Top Picks for Spring Hummingbirds!

Male Anna's Hummingbird

Attract hummingbirds with great products from Duncraft!
 
Hummingbirds are migrating north, and it’s time to put out your feeders. Duncraft has over 80 beautiful feeders and hummingbird products to choose from—some brand new and some tried and true! Here’s an exciting showcase of our top hummingbird picks for spring—and what’s in store when you visit our Shop Hummingbirds category! 

 Four Flower FrolicIf you’re looking for a bestselling, time-tested favorite, the Four Flower Frolic is a hands-down Ruby Red Hummingbird feederwinner year after year. It’s easy to fill, disassembles for cleaning, and comes with bee guards—it’s a hummingbird magnet! But this year our Frolic is getting some competition. Featured on our spring catalog cover, the Ruby Red Hummingbird Feeder is crafted with beautiful ruby-red glass and metal. It looks amazing, sparkling in the sunlight—your hummers will think so too! And it makes a perfectly lovely gift.

Hummer HelmetTop your hummingbird feeders with a Hummer Helmet. The bright red color is a beacon for hummingbirds while shading your nectar and sipping birds from the hot sun. Easy to hang above any hummingbird feeder with included hardware.
 Hummer Helper nesting material
Enjoy another aspect of viewing hummingbirds. Provide them with nesting materials! Hummers really love this basket of pure cotton fibers which they’ll weave into their nests of lichen and spider webs. Watch where they take the fibers and you may even discover their tiny nests!
 
Jewel Box window hummingbird feederThe Jewel Box is a gem of a window feeder. It has a “high-view” perch, so you see hummingbirds clearly, right on top of the feeder. The pretty, red-topped “box” lifts out of the ant-moat base for cleaning and filling. And the base lifts off the mounting bracket, so once the suction cups are in place, you never have to remove them from the window.
 
 
 
 

       
 

Duncraft Inc.  102 Fisherville Road,   Concord  NH  03303

800-593-5656

www.duncraft.com

Prepare for Spring Nesting Season

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Although spring sometimes seems slow in coming, it certainly doesn't for the birds. Some of our summer birds have already returned from their winter migration grounds. Most of them have traveled thousands of miles on their journey north and now face the stress of finding nesting sites, procuring a mate and rearing young. In addition, many species of summer songbirds are declining as nesting sites dwindle due to loss of habitat. The ideal backyard habitat offers birds nesting boxes, nesting materials, food and water to ease the stress of the mating season and help to boost the survival rate of their young. But it isn't necessary to build your bird habitat all at once.  Even a single nest box or a few feeders can help birds have a successful season.

If you have existing bird houses and nesting boxes, be sure to clear out any old, remaining nests from the prior nesting season. Birds will seldom use a box with old nests in them.  Then, using a stiff bristled brush, scrub the interior of the box with a solution of warm soapy water and a few drops of chlorine bleach. This will kill any remaining parasite eggs. Check to make sure there are no loose nails or screws and be sure it's securely mounted when you put it back up. Keep your bird houses well separated from each other and also quite a distance from your feeders so the birds will have a quiet, inconspicuous place to raise their young. Many birds are particular as to the type of housing they are interested in and how it is placed.  If you are purchasing a new house, or haven't had occupants in existing houses, our bird house guide has lots of tips on the type of house you should purchase and how it should be situated.

Birds are quite capable of finding their own nesting materials, but sometimes the items they choose can be less than ideal; pieces of plastic, dirty dog hair, paper scraps and any number of other odd additions.  By making nesting materials available, birds have an easier time building, and a better chance of constructing a nest that dries quickly in damp conditions. Available nesting materials consist of cotton or other natural fibers, moss, twine, or wool. These can be hung from a branch near your bird houses. Watching birds take bits of wool or moss and incorporating them into their nests is a lot of fun!

