the better. Many experienced backyard bird lovers use a tube style bird feeder with black oil sunflower seeds .These seeds are usually found in the pet aisle of your local grocer and are relatively inexpensive. Daily maintenance is required to free the slots of the debris left from the hulls or the seeds or other feed by-product. If you neglect the daily maintenance the birds will no longer be able to easily access the food in the feeder. Most tubular feeders are made out of hard plastic and offer a variety of different port designs and perches to attract different type's wild birds. They all work on the same principal. The food is put vertically in the feeder and as the food level drops the bird must move to a lower feeding position. Tubular bird feeders come in many different sizes but there are basically three types. The first type is a more general feeder that can easily dispense sunflower seeds. This will attract a number of backyard birds. The second type is on that has smaller holes meant to allow only Nyjer™ seed to drop .This is to attract finches. The third type of Tubular feeder has unique perches above the feeding port to give goldfinches a chance to feed without the company of the more plentiful house finches. The upside down design allows the more agile goldfinches more feeding time than their less coordinated cousins. Songbirds always feed exclusively from tubular feeds. Variety of diet will attract many different types of songbirds. It may take some experimentation with feed to attract the feather friends you are most interested in attracting to your yard. Additions to a tubular feeder are a tray to catch loose seed and plastic caging to discourage four-footed yard residents from feeding on your bird seed. A well made tubular feeder can provide you and your feathered friend's year round enjoyment for many years.

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The Right Cockatiel Diet

Picking The Right Diet for Your New Cockatiel

Source: Morguefile

You can and should feed you cockatiel fresh fruits and vegetables. Fresh pears and apples are a favorite . They should be feed sparingly as not to cause loose bowl movements. You can also feed your bird spinach, cabbage hearts, carrot tops, and Brussels spouts. Make sure food is fresh and not wilted. Remove the left over from the cage daily. You bird will not eat even slightly aged fruits and vegetables and they just become a potential source of bacteria.

Spray millet and hard yellow cheddar can be used as treats .

Picking the right seed mixture for your cockatiel is important to the overall health and well-being of your bird. In the wild cockatiels eat seeds from a wide variety of grasses. This is the mainstay of the wild cockatiel's diet. In captivity it is best to feed seed mixtures geared specifically for cockatiels as these are those mixtures that most closely mimic their natural diet. Most cockatiels mixes include millets, oats, and sunflower seeds.

To assure your bird is getting the freshest seed it is best to purchase seed in smaller quantities. You can test the freshness of seed mixtures by wetting a small amount in a small bowl and keeping it moist. If the seed is fresh; much of it will have spouted within a few days. Keeping your seed in an air tight container in a dry environment will assure you seed stays fresh for a reasonable amount of time. Check your feed bowl often because it may look full when it is not. Cockatiels eat unshelled seed and the bird eats the kernel and disposes the hull. Be sure the bowl is full of unshelled seed and not just the shells of the discarded hull.

Millet

Source: morguefile

Fresh Fruits and Vegtables

You can and should feed you cockatiel fresh fruits and vegetables. Fresh pears and apples are a favorite . They should be feed sparingly as not to cause loose bowl movements. You can also feed your bird spinach, cabbage hearts, carrot tops, and Brussels spouts. Make sure food is fresh and not wilted. Remove the left over from the cage daily. You bird will not eat even slightly aged fruits and vegetables and they just become a potential source of bacteria.

Spray millet and hard yellow cheddar can be used as treats but should only be a small amount of your bird's diet. Yellow cheddar is a good source of calcium essential from your bird's health. A more accepted way to give calcium is from a cuddle bone or grit. Use of grit is controversial in using it as a digestive aid. However, digestible grit is a good source of calcium.

Pellets and Vitamins

Most cockatiels will do fine on a seed diet with an addition of a calcium source. Many owners like to supplement the bird's diet with vitamins. You should consult your veterinarian before introducing vitamins supplements into a bird's diet that has not consumed them before. Pellets are available as an alternative to the seed diet. These pellets are nutritionally complete. A good compromise for those concerned about their birds' vitamin intake would be to do a mixture of pellet based and seed diet. Introduce pellets into you bird's diet very slowly to avoid any digestive issues.

Keeping Consistent With A New Bird

If you adopt a bird from another person or group it is good to maintain the diet and supplements the bird is already receiving if the bird is healthy. If your cockatiel is molting it does not require a change of diet only a more ample food supply. It is best to leave your birds diet alone if your bird is healthy

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