Log feeders are easy to make. Find a log 3 or 4 inches in diameter by 1 to 1.5 ft long. Drill 2 or 3 holes on four sides. Each hole should be 1/2 inch deep by 1 inch in diameter. You can also add a perch if you like. Add a threaded eye to one end and hang from tree limb or feeder pole.

Peanut Butter Recipe

2         cups peanut butter

2         cup corn meal

1/2      cup thistle seed

1/2      cup of any or mix of all peanuts, black oil sunflower seed, cracked corn, and or pecans

1/2      cup bird seed

mix well, and refrigerate unused mixture. You can also use suet (animal fat) added with or in place of peanut butter in this recipe. If you add suet with peanut butter use 1 cup of each.

Attracts

Downy Woodpeckers, Red-bellied Woodpeckers, Nuthatches, and Chickadees

The Type of feeders and their placement is almost as important as the food offered. One species may prefer hanging feeders, while another will eat only on the ground. Woodpeckers and nuthatches prefer tree-trunk feeders. The food being offered should also be taken into consideration when purchasing or making a feeder. Thistle seed will be wasted if not fed from a thistle feeder or mixed with peanut butter or suet mix.

Many everyday items can be recycled into bird feeders. Mesh bags, which onions, oranges, and apples sometimes come in, can be used to feed suet, cut up pieces of fruit, or stale baked goods. Plastic bottles and jugs can be made into a variety of feeders, but be sure to rinse used bottles thoroughly. Pinecone and small logs can be used for peanut butter mixes and suet mixes. 

Three considerations when deciding where to put your feeder   

1. Visibility - Seeing and enjoying birds is probably the main reason you started feeding them. Locate your feeder where you can comfortably see them.

2. Shelter from weather - Rain can quickly spoil birdseed. Select or build feeders with large overhang roof lines. Also, place your feeders on the south or east side of your home when possible. This will help shelter the birds from wintry west and north winds.

3. Close to cover - Nearby shrubs and trees allow birds to hide from cats or other threats, and allow shy birds a gradual approach to your feeders. Cover within 5 feet seems to work well. 

Water should be available and accessible year-round. Moving water provided in the form of a drip or fine mist is especially alluring. It is most important that the water be clean and abundant. Birdbath water should be changed every few days to insure a fresh and clean supply. Locating your bird bath in a shady part of the yard will keep the water cooler in hot weather.

Tip: Washing birdbaths with water and white vinegar will help prevent algae growth and keep the water fresher.

Birdbaths can be found in a variety of styles, sizes, and materials. You may choose to buy, or perhaps make your own. Textured Materials such as concrete, stone, pebbles, and sand provide good footing for the birds. Plastic or metal surfaces should be roughened with coarse sandpaper or textured footing used in bathtubs can be applied to the smooth surface. Colored aquarium gravel, available in pet or garden centers, can be attractive in a bath and will also improve the footing.

In general, birds prefer shallow water, low to the ground. Most backyard birds are fearful of water deeper than 3 inches, and many like it much shallower. A bath with sloping sides which gradually approaches 3 inches in depth is fine.

Tip: Leveled and securely placed, a garbage can lid turned upside down can make a perfect bath.

In freezing weather, unfrozen water supplied by you is important not only for drinking, but for winter baths. Birds may be seen bathing in fresh snow, but they probably prefer using the birdbath. To keep unfrozen water available use an electric birdbath heater or change the water a couple of times a day, adding warm (not hot) water to iced-over baths.

Do not add Glycerine or Antifreeze to keep birdbaths from freezing!

Use fruit feeders or platform feeders with fruit and vegetables to attract:

• Orioles
• Tanagers
• Mockingbirds
• Woodpeckers
• Jays
• Chats
• Bluebirds

Fruit and Vegetables

Fruit and Vegetables such as cut apples, grapes, raisins (try soaking raisins in water overnight), orange halves, cranberries, apricots, dates, tomatoes, plums, peaches, green peppers, broccoli, and nectarines appeal to birds. You can cut them in half or into pieces. Use large fruit halves in fruit feeders. Place large and small fruit and vegetables pieces on platform feeders. 

Caution: Be sure to remove food before it spoils or molds. In the hot summer, this may be just a few hours.

String Treats

Making vertical treats to hang in a tree. Tie a popsicle stick to one end of a string. This will be the bottom of the fruit chain so the birds have a perch.  

Using dried fruit string any combination you like: cranberries with apricots and apple slices. or Orange slices, apple slices, dates, plums, and raisins.

Hanging Fresh Ear of Corn

Take a fresh ear of corn that still has its husk. Carefully peel the husks downward and remove the silk. Take some twine and tie the husks together below the corn cob. Hang on feeder pole using the twine.

Birds need shelter from hard rains and cold winds, and protection from predators. Young birds, especially, need cover while they are learning to fly. The most dangerous backyard predator may be the house cat next door. You can add shelter and food sources to your yard by including wildlife needs in your landscaping plan.

Fortunately, most of the qualities you look for in plants are also a high priority for birds. We like to have lots of flowers and fruits, dense growth, and long-lasting foliage. Birds do too! Even if you have only a deck or window planter, you can attract birds and offer shelter by careful plant selection. A hanging basket of fern or ivy could shelter a wren. A small evergreen tree in a tub could break a cold wind or keep the rain off.

If your landscape is mostly lawn, plant an island of shrubs and flowers. Perhaps five or seven (odd numbers look best when grouping) boxwood or hollies surrounded by zinnias or marigolds would work well and add attractive color. Add a small flowering fruit tree such as cherry, plum, crab apple, or dogwood.

