Protecting and preserving your wild birds
Hi again,
As promised, I thought I’d offer a few ideas on protecting your wild birds... That may sound a bit incongruous, (birds are wild animals after all), but still there are a few things that you can do. Here are some ideas:
- Keep your cats indoors. This isn’t just a good idea for the birds... Where I live, (Cape Cod), coyotes eat cats like they’re snack food.
- Ask your neighbors about stray pets. If for no other reason, no one wants to see a pet get hit by a car.
- Consider fencing in your yard. Fence choices range from traditional wood, to stainless steel, to modern plastics. And the choices are limitless.
- Be sure to place your feeders at the appropriate height and no lower. For example, we keep our finch feeder 10 - 12 feet off the ground and lower it by its support rope as needed. It's a bit of a hassle, but the birds stay safe.
- Avoid deep water bowls (or deep pools) that don't offer birds an easy means for egress during drinking or washing... My wife likes to have a small water fountain, but we always make sure that there are enough rocks in it to provide safe exit for a small bird.
- Try to provide the kind of vegetation in which the birds in your area would naturally gather for safety. (In my last blog I droned on about the importance of getting out there and finding out what your birds really need by way of food and habitat.)
- I hate to write this, but use squirrels as an alarm system. We frequently have fox and coyote marauders, and they almost always get the squirrels first. It breaks my heart, (I like squirrels), but it is what it is - nature. (See below.)
- Be sure to use decorations, sun catchers, stained glass ornaments, etc. in front of the windows that face your feeders... Millions of birds a year are killed when they fly into crystal-clear windows.
I'm looking forward to your responses on this subject...
See you by the feeder,
Alan
