The winter is kicking in here in Arizona. The southwest has had some very cold weather over the past few weeks. It is supposed to warm up by the end of the week. My kids having grown up in Phoenix and still being young, four and two years old, have not really experienced cold yet. We have some friends that have just built a home in Flagstaff and we decided to go for a day trip to visit and let the kids know what cold is really like. Read more »
Filed under: Backyard Decorating, Squirrel Proof on December 15th, 2009 | No Comments »
I found an article the other day that demonstrates how a simple gesture can have far reaching effect on the world around us. As anyone who has read any of my articles from the past would know, I like to find new ways to attract birds to my backyard. By placing a bird feeder or bird house in your backyard most people primary goal is to do just that attract bird for their viewing pleasure. Sure, putting a decorative feature in your garden by itself adds to the aesthetics of the setting, but who would have know that we are contributing to the changing of the natural world. Read more »
Filed under: Backyard Decorating, Bird Feeders on December 15th, 2009 | No Comments »
I live in the desert southwest, Arizona, to be more specific. So it is always hot here, right? No change of seasons, right? Well yes and no. I spent my childhood and early adult life in way upstate New York. We really had a change of seasons there. Ninety degrees in the heat of summer and negative fifteen in the deep freeze of winter. Plenty of rain to grow lots of green to turn orange in the Autumn. The high temperature in Phoenix range from one hundred and ten degrees mid summer to sixty in the winter, still a pretty good range. True we don’t get the extreme color I experienced in New York, but there is a change, spring is much more green then summer. So why all this talk of season changes? Autumn is here and winter is approaching. It is time to help the birds survive the winter with on of the many verities of suet bird feeders. Read more »
Filed under: Backyard Decorating, Bird Feeders on September 30th, 2009 | No Comments »
In a previous post I discussed the fact that people go through great pains to stop squirrels from eating their bird seed. The premise of my thought was that why would we stop squirrels from eating? This sounded cruel to me.
Well I had several conversations with people from around the country on this topic since posting this article. Now as you may or may not know, I live in Arizona. We have squirrels here but just not the quantity that people have in other parts of the country. I am originally from upstate New York so I am familiar with how many squirrels can live on a acre of land. I have lived in the desert southwest for twenty years so I guess I forgot.
I have since done some looking into what is involved with squirrel proofing your bird feeder.
Read more »
Filed under: Bird Feeders, Squirrel Proof on September 23rd, 2009 | No Comments »
I have a friend, Bobby, with an odd sense of humor. We all appreciate Bobby and his method of thinking about the world. One of the jokes he always makes is about tuna safe dolphin. He jokes, “I only eat dolphin if no tuna was harmed in the harvesting of the dolphin”. I don’t have to explain this joke but I will anyway. You read on a can of tuna, “dolphin safe”, what about the poor tuna. This is more prolific now that large predator fish are becoming endangered around the world.
The same can be said for dogs, cats and other domesticated animals. People are appalled that in some countries people kill and eat dogs and cats. Where in this country pigs, cows and chickens are brutally killed by the millions for us to consume. Pigs are intelligent animals, at least as intelligent as dogs.
Ok, now to continue in this train of thought and to rejoin the topic of the web site. For a nature lover a squirrel proof bird feeder may sound cruel. Why do we go out of our way to feed bird but also go out of our way to NOT FEED the squirrels. There are a large variety of designs implemented to keep squirrels from eating food specifically placed for birds. Read more »
Filed under: Backyard Decorating, Bird Feeders, Squirrel Proof on September 14th, 2009 | No Comments »
I found a bird watching site in Minnesota that has a plethora of links and information on bird watching. I was amazed to find Optical Links that would lead me to bird watching equipment as well as some links that I am fond of such as Purple Martin Birds.
If you live in the Northwest, I would recommend this site for information on events and local birding activities. they offer information about Birding Field Trips and a loads of birding information for the area. I have been to the Twin Cities many times, but it has always been on business so have really not been able to partake in causal activities.
This place, although about 90 miles Southeast of Minneapolis, seems like a good place that one can watch birds. They have some pretty good birding photos on this page.
This seems to be a complete information site that if you go to Minnesota to watch birds, you should be satisfied.
Filed under: Bird Watching Resources on September 9th, 2009 | No Comments »
Today I was surfing around the web and I came across a useful website. Buteo Books is a book store dedicated to Ornithology. If you are looking for a specific book or if you just want to browse for a specific category of books, like books about birds of pray this is a good place to start.
You can also browse for books by region of the world. This is useful if you are planning a trip abroad and want to do some local bird watching. They maintain an out of print ornithology books section that can be useful when trying to find an elusive book that you may have seen in the past.
I hope this helps someone find that special book or gift for the bird watcher in their life.
Filed under: Bird Watching Resources on September 8th, 2009 | No Comments »
My kids started in a new pre-school this week. It was a pretty big change for the entire family. The new school is a Montessori franchise. My kids are in the same room, we are happy about that feature. We have to pack a lunch every day now, the other school provided a lunch. This new school adds about fifteen minutes to my morning commute. The new school is also close to one of the Phoenix public libraries. Tonight when my wife picked the kids up they returned some books and got some new ones. The first book was about some kind of bird that breaks it’s leg on a trampoline. I had to read it twice to my daughter before dinner. The second book I read to her before bed and it led me to thinking about this post. Read more »
Filed under: Bird Feeders on September 3rd, 2009 | No Comments »
It is summer in Arizona again. Mid August. I am a transplant from the east coast and we never got tired of summer in New York. But we always got tired of winter. In Arizona the heat starts to ware you out around the middle of August. And we still have several months of heat left.
One positive feature of August in Arizona is the hummingbird population is at it most diverse due to the birds migration patterns. You can find some species of hummingbird in Arizona year round but the diversity is at is peak near the end of summer. You can take advantages of the Hummingbirds of Southeastern Arizona tour that takes place the second half of August. If you don’t want to spend the money on a tour you can try to create a habitat in your own backyard garden that will attract hummingbirds year round. Read more »
Filed under: Bird Feeders, Hummingbirds on August 20th, 2009 | No Comments »
My mother-in-law is embarking on a project that many people do not do so late in life. She is getting ready to purchase her first home. The good part about waiting so long is that she is going to be able to take advantage of the first time buyers tax credit the government is currently offering. The house she is considering buying is a bank owned property. The house has been vacant for a while and the water has been turned off to the house. The only living things on the property are two established trees, one in the front and one in the back. The rest is dirt. Read more »
Filed under: Backyard Decorating, Bird Baths, Bird Houses, Solar on August 11th, 2009 | No Comments »