One year I gave a Log Suet Bird feeder that my husband helped me to make, along with a recipe for suet. The platform birdfeeder above requires no recipe, just a little tool time and some bird seed and it makes a great gift. For all the instructions and tips, visit Birds & Blooms Extra. With the detailed instructions, even a non-handyman like me should be able to make this.
I will be scouring the internet for other great gift ideas since Christmas is right around the corner. If you know of some simple projects that you would like to share, leave a comment! Let’s all make this a homemade Christmas!
Tags: bird feeder, birdfeeder, homemade gifts
Even though summer is almost gone we still have to take care of our birds. This summer one of my main dilemmas was keeping the bird bath clean for the frequent visitors that stopped in. Usually I find the birdbath to be full of leaves, have algae and dirt in the crevices and on the bottom of the bowl.
What’s a girl gonna do…Scrub the mess away. So scrub I did and for a day or two I had a clean birdbath. I have a concrete birdbath and I used baking soda and sometimes chlorine to help get rid of the algae. But with this high humidity and abundance of rain we received this year, I could not keep the birdbath algae free and clean.
So my second alternative was to search the net to see if I could find something that was safe and natural for the birds that might visit.
Some of the methods of suggestions I found were:
- Bleach to be the only real help and then it only lasts for a few days; and of course the bath should be thoroughly rinsed before putting it out again.
- Put water plants in the bird bath. They had used them for over three weeks and the plants were still alive and the bird bath was clean. I just keep adding more water. It really works- especially if you live in a warm climate.
- Add a teaspoon of baking soda with enough water to make a thin paste. Crumple up a plastic grocery bag, or similar item I was going to throw away anyhow. Use the crumpled bag to scrub out the algae with the paste of soda and water. Takes just a few seconds. Rinse out the soda with clear water. Soda is a mild abrasive. You could then rinse with vinegar and water which dissolves any soda traces and also kills germs. I read somewhere that straight vinegar kills more germs than lysol but there is no money selling vinegar as a cleaner.
And my favorite suggestion/idea:
Place a few pennies or copper tubing in your birdbath and your worries are gone!
That sounds too easy! So I am giving it a try. One thing to remember though that pennies dated after 1982 are 97.5% zinc so will not work. Anything before 1982 are 95% copper so should work but if you have copper tubing than that will do the work also.
I’m not sure if this is an old wives tale but if it helps to make the task of keeping my bird bath clean easier than I am all for it!
***All of these suggestions/ideas came from Gardenweb.com forum.Tags: bird bath cleaning, Birding, birds
I think maybe the trick was moving my feeder I had hanging on the back porch to the front porch which allowed them two feeding stations. I still need to purchase one more feeder to replace the one I took from the back porch but I am so glad I did. The little humming birds have been non-stop ever since I did this.
From my last count I had seven or eight swarming the feeders and the front porch. They have gotten so used to me being around they don’t even mind me taking pictures of them. I have been trying to catch some in flight but we all know how difficult that can be. So I have a few pictures that I was able to manage with some of my visiting humming birds.
male hummingbird on guard
hummingbirds in flight
early morning feeder watch for hummingbird
three hummingbirds in flight
Three humming birds on feeder
female humming bird
female hummingbird in flight
male hummer preening his feathers
Two hummingbirds on feeder
These birds give me such delight to watch. I go out in the early morning and late in the evening and you can be sure they are always present. They are on hand so often that I am filling the feeders every other day. In the past I sometimes had to throw away the sugar water mixture because it became moldy. Not anymore.
If you are having troubles attracting hummingbirds, try adding an additional feeder in the same area as the one you already have. Fill it with the sugar water mixture from this hummingbird recipe and watch for more birds. It worked for me and it just might work for you. I am now working on a plan to expand my hummingbird hosting area to the back porch. I’ll let you know the results as soon as I take action.
Tags: hummingbird antics, hummingbirds
I love quotes. Quotes about inspiration, life, motivation, and more; it doesn’t matter what I just like quotes because sometimes I can relate to what is written. I recently wrote a hub page (something like an article directory) called 20 Inspirational and Motivational Quotes . One of the quotes states:
Life is not about waiting for the storms to pass…it’s about learning to dance in the rain.~Vivian Greene
I think I told you my new favorite piece of my wardrobe is my rubber boots.
These little jewels get worn everyday! Where would my life be without them 
.
Yesterday the storms came earlier than usual. They hit by noon my time so I was totally unprepared to have the electricity go out on me. I am working on a couple of websites for clients and without my computer I am lost and definitely unable to work.
So unable to work on my projects I did the next best thing…practice taking pictures of hummingbirds. I enjoy trying to capture the birds, hopefully in flight and clear. Unfortunately, most of my pictures are a blur but some did turn out good.
So here we go a few shots of my playing in the rain…
Those were a couple of good ones.
Now here’s some of the bad ones…
And last but not least…
What?!? That’s not a hummingbird it is a blurry Owl! The owl was enjoying watching me but I was too far away to get a good shot of it. I have seen this bird a couple of times now and one day I will be prepared with camera in hand to get some better pictures.
I’ve been corrected…it’s not even an owl, it’s a hawk. I have got to get new glasses.
Now what do you do on rainy days when your regular schedule is interrupted by power failure, or whatever, that stops you from working? I’m getting prepared the clouds are coming in again!
Tags: hummingbirds, quotes, rain, rubber boots
Check out this article about a bird that used her body as a shield to keep her young from getting drenched…Bird uses body as a Dam.
Tags: baby birds, birds
