Oct 1 Osher Birding Field Trip and Lunch

Looks like we may have some showers tomorrow, but as of now, the field trip is still a GO. The luncheon at Janice Erich's is indoors, so it is a definite GO. In the event you decide to just attend the luncheon, be at Janice's house at about 11:30 am. She lives in Cape Shores right next to Cape Henlopen State Park. You should have received directions via an email from Janice, and you should have RSVP'd with your choice of vegan or meat entree. If you have any questions, call my cell.

Check here before 6 am Wed for any last minute updates.

6 AM Update - Today's Weather Looks Good......just a bit windy out of the NE.

Bill

Wind Turbines and Bird Kills

On this morning's bird class, while standing at Cape Henlopen point and looking at the UD wind turbine, someone asked me what the latest studies showed about wind turbines and bird kills.

By chance, I received a recent report from Renewable Energy World about that topic. Agreed, they have a stake in playing down the impact, but they are also highly scrutinized, and in my review of their article, I feel they make a fair representation that the overall impact is actually quite low....much lower than tall buildings, especially those clad with reflective surfaces, and also much lower than from natural causes, like flying off course during migration and drowning in the N. Atlantic

For this article, see New Research Improves on Earlier Bird-killing Turbine Studies .....and note the comments and pics of the very old Altamont CA wind turbines with the unintended raptor perch cross bars which I mentioned this morning.

Sept 24 - This morning's Bird Walk

Rain is not forecast until after 1 pm today, but things can change, so a rain resistant jacket is recommended. The winds are presently 25 mph out of the east, and forecast to increase. While this not good for woodland birding, it can bring in some good seabirds, and we will be at a good overlook for observing any that may get blown in.

See you at 8 am at the Herring Point parking lot at Cape Henlopen State Park .

Wood Bark Suet Sandwich Woodpecker Feeder

Works like a charm, you saw it today, below is the link to buy one....AND I make no profit from any sales of it......AND yes, nuthatches also like it.

Birds Choice

"Safe Haven" Bird Feeder

This has been my "mainstay bird feeder" for 40+ years. It provides seed and suet for small birds, like Chickadees, Titmice, Wrens, Nuthatches, etc, AND excludes the big bullies like Starlings, Grackles and Blue Jays.

I have made many versions of this feeder, and believe the bigger the better, so I will describe my latest version, which is pictured below (pic from today, click to enlarge).

The overall INSIDE dimensions are height 16 inches, depth and width 22 inches. The wire is nominally 1 x 2 inch hardware cloth. I use pliers to squeeze every other opening to a clearance dimension of  approximately 1 1/4 inch wide. The vertical dimension remains constant at about 1 3/4 inches (less than 2 inches because of wire thickness).

The sides are 2 pieces of wire cloth. One is a single piece 66 inches long by 16 inches high, folded twice at 22 inches to make the left, back and right sides. The other piece is 22 inches wide by16 inches high, and attached to a back side by simple wire hinges (just wrap single pieces of wire to connect the front and sides in 2 places.......see left side of enlarged pic).

We usually put black oil sunflower seed and peanuts in the center floor of the feeder, and peanut butter suet (see prev. post) in the suet stick.

You will want to mount the feeder on a sturdy pole with a squirrel/raccoon baffle below it. They can't get in the feeder, but they can work it over pretty good (see gnawing on right side where a squirrel jumped over to it). Squirrels can jump horizontally 9 ft (yes I did my own measurements). So position any feeder at least 10 ft from a solid squirrel jumping point.

And then enjoy the little guys not being harassed by the big bullies.

No-melt Peanut Butter Suet

No Melt Peanut Butter Suet – by Sally Fintel

18 oz. crunchy peanut butter

2 cups (1 lb.) lard – no substitutions

4 cups quick oats

4 cups yellow corn meal

2 cups white flour

2/3 cup granulated sugar

Melt lard and peanut butter together over low heat. Remove from heat and thoroughly mix in remaining ingredients. Transfer to shallow Styrofoam veggie or meat containers. Cover & store in refridge or freeze. Slice and use to fill suet stick, as needed. Birds love this all year round.

September 10 Field Trip

Weather looks okay as of 4:30 pm Tue. We may get some light showers, and I will recheck at 5 am Wed in case there is a big change, and I will update before 6 am if a change in plans is required.

I scouted my "back roads route" this afternoon, and yes the habitat still looks great, BUT with strong east winds, the birding is NOT good. So I am working on a modified route which will enable us to see more birds. We will still meet here at 31395 Point Circle at 8 am. Backyard birds have been very good here, including White-breasted Nuthatch for 2+ years (unusual in east Sussex County).

Best,
Bill