If your landscape is mostly shrubs and lawn, a fast-growing tree such as honey locust, pin oak, or red maple will add height to your yard. A small grove of trees would be even more attractive. Alder, hackberry, red maple, or sweetgum will all work well.

If your landscape is mostly trees, you have an advantage. Many people wait a lifetime for their trees to reach full height. Planting a few shade-tolerant, smaller trees and shrubs will give a layered effect and will attract different kinds of birds. Consider dogwood, eastern hemlock, holly, serviceberry, aromatic sumac, privet, and viburnum, among others. You may want to add a few evergreens. They are excellent protection from cold winds and will protect your house as well as the wildlife when planted on the north and west sides.

Plant a few trees, shrubs and flowers today. Enjoy both the plants and the birds tomorrow!

Woodwork for Wildlife

To find the size T-shirt you need, compare sellers measurements to a shirt you already have.

• Measure your T-shirt: Lay the T shirt flat and then check these two measurements.
• Width: Width is measured from under arm to under arm across the chest
• Length: Length is measured from the neck line to the bottom hem.

Compare your measurements to the size charts below. The charts below are for Hanes Heavyweight, which is what we use. Other sellers who sell T-shirts should provide a T-shirt sizing chart, weather it is in a listing or a seperate page created for you to use.

All measurements are approximations. Length and width vary slightly from manufacture to manufacture. Shirts may be within 1" or 2" of the dimensions listed below.

All of our Tee's are preshrunk 100% cotton, however, all garments will shrink slightly in the first wash. Length will loose about 1" and width will loose about 1/2". Wash according to manufacturer's recommendation on the neck tag.

These charts are meant as a guideline to help you select an appropriate size and are not a guarantee of a perfect fit. If you recieve a shirt from us, that does not fit we will gladly work with you to exchange your shirt for another size.

The measurements below are based on T-shirts we sell, Hanes Heavyweight 100% Preshrunk Cotton.

Squirrel feeders

Squirrels prefer to feed in a place where they can easily escape, and as they spend most of their time in the trees, the most suitable position for feeders would be on a tree or near to a wall.

Placing feeders on or near the ground is strongly discouraged, as there is a high likelihood of the squirrels being attacked and killed by predators.

The exact placement of the feeder will depend on the garden or area that the squirrels visit. Try to work out the route that a squirrel will take to arrive at the feeder and place it to avoid crossing open ground where possible.

Secure the feeder on or near to a tree at a height of 5-6 feet. Ideally you should place the feeder as high as possible, while still allowing for easy access to add feed and clean it out.

For secure mounting, nails or screws should be used.

Whether located in cities, towns or rural communities, birds add color and liveliness to yards and gardens. Several different types of birds have become accustomed to civilization and living in close approximation to man.

Attracting Birds

Birds can be attracted to your yard and garden through the careful placement of birdhouses, or nesting boxes, bird feeders, and bird baths. Birds are attracted where provisions are made for their feeding and bathing. To keep birds around, provide bird houses.

Bird Houses

Bird Houses should be mounted at a height of about 5 or 6 feet. Mounting to low will increase the risk of predators. Mounting to high will invite sparrows, and make cleaning out the nesting box more difficult. Birdhouses should be cleaned out after every nesting, to encourage the next nesting. You should space bird houses at least 20 feet apart to prevent fighting over nesting area and empty nesting boxes.

Bird Feeders and Bird Baths

Feeders and baths should be placed more than 20 feet away from birdhouses. Placing these to close to the nesting area will prevent nesting. Place these closer to the watching area with the bird houses in the far distance.

Do not place bird houses, feeders, or baths close to any area where pesticides will be used.

Attracting feathered friends to your yard is an enjoyable pastime. Few urban dwellers enjoy this pastime but can if they devote a little time on placing a few birdhouses where space is available and use bird feeders and bird baths around patio area. With a little work, the reward will be bird songs and color in motion for your yard and garden.

Bird Houses

Birdhouses should be mounted in a reasonably open area with a few scattered trees. Open fields will work well as long as there are fences or other things for the birds to perch on. Mounting along a tree line works well when mounting in the yard or around the garden. Be careful not to mount to close to a place where you will be using pesticides.

Mounting heigt should not be to low, because of the increased risk from predators. Mounting to high will make it to difficult to clean the bird houses out when needed. As a general rule, the best height for most birdhouses is 5 to 7 feet above the ground. If you are mounting more than one bird house, they should be placed about 20 ft. apart.

Try to face the bird houses away from the prevailing wind. Face the entrance hole slightly to the south east. Vegetation should be low around the area where the birdhouse is mounted, except for a perch about 4 to 6 feet away to help make the young birds first flight easy. This purch can be a small tree, bush, or fence.

To catch the first nesting of the season you should mount the bird houses in the fall, but no later than January or February. Some birds are scouting for future nesting places as early as January. If you get your nesting box out after January, you will still have time for two or three more nesting.

Be sure to watch the bird houses closely, and clean out after each nesting is done. This will encourage the next nesting.  

Bird Seed Cornbread

This is great for platform feeders.

Make up a batch of cornbread just like the package says.

Add one extra egg to the mix and crumble the shells in also.

Add 1 cup bird seed

Add a little water if the mix is to dry and bake according to package.

Once the bird seed cornbread has cooled, cut into serving size pieces. Place in freezer bags in the freezer until needed. Thaw and break into pieces and place on a platform bird feeder. The birds will love it.