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.
"Once again, this morning, the collie boyz and I softly pad along bathed by the light of a full moon. I ponder what I might write in this journal as I listen to a song that's been stuck in my head for three days. I'd be too embarrassed to tell which song it is but it reminds me of the changes that take place in September.
The late morning shadows of early September bless the neighborhood and kiss our gardens in a warm glow. The heart of the artist pulses once again as I yearn to knock the dust off dormant watercolor supplies in the quiet, dark studio.
For our feathered friends and other creatures frequenting our backyard feeding stations and habitat, it is all about the good... the bad... and the ugly.
First, the good. Hummers zip to and fro, visiting a variety of blooming plants that have been recently well watered! As I watch these tiny speedsters visit my window feeder I notice they are all new birds. No adults for nearly the second half of August. I mentioned in last month's journal how numbers were way down. What a turn-around. Most everyone is reporting great hummer activity.
Keep hummingbird feeders going through September. However, you will notice dwindling numbers of hummers down to a trickle by the equinox (September 22). In the last decade or so I have had three October hummers. So, if you're in the mood, keep feeders going til mid-October, and maybe you'll get a look at a rare visitor such as a Rufous Hummingbird (photo of female). Very few are seen each fall in Michigan. These hardy hummers can be seen as late as December.
By months end, the first wave of Junco and Sparrows will have arrived. Dark-eyed Junco, White-throated Sparrow and White-crowned Sparrow are all fall transients. Good numbers of Junco will stay the winter if the habitat is right, while the sparrows move farther south. Our Deluxe Blend with white millet is the perfect seed for these fall visitors.
Bird baths should be kept clean and filled during September. Your best chance to see an unusual fall bird will be at a water feature. Many songbird species, including warblers and thrushes that migrate at night, need water sources to rehydrate for the next big flight, and clean feathers are essential for good performance.
Orioles should be out of the area and on their way to wintering grounds by now. Rose-breasted Grosbeaks hang on til early October.
Now, the bad. Grackles and other species of blackbirds are gathering into large flocks and making themselves pests at feeding stations. So for awhile you'll need to put up with these hungry hordes.
Our Eliminator feeder can be adjusted to close under the weight of grackles. Safflower seed can be used in feeders to keep grackles away. Simply Suet helps too. The blackbirds prefer all the "goodies" in a suet cake, not the suet. Simply Suet is just plain fat. Upside down suet feeders keep non-clinging birds off suet. The recycled plastic models are slippery, and are my favorite choice.
I feed peanut halves all year. I serve them up in a feeder that fits inside a large mesh cage. Downy Woodpeckers are the largest bird that fits through the mesh. So I always have treats available for the little guys. Mesh cages also keep out Gray Squirrels and Fox Squirrels.
Last, the Ugly. I was laughing so hard, I spilled coffee on myself. The small flock of Blue Jays busy taking turns carrying off peanuts in the shell looked as though they had been in a battle and lost. No crests, very few neck feathers. Tail feathers of various lengths, and other feathers just plain missing.
The male is just now looking crested again. For awhile, he was mostly wearing my hair style on top!
Young Rose-breasted Grosbeaks, especially the young males from first broods, are molting into their first adult plumage. The one visiting my feeder this morning was so ugly, it was beautiful. Does that make sense to you?
So keep a smorgasbord of foods out now for molting birds, birds about to migrate, and birds that need insulating fat for winter.
More good... Later this month you will receive another email announcing our fall schedule of programs and fall seed sale.
