eBirdseed.com Wild Bird Feeding Blog

{What follows contains technical information and instruction. If you are not a computer/Web geek it probably would behoove you to buy a couple of pocket protectors and try to bribe the local geek into helping you with this. It's not that this process is difficult or prolonged, but it does help if you are a true nerd. It also helps if you print this post out before you start. CapeCodAlan}

How do I explain this? There is a quick way to view the most recent posts on the eBirdseed blog (and other blogs for that matter). This mechanism is called RSS. ("RSS" is an acronym for: "RDF Site Summary", or "Rich Site Summary", or even better yet, "Really Simple Syndication".) Simply put, RSS offers quick access to article titles from RSS-enabled sites. In the bigger scheme of things, RSS allows not just easy access for the user, but also easy Web syndication. Alrighty then! Sounds like a lot of confusing words to me. Time for a couple of pictures!

The screen shot below is that of an active list of RSS "feeds" in Microsoft's browser, Internet Explorer.



And the next shot shows an RSS drop down menu in the Mozilla Firefox browser.



Ok... Hopefully that should give you The Big Picture regarding the convenience of RSS in different browsers. But how do we specifically make the eBirdseed blog jump through such hoops of convenience in Internet Explorer? Just how would we subscribe to such madness? Glad you asked! Simply go to www.ebirdseed.com/blog, and then scroll down towards the bottom of the screen. On the right you'll see the following box o' stuff:



Notice all the different access points. For this post, let's just click on "Subscribe to this blog's feed" and that will bring up the following:



And finally, that will bring you to the perfunctory "What Do You Want To Call The Beast" screen below... Name it appropriately (I always just go with the defaults) and click "Subscribe".



Congratulations, your efforts have been successful, as indicated by the screen shot below.



Make note of that little "star" icon. In IE, you can click on that star (located in the upper left corner of the browser window) to invoke your RSS Feed list, which now includes the eBirdseed blog!

Time for an "Efrem Zimbalist Jr. Epilogue Moment"... As the first two photos in this post show, different browsers handle RSS in different fashions. Internet Explorer offers a bare-bone RSS reader (the technical term is "RSS aggregator"). Firefox provides a much better (in my opinion) aggregator. And there are third-party aggregators out there as well. And let's not forget, Macs, Linux, and unrelenting updates... About the best we can do here is make you aware of RSS using the current Internet Explorer as a model.

See you by the digital feeders,

CapeCodAlan

P.S. Did you know that Efrem Zimbalist Jr.'s dad was a world-famous violinist and composer, and his mother Alma Gluck was a well-known opera singer? See that... Read this blog and you learn about birds and boost your trivia IQ.

Posted by CapeCodAlan at 7:34 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Given that you're reading this blog, odds are that you're fairly internet savvy, and you do at least some of your shopping online. And, if you're like me, you tend to use e-commerce as I do. That is to say that you access the site, order what you want, and then race back to the microwave before the popcorn burns. The problem with that is that sometimes even the most basic functionality of a site may pass you by. (I'd been using amazon.com for years before I finally discovered that I could sort my product searches.) And with that in mind, I thought that a quick look at the eBirdseed home page (or landing page) might just reveal a few overlooked features. Beyond that, I'll toss in a couple of additional tips. And without further ado, let's take a look at the typical eBirdseed page...



(For what follows, refer to the image above.)

Probably the best way to break this down is to look at the features involved. First let's look at convenience...

