How to Help your Birds this Winter!!

Backyard birds need a place to live, and also a place that provides food, water and a safe haven from predators.

When it gets cold and the winter winds whistle, many folks move south to live in milder weather.  Many birds migrate south also, taking advantage of warmer temperatures and southern cuisine with more abundant insects and seeds.  However, you have many year-round residents who are joined by other birds that migrate only as far as your backyard so it is important to create a habitat that is enticing.

Look around your yard.  Provide a pile of brush for birds and animals to hide from predators. Small birds are looking for shelter from hawks and other predators.  Leave dead trees standing so woodpeckers can find food and build nest cavities.  Are there plants and trees with fruits and berries?  The search for food starts at dawn and continues till dusk.  If a bird is able to eat enough, it will store enough energy to survive a cold winter’s night.  Then it starts all over for another day.

Banquets for your winter birds must be served in appropriate feeders and not just thrown on the ground where it can be contaminated by dampness, mold and pesticides.  Choose a location that has easy access for you so the bird feeders can be refilled in cold weather.  Select a place where discarded seed shells and bird droppings won’t be a cleanup problem.  Place your feeders out of reach of the neighborhood cats.  The most effective way to attract a large variety of birds to your yard is to put out separate feeders for each of your banquets for the birds.

Don’t forget that even in winter, birds need water.  Sometimes the birds suffer more for lack of water than food.  A heated birdbath with fresh unfrozen water will prove attractive to many of your winter visitors.

Often just called the Red Robin, most gardens in North America can claim this sociable beauty.   The song of the robin at daybreak can put a song in our heart and lighten our load, whatever it may be.

Robins were actually quite rare when settlers first came to the United States.  Their relatives, the family of thrushes, all lived in the forests.  However, the robin was a specialized bird that preferred staying near the clearings among the trees. The robins joined the settlers as they moved west and became the ubiquitous symbol of the suburban backyard wildlife across the entire United States and Canada.  Manicured yards and openly spaced trees are now the suburban lifestyle most preferred by the robins.

Robins eat different types of food depending on the time of day. Their favorite food early in the day are earthworms, later on their attention turns to fruit.   Because they forage for insects and worms mostly on lawns, they are vulnerable to pesticide poisoning so be very aware of the chemicals used.  Birds do a wonderful job of controlling bugs when given the chance.  You can tempt them to dinner by placing fruit such as softened dried raisins on tray feeders or planting fruiting shrubs to attract more of them to your backyard garden.  Have you ever seen a drunken robin?  They love overripe fruit and will ingest it until they are staggering drunk!

Water should always be a first consideration.  Robins are never happier than when splashing, bathing and drinking in a birdbath.  What a show!  This is an absolute must year round so be sure to have a heated birdbath in winter.

The nest is usually placed in the crotch of a tree or shrub.  It is made of grasses, a middle layer of mud, and then lined with fine grasses.  After breeding season, robins flock together and go to large communal roosts at night.  This habit continues from fall through winter. In colder climates they will migrate south but will return early.

  Purple Martins are Migrating !

 Martin landlords must start preparing now for the arrival in the southern most parts of the eastern U.S. This migration will continue northward with colonies nesting primarily east of the Rockies through early May; sub-adults, those in their first breeding year, arrive 3 to 6 weeks after the adults. If the site is managed properly, once Martins nest at your location, they will come back every year.   If you are considering attracting Purple Martins to nest near you, following are some important points on being a successful Purple Martin landlord.

 Purple Martins spend the non-breeding season in Brazil and then migrate to North America to nest.  They are totally dependent on human-supplied housing east of the Rockies.  West of the Rockies and in the deserts they largely nest in their ancestral ways, in abandoned woodpecker nest cavities.  In the Pacific Northwest, Martins are beginning to use gourds and clusters of single-unit boxes for nesting.

 Nest building is shared equally by the male and female; the nest is made of mud, grass and twigs.   The female lays two to seven pure white eggs at a rate of one egg per day. The young hatch after about 15 days of incubating the clutch,.  Both parents feed the babies continuously for a period of 26-32 days until the young fledge.  The young continue to be dependent on their parents for food and training for an additional one to two weeks after fledging.  It is not uncommon for the fledglings to return to their human-supplied housing at night to sleep during this period.

 Location of the martin housing is very important.  They have very special aerial space requirements.  Housing should be placed in the center of the most open space available—about 30 to 120 feet from human housing.  There should be no trees higher than the martin house within 40 feet.  Keep tall bushes, shrubs and vines away from the pole.

Timing is important.  Landlords of active sites can leave their housing completely closed up until the martins return and land on the housing.  They exhibit a very high level of site fidelity. Once they have bred successfully at a specific location, the same individuals return year after year.  Housing should be kept open through August no matter where you live.  Martins may arrive and begin nesting as late as the end of June anywhere in North America, and in July and August this years young will be scouting for next years breeding sites.

 Housing should be painted white, trim can be any color.  White seems to attract martins best and it also reflects the heat of the sun, keeping nestlings cooler.  Look for housing designed to raise and lower vertically, with easy access to compartments.  Landlords may need to lower housing daily to evict nest-site competitors or to check on martin nestlings.  The most practical systems are those that telescope up and down or raise and lower with a pulley and winch..  Nest checks will not cause martins to abandon their nest or their colony site.

 Predation is the most common reason martins abandon their colony site.  It only takes one foray up a martin pole by a snake, raccoon, or squirrel, or a few visits by an owl, hawk or crow, to cause all the surviving birds to abandon the site.  Landlords who do not conduct weekly nest checks may never know martins, nestlings, or eggs are disappearing.  All martin poles (metal or wooden) should be equipped with pole guards.