Although baby birds that are still in the nest eat a diet primarily of insects, worms or other bugs, parents will also take suet and mealworms to them.  These can be offered on a platform feeder along with seeds, or they can be fed in suet and mealworm feeders.  Providing a variety of seed mixes in hopper or tube feeders ensures that the parent birds are well fed and have the energy they need to provide for their young. Once the young are fledged, the parent birds will often introduce them to your feeders, but the babies will still beg to be fed.  It's very endearing to see the parents take food from the feeder and bring it to them while they are perched on a nearby branch.

Lastly, adding a bird bath or some type of water feature will really enhance your birding experience. Birds are drawn to water, especially moving water.  Although birds get most of their water requirements from the insects and berries they eat, they do seem to enjoy a drink now and then. And water for bathing is very important because birds need to keep their feathers clean and preened. Often you will see the whole family splashing together.

Creating and maintaining your backyard habitat brings lots of bird activity to your yard. There are few things more rewarding to a bird lover each spring and summer than watching the birds successfully raise the next generation and having them return year after year.

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Foods for Spring Nestlings

 

Spring is a busy, stressful time for birds—staking out territories, finding mates, building nests and raising young. And all this happens almost from the moment they return from their long, arduous, migration journey. Birds could definitely use a little help from us during this time of year!

Some of the things we can do to help birds have a successful nesting season is to put food out for them, provide nesting boxes and water sources such as a bird bath. When birds have the basics on hand, they spend a lot less time foraging for these necessities and have more energy to hunt food for their nestlings. Baby birds can’t digest seeds, so the parents must bring them a steady diet of insects, and baby birds are constantly hungry!
 
Suet SamplerParent birds can’t feed their nestlings seeds from your feeder, but there are other foods you can offer that birds will take back to the nest. Suet is a perfect food for nestlings. It’s high in fat, protein and calories and is very easily digested. Offer it as suet cakes, plugs or suet balls. A great suet food for nestlings is Nuts and Bugs, a mixture of suet and dried insects. Hanging suet feeders are fine for clinging birds, but make the suet accessible for larger, non-clinging birds such as cardinals, catbirds, and blue jays by putting it on a platform feeder where they can land easily.  
 
High fat foods aren’t restricted to suet.  Plain vegetable shortening, the kind you use to make pie crusts, is an excellent food for baby birds. Wildlife rehabilitators feed this to orphaned nestlings because it’s so digestible. Also try peanut butter (the creamy kind is probably best). You can put these foods in a small bowl or tuna can on your platform feeder. Check it every day to make sure it is fresh and hasn’t melted or become discolored. If it has, clean or discard the bowl and put out fresh food.
 
Another form of suet is suet pellets. These are dry, vegetable based pellets that are easySuet to Go Berry Suet Pellets to serve and store and are available in several flavors. You can mix them with seed and feed them from a tube feeder or serve them alone in a dish or on a platform feeder.  
 
Live MealwormsMealworms are also an excellent food for nestlings. You can offer these live, roasted or canned. Offer canned and live mealworms at the same time everyday so that your birds get used to when they’ll be available and they won’t be sitting out in the hot sun. They can be fed from a mealworm feeder or a small dish placed on your platform feeder.  Roasted mealworms need no special handling and will stay fresh in a dish or on a platform until they are eaten.
 
When you help birds feed their young, you’ll also have the pleasure of watching the parents bring them to your feeder after they’ve learned to fly. The parents will even feed them there until the babies learn to forage for themselves.
--Roxanne Brune
     
Duncraft, Inc.  102 Fisherville Road, Concord, NH  03303
800-593-5656
www.duncraft.com

Decorate a Holiday Bird Tree!