• As an e-shopper hooked on convenience and savings, a couple of things leapt/leap out at me. First is the free shipping. I hate the hassle and mystery of shipping costs. All I want to do is toss the item in my cart and check out.
• Another convenient service offered by eBirdseed is the option to use PayPal. (To be bluntly honest, I didn't even notice that that feature was available until I started writing this post. And I've looked at this site how many times???)
• In my book, "Reminders" and "Subscriptions" go hand in hand. Reminders are simply emails (that you configure) that are sent to you reminding yourself that it's probably time to reorder seed. A subscription is... Well... I'll let eBirdseed.com speak for itself!
  If your list includes a birding or bird feeding enthusiast, we've got the gift! Premium Audubon brand birdseed delivered once a month for six or twelve months right to their door. We'll even let you choose which kind of seed your bird lover will get from us each month. They'll think of you every-time that package arrives from eBirdseed.com and every-time they see a new bird at their feeder. Maybe you are the birding enthusiast and just want the convenience of paying for six months or twelve months of seed all at once. This is the plan for you!
  If you are not a birding enthusiast and are unsure of what type of seed is appropriate, you can call us and we'll be glad to help you choose. Premium Audubon Sunflower Hearts are a favorite of birds throughout the country and for all seasons of the year. It's simple to get started right away with your subscription. It's quick and easy to get started, just choose a six or twelve month subscription. Then pick which seed you would like delivered in which month. Lastly, give us a start date for the first bag. If you want it right away, just put today's date in the box. If this is a gift, specify what date you would like it shipped on. The seed will ship out on the same day each month. Order today!
  If this is a gift, the first bag will ship with a personalized gift message from you!
  (Don't let the language fool you... You can always give a gift subscription to yourself!)
• And finally, one of the most convenient products is the "Gift Bundle." Think of this as a "gift bundle"/"starter kit." Basically, the gift bundles are a combination of feeder and seed. That's a handy package for anyone getting started in the hobby.

So beyond convenience, what else is there? Well, customer service looms large. (Wouldn't it be nice to actually talk with the owner(s) of the business?) Ask and ye shall receive. When you talk with Gordon or Dan, you're speaking with "The Boss." The direct contact info for eBirdseed.com rests right behind the "About Us" tab. And look! Here it is now!

Call, email, mail or fax Gordon Moe in Customer Service from
Hours: 9:00 AM - 5:00 PM; Monday-Friday
Call: 1-866-324-7373
E-mail: info@eBirdseed.com
Mail: eBirdseed.com
27823 86th Ave. S. Hawley, MN 56549-8982
Fax: (978) 268-7155

Setting aside convenience and customer service, what else is there? Well there's that handy hybrid called "the blog." The blog is a funny critter... Part company posting, part customer input. All it takes to enter the eBirdseed blogosphere is to click on that little "Comments" button below!

And lastly, there are those ubiquitous “Refer a friend. Earn $5”, and newsletter options scattered about.

So those are just a few features of this Web site. Maybe you missed a couple. I did.

Gotta' run, the popcorn is burning! (See you by the feeders!)

CapeCodAlan

P.S. Did I mention that simply by clicking on each of the seed types/uses, you can tell what birds would take interest in that seed? Hmmm... Wonder what else I missed? Let me know...

Posted by CapeCodAlan at 6:48 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

February 20, 2007

As the mission statement of this blog notes, these posts are here to help you ”Learn about birdseeds, suets, feeders and techniques for attracting a variety of wild birds to your backyard.” Obviously, our objective hasn’t changed, and you can always ask any sort of related question via the “Comments” link below. But sometimes (when other issues aren’t so pressing), we like to have a little fun…

So we’re introducing an occasional “Weird Bird News, etc.” post. (You folks seemed to have had a lot of fun with the “Give the Latin Name to That Bird!” contest, as well as the tales of Toby and Otis, so from now on, any time a sufficient amount of weird bird news creeps up, we’ll make another installment.)

Let's start today's issue with a previous comment by Gerry about large birds. Reports of large birds are nothing new... Consider the following:

• Google on "large bird" and see what you get. It makes for very interesting reading and viewing. (But beware that there are at least two videos of eagles hunting large game that aren't for the faint of heart.)
• Consider this wild CNN story.
• The Snopes.com Web site has a fantastic photo of an eagle in action. Does the animal have a ten foot wingspan? I doubt it. Does that matter concerning Gerry's story? Not to me - the animal still looks plenty big.