 Weather Extremes that affect insect availability can be tough since martins feed solely on flying insects.  If poor weather persists for more than 2 or 3 days, martins begin to die of starvation.

.Becoming a landlord to Purple Martins should not be taken lightly but the rewards you will reap in watching their antics in your backyard as well as their contribution to insect control will greatly enhance your quality of life.

The interaction between man and martin dates all the way back to the Native Americans. To this day, the bubbly personality and gurgling song of the Purple Martin is cherished by those that host them.  Each spring brings on an excitement that only a purple martin landlord can experience as they anxiously anticipate the return of their beloved martins.

Acquiring martins can be very easy or very exasperating.  Following are a few ideas on what it takes to attract, keep, protect and properly care for a colony of Purple Martins. 

If you are establishing a new colony, wait for the arrival of the sub-adults who tend to arrive 3-6 weeks after the mature adult martins return to established breeding sites.  Waiting to open your housing will prevent problems with sparrows, starling and other birds.  If birds other than Purple Martins try to nest in your house, lower the house and remove the nest – temporarily plugging the entry holes if necessary to keep them from returning.

The location of your house is very important because the martins are looking for safety and security.  Raise the house the full extent of your pole (typically 10-15 feet) and keep the house at least 40 feet away from trees.  Tall trees harbor predators such as hawks and having trees taller than the housing in close proximity will afford those predators cover.  Martins are aware of this and therefore, stay away from such situations.  A location between 40-120 feet from your own home works well as does the center of an open spot or the edge of a pond or lake.  They need very open and unobstructed flight paths.    Martins actually want to be near you!

Use decoys – Martins are social and decoys create the appearance of site activity.  Adult martins use “dawnsinging” to attract young martins to their colony site so the playing of the Dawn Song CD one or two hours before dawn is recommended but can be played any time of the day.  If at first you don’t see martins, don’ts despair.  Migration lasts through the end of June.  Be diligent, and keep your house well maintained.  Also, keep your house up through August.  While this is too late to attract nesting pairs, this year’s fledglings will already be scouting for next season.

In the eastern U.S. and Canada they have become totally dependent on humans to supply them housing for nesting.  Studies have shown a  decline of  birds in some areas so this is one more reason we need to help this beautiful native bird species by supplying them “proper” housing in which to raise their young.  These birds are also protected and therefore, may not be harmed in any way.  Unfortunately, many of the commercial houses are inadequate for martins.    In many cases the house compartments are much too small and the materials used are much to flimsy.  All housing should have a few minimum standard requirements.  Briefly, here are a few starters. 

All housing should be easily accessible for maintenance and nest checks.  It should be easy to raise and lower  vertically.  The housing should be sturdy enough to withstand winds and preditors.   Nesting compartments should be a minimum of 6”W x 6”H x10”D.  Anything less is too small for martins to properly raise a brood of young and keep well out of the reach of talons of flying predators.

Housing should be painted white to reflect sun rays, keeping the house cooler.  Dark colored housing is a full 10-15 degrees hotter.  The heat factor is often the cause of young jumping from the nest early, seeking relief from the heat.

Do nest checks. It is very important to know what is going on in your colony, and they are actually fun to do.  Easy access into the compartments via hinged or removable panels is imperative.    The landlord needs to have easy access to clean out old nests, remove unwanted pest bird nests, perform nest checks and do general maintenance.

An absolute must is good ventilation.  A couple of ½ inch holes placed high in the front and rear walls of the compartments allows for air flow and the young birds will need this especially in the southern regions. 

Check for insect pest infestation.  Mites and blowflies are sometimes a major problem around martin sites.  A large infestation will easily kill young martin chicks.  Learn how to identify them and what to do about them.  One solution for mites is ½ teaspoon of 5%Sevin dust sprinkled on only the nesting material.    Changing out the affected nests once or twice during the season is about the best method for controlling blowfly larva.  Never use spray insecticides in any kind of wild bird nests.  

Martins seen to enjoy a pre-made bed of nesting material and readily accept these compartments over others that are empty.   They like an ample amount of pine or wheat straw added to the nest, bringing the material right up to the bottom of the entrance hole.  They have very short legs and this greatly helps in the exiting of the compartment or gourd.  Sawdust or shavings of any kind are not a good base for a nest because they are not stable under foot and will soak up water, leaving the nest wet.

All poles should be fitted with the proper predator guards.  A simple tube guard, ten inches or more in diameter and 3 feet long mounted to the pole will stop most ground predation attempts.  Occasionally accipiter hawks will discover your colony, but since they are protected, there really isn’t anything that can legally be done about them other than to be present around the colony as much as possible.  This is why open flight paths are necessary around martin housing, making it more difficult for these raptors to launch their attacks.

Purple Martins exclusively eat flying insects, taking them on the wing.  Among the list of many are houseflies, moths, grasshoppers and their favorite, dragonflies.  However, they will forage for food when the temperature climbes above 45 deg.  They will also eat crushed egg shells and oyster shells providing them with calcium for stronger egg shells and they feed them to their young as grit to help digest their food.  These can be supplied on a small raised platform set on top of a 4 or 5 foot high post.

Martins will not eat from a bird feeder nor will they drink from a birdbath.  A source of good clean fresh water is a major advantage in attracting them to your home.  However, if not available, they have been known to fly up to 1 or 2 miles for water.

Purple Martins are very friendly towards humans.  If enough time is spent around their site, they soon begin to accept the landlord as part of the site and will soon ignore them entirely.  In fact, it is well documented that the more human activity there is near a martin site, the more martins will show up.  They actually seek out sites where there is abundant human activity.

Hosting a colony of Purple Martins can indeed be a joyful and rewarding hobby!