We’re passionate about birds and nature. That’s why we opened a Wild Birds Unlimited Nature Shop in our community.
1211 East Front Street
Traverse City, MI 49686
Phone: (231) 946-0431
Fax: (231) 946-1379
Email: Send Message
Store Hours:
Mon - Sat: 9:00 am - 6:00 pm
Sun: 9:00 am - 4:00 pm
Comments:
Visit us in our new location! We've moved one door closer to the Omelette Shoppe.
Note: We often stay open later than the posted minimum hours. Give us a call if you're running late.
"The Collie Boyz are frisky in the cool predawn air. Nearly full, the moon sends luminescent beams through breaks in the lush maple canopy, lighting our way. Overhead the sky is star spangled, bathed in a soft wash of moonglow. Does it get any better than this?
A plaintive soft warble descends from the dotted sky, moments later another familiar sandpiper vocalization drifts down to wondering ears. The Upland and Solitary Sandpipers have already started their migration journeys south. After a brief breeding season that begins in May the Upland Sandpiper is on its way to southern South America for the summer season in another hemisphere. Strong flyers, they spend much of the year migrating. (Solitary Sandpiper photo by John Ester, Benzie Co.)
The glow of the dawning day spreads across the sky from the eastern horizon. Male cardinals sing their cheerful morning territorial songs before they begin gathering food for hungry fledglings still slumbering in the safety of thick cover.
I already miss the a.m. tunes of other familiar birds as the breeding season comes to an end. Robins, Chipping Sparrows, and Pine Warblers are silent now, while goldfinches, cardinals, and Mourning Doves continue nesting through September and early October.
Around the midwest, hummingbird activity at nectar feeders is being reported as "way down". This could be due in part to our "collie summer" weather. The Collie Boyz and I have really enjoyed cool morning and evening walks this summer, although it would be nice to trade in my hooded sweatshirt for a delicious, fresh BLT!
Hummer numbers may bounce back as second broods should be fledging. Ample amounts of summer rainfall producing abundant populations of flowering plants may also be keeping numbers of hummers lower at our feeders.
Local Audubon members are reporting successful breeding season sightings, including loon chicks and Sandhill Crane parents with young. It is great to see these species repopulating former habitats. (Photo of adult with juvenile Sandhill Crane by Joe Brooks, Grand Traverse Co.)
Many species of bird youngsters are visiting backyard feeding stations. Now is an excellent time to offer a wide variety of foods for hungry offspring and molting adults.
My peanut feeder has been popular with a family of Red-breasted Nuthatches recently. My efforts as a provider were rewarded when a young male nuthatch came to my hand for a peanut half. No witnesses other than the boyz and they're not talking.
Behind the store and across the alley stands a Mulberry tree. It has been loaded with ripe fruit for a few weeks, cardinals, waxwings, thrashers, jays, robins, and catbirds have been gobbling down the sweet berries, an idea to keep in mind if you're looking for something to landscape for the birds.
As cardinal adults begin their annual molts they seek out brightly colored insects and fruit which contain cartinoids to pigment their new feathers. House Finches also need these pigments for bright new feathers. So if you start missing your cardinals, don't despair. They will soon return to well stocked feeders dressed in a brighter shade of red!
The boyz and I will be out looking and listening, we'll report back in September. "