Next on the menu is the story of Stumpy the duck. Pieces like this always give me the willies. We know for a fact that chemicals and radiation can cause strange mutations and disease. (Think of what DDT did to eagles' eggs, thalidomide did to human babies, and what Chernobyl did to the thyroid-cancer rate in the Ukraine.) And the examples just go on and on. We need to keep an eye on this.

And finally from the "Weird Newsroom", the "injured/wounded" fox is back.


This may be the same animal that we first saw back in the "Mysteries of Cape Cod"

I say "may" be the same creature because close ups of the above picture show some scarring on the front legs. On the other hand, the fur color is different. If it is indeed the same fellow, it's getting better. But if it's a different fox with the same condition, we've got a real problem out there. Any input on this issue would be more than welcome.

See you by the feeders,

"Not quite wired right" CapeCodAlan

Posted by CapeCodAlan at 11:27 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

Hi all,

Let’s make the Tufted Titmouse (Baeolophus bicolor) our “Bird of the Week”. (Now isn’t our new "Rocketus-J-Squirrelum Vespucciland" so much cooler sounding than “Baeolophus bicolor”?) Well regardless of your feelings about Latin, here’s a shot of the little guy himself.



The call of the titmouse (http://www.birds.cornell.edu/AllAboutBirds/BirdGuide/Tufted_Titmouse_dtl.html#fig1) is famous for its “peter, peter, peter” sound. Titmice are also known for working with other mobbing birds to drive off predators.

Tidbits you might not know about the tufted one:

• Their range in North America has grown considerably over the last 100 years. (See an excellent depiction of their territorial expansion: http://www.birds.cornell.edu/BOW/TUTI/)
• Titmice prefer seed, though insects will do in a pinch. (This assertion is up for debate concerning seasonal eating patterns, though I’ll argue the point.)
• They have been rumored to snatch the hair off of live dogs to line their nests. (Editor’s note: We’re skeptical on that one!)
• In general, the titmouse is a close cousin to the chickadee.
• It’s difficult to distinguish the male ‘mouse from the female.
• The titmouse is not migratory.
• They can live ten years or more.
• In general, tufted titmice are cavity dwellers in trees.
• These folks also cache food in the bark of trees.

Do you have any observations about the “TT”? I’m particularly curious about the legend that the birds will try to swipe the hair of living creatures to line their nests.

As always, use the “Comments” button below to add your thoughts. See you by the feeders.

CapeCodAlan

References used for this post are listed below:

• Cornell Lab of Ornithology
• Wikipedia
• Audubon Society
• The National Audubon Society’s “The Sibley Guide to Birds”
• ”Birds Of North America” published by Golden
• ”Birds of New England” from Smithsonian Handbooks

Posted by CapeCodAlan at 8:03 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Hi all,

It's a cold February day (22 F and dropping) and a good time to catch up on a few loose ends… In my first post (Sept 28) I mentioned some issues upon which I wanted to opine. Those issues (and their resulting posts) were/are/will be:

• Feeding Birds as an Active Pastime (See Oct. 10)
• Squirrels: Foe or Friend? (See Oct. 4)
• Protecting Your Birds (See Oct. 13)
• What to do with an Injured Bird
• Prepping for the Birds' Needs for Food and Water for the Winter (See Oct. 21)
• City Birds and the Care Thereof (See Nov. 10)
• Birding vs. Just Feeding the Birds
• Building Birdhouses for Next Spring... Let's Get Started Now! (See Jan. 28 Nov. 3 Nov. 5)

So it still looks like I need to:

• Finish the bird house (the basement shop is too cold and the ground is frozen solid right now)
• Deal with the issue of injured birds
• Take on the subject of birding versus just filling the feeders

But these cold winter nights are a good time for reflection and forward thinking… What would you like to read about? This post has dealt with everything from hard-core bird stats to ET in a bird’s belly… Look, we ain’t shy. Use the “Comments” button below to make your voice heard!

