“Who eats peanuts?” many customers ask as they pass the in shell peanuts and peanut pick-out barrels in the store. Many of our backyard birds love peanuts and benefit for peanuts’ high protein and rich fat. See our selection of peanut-based foods and feeders here. Blue Jays Grab and Go Blue Jays are adept at pulling whole peanuts through the…
Goldfinches are the latest nesting songbird in Minnesota. Unlike most of our songbirds, they do not feed their young insects or larvae as their diet is strictly vegetarian. As a result, Goldfinches delay nesting until milkweed, thistle and other plants produce seeds in an effort to ensure that there will be plentiful food sources to feed their young. Typically in…
We get this question quite a lot from our customers, and it’s no wonder — most of us are passionate about our backyard birds and want to help the best we can to make sure they’re healthy. To help you out, we’ve prepared this flow chart. Plus, check out the video from Slate Magazine on the topic! Save
Video of dueling Pileated Woodpeckers used courtesy of Karol Patzer Some Facts About These Magnificent Birds Pileated Woodpeckers will remain in an area that provides trees for cover and roosting cavities. They also look for established food sources and that includes backyard feeders. Suet feeders long enough for the Pileated to prop their tail for stability and leverage, a peanut…
Cardinals Resonate in the Hearts of the People Who Observe Them When a family visits our store interested in attracting a certain bird, it’s always a special experience to guide them in their quest. One family in particular will always stand out to me, as they were hoping to attract cardinals in honor of a late family member who adored…
Tips for Thrill Seekers Indigo Buntings and Scarlet Tanagers are in Minnesota, but many backyard sightings of these gorgeous birds occur during migration while they’re en route to their nesting habitats. If you’d like to tip the scales in your favor to host one or both of these gem-like birds in your yard, here are some tips: For both species:…
Guess Who’s Feeling Frisky? It may not feel like spring to us, but the owls are beginning to feel a bit frisky these days. Sometimes at night you can hear their hooting and calling. The calling is a part of their mating ritual. The males usually stay in one area and call out to females to come visit them. Their…
Blue Jays become very quiet when around their nest, but when a predator threatens the nest they use their loud, raucous calls that can be heard across long distances. Other species also benefit from the Blue Jay’s alarm call, alerting them to a nearby predator. Here’s an example we found from YouTube user, Pinto the Chihuahua, that shows a Blue…
Reflecting on Seasonal Changes I feel a bit wistful after the orioles leave for Mexico, Central and South America. I will miss their chatter and their beauty. I am cheered by the Hummingbirds that visit my yard more frequently in September than during nesting season. I keep the feeders filled with fresh nectar well into October, just in case.
One of the latest nesting songbirds, American Goldfinches don’t get started on nesting until late June or early July. This appears to be timed with the life cycle of the late blooming thistle plant which provides both nesting material and food for goldfinches. This correlation between the thistle seed ripening and goldfinch nesting may explain why goldfinches seem so much…