    This year, why not decorate a special Holiday Tree for the birds with bird-edible ornaments and tasty treats? It can be a tree bare of leaves or a beautiful evergreen. Either way, bird trees look festive and charming in your yard and attract a lot of bird-attention! Although Duncraft creates new holiday shapes each year that are perfect for decorating and gift giving, it's also fun to make your own treats for the birds. Try stringing popcorn and cranberries on thread and drape it around the tree. And of course, there’s the old favorite—pine cones coated with peanut butter and then rolled in ... (read more)

A Visit to Plum Island, Massachusetts

  Plum Island is an 8 mile long barrier island off the coast of Newburyport, Massachusetts. At the southern end is Parker River National Wildlife Refuge. Located on the Atlantic Flyway, it’s a vital stopover for migrating songbirds, waterfowl and shorebirds and a wonderful place for birdwatching. In fact it’s known as one of the top-ten birding sites in the country with over 300 species of migratory birds being seen there.       At the time of my visit in late September, most of the migratory birds were gone, but there was still an abundance of egrets, ducks, swans and cormorants to be seen in the salt and ... (read more)

Top 10 Winter Bird Feeding Mistakes to Avoid

by Bill Thompson, IIIIf you feed the birds in your yard, you probably know that there are some things that work and others that fail miserably. In the spirit of David Letterman's famous Top Ten Lists, here are the Top Ten Winter Bird Feeding Mistakes to Avoid.10. Filling your tube feeder with mixed seed  If you do this, all the seed will run out onto the ground, making the sparrows, pigeons, and blackbirds very happy. Solution: Use sunflower seed instead. 9. Ground feeding in the same place all winter If you scatter seed on the ground all winter in one place, you will create a stinky, messy, unhealthy zone that will be hard to clean up in the spring. ... (read more)

Blog Selections: Migrating Warblers

Blog selections: Migrating Warblers September 6, 2011[edit] Here are a few interesting blog posts about migrating warblers. Enjoy! The Warblers Are Coming Migrating Warblers pass through the Tri-State area in early Spring, some stay for the Summer. The migration starts slowly, builds up, then fades. Mid April is usually the beginning of the best time to see and photograph Warblers in our … Publish Date: 04/08/2011 18:46 http://naturephoto411.blogspot.com/2011/04/warblers-are-coming.html My Work Here is Done | Big Year 2011 Warblers were everywhere. Ryerson Woods along the Des Plaines River seemed to have several migrating warblers in ... (read more)

Duncraft's NEW Eco-Friendly Bird Feeders

Duncraft has been a busy place lately, making lots of new Eco-friendly products right here in Concord, NH. We've recently added new manufacturing equipment specifically for producing bird feeders and houses out of recycled plastic. The plastic we use has been made from type 2 recycled milk jugs, laundry detergent and bleach containers and other heavy plastics. When recycled into planks, this material can be used to make beautiful bird feeders that are Eco-friendly and last a lifetime. The colors are vibrant, never fade and the material won't ever warp or crack. And since the material is non-porous, it's super easy to keep clean and sanitary.Come look at all ... (read more)

"The Best" Duncraft's #1 Best Window Feeder!

Duncraft’s newest window feeder lets you see birds up-close in amazing detail. Duncraft’s Mirrored Window Feeder attaches to the outside of any window with four strong suction cups, so birds come right to the window to get their bird food. Best of all, it has optical-quality mirror film on the back. Birds see only their own reflections as they eat, so sudden movements inside the house won’t startle them. They continue to feed, unaware of anything behind the window. That means you get continuous, close-up views of the birds! Even young children can approach the window and watch birds without frightening them away. And it’s great fun for ... (read more)

"The Best" - The Squirrel Buster Plus, Duncraft's #1 Best Selling Feeder

What does it really mean to be "the best" when it comes to bird feeders? Is it defined by the number that are sold? The effectiveness at resisting squirrels? The versatility of how it can be used? Or is it something else? However you choose to define it, though, it's clear that the best feeder we offer is the Squirrel Buster Plus, Duncraft's most popular bird feeder. Let's look at all of these qualifications to see how the Squirrel Buster Plus is the best at what it does. From a sales standpoint, no other bird feeder can top it - it's Duncraft's #1 best selling feeder. It's hard to argue with those numbers, and yet - WHY is the Squirrel Buster ... (read more)