In the mean time check out the photo below. Sort of fits the grim mood of the day…

See you by the feeders,

CapeCodAlan

Posted by CapeCodAlan at 7:21 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Hi gang,

Well, we’ve got a couple of mysteries for you on this empty, cold night. Be afraid. Be very afraid.

The first question concerns Otis, our zombie owl. Though food sources (such as small birds, squirrels, chipmunks, mice, etc.) abound in our backyard, Otis remains frozen in his box and just lets them roam freely? Why would a bird (who has to eat like a horse) play loosey goosey with so many sitting ducks? (I did it! I just created the world’s most-tangled mixed metaphor involving animals… I‘m king of the world Ma!) All kidding aside, does anyone out there know why an owl won’t feast on an abundant food source when it is only yards, feet, or even inches away?

And then there’s a non-bird question… How do I frame this? The wife and I have a ragdoll cat (Toby) that’s just a little unique. Alright, I’ll be bluntly honest - the cat is weird. He just isn’t wired right. I don’t have room on this blog to go into all the details of his weirdness, but I will give you just a few examples…

• When frightened, the cat can walk backwards as if he had simply been shifted into “reverse”. The behavior is so common that we call him the “Beep Beep Beep Cat” for obvious reasons.
• The wife’s sneezing sends him running. My sneezes on the other hand are meaningless.
• And, the cat seems to have a fetish for my feet. He likes to sleep on my feet. (Why look! There‘s a fifteen-pound cat at my feet now!)

Ok... Ok… Laugh it up. But explain the video below. Here’s Toby sniffing my slipper and pawing the floor. (And no, we didn‘t put any catnip in the slipper!)



So, anyone who can offer any explanation for Otis’ and/or Toby’s behavior is encouraged to step forward and use the “Comments” button below.

See you by the feeders (or the scratching post),

CapeCodAlan

Posted by CapeCodAlan at 5:50 AM | Permalink | Comments (6)

If pigeons are “rats with wings,” the fellow below (a scruffy Herring Gull) is a “wolverine with wings.”



In general, seagulls are opportunistic, ravenous, indiscriminate brutes with 4’ plus wingspans. And that leads us into today’s entry...

For almost all of my life, I’ve been an “on-again, off-again amateur quahogger.” (An amateur quahogger is a “derned fool” who chooses to wade out into the muddy brine and, using a special rake, “scratch” for hard-shelled clams. For me this usually involves profoundly leaky boots and profoundly leaky gloves in conjunction with profoundly cold winter months. See what I mean by “derned fool?”)

Anyway, company is scarce during such crazy adventures except for that occasional gull that stalks the newly turned flats or better yet, the unattended clam basket. Give one of those guys a fraction of half a chance and he’ll raid the freshly-turned mud (or your basket) and then head for a “clam drop” on the nearest jetty to crack open his ill-gotten booty. That’s nature; that’s the way it always works. And so it was one day not too many years ago until nature went all kittywumpus. The gull found a clam that I had missed, snatched it up, and tried to drop it on the jetty. Only this time his aim was off, and the bivalve bounced harmlessly off some seaweed and into the shallow water from which I hurriedly retrieved it. “Aha, for once I win!” I thought as I headed back towards my basket. But suddenly there were a few flaps and a solid “thump” behind me. I turned to encounter a very indignant bird standing on the beach just 20’ away. His head was bobbing up and down and turning side to side, and he was very clearly swearing at me in gutter “Gullish.” It was comically clear that I’d broken all the rules – I’d stolen from the master thief. And then something really weird happened - the bird charged me. And it wasn’t flying or flapping its wings. The assault was a trundling, headlong charge towards a 180-pound man with a 6’ clam rake by a 3-pound bird. And the only thing dumber than the bird on the flats that day was me – I just stood there and incredulously asked the creature what it was doing. (Where’s a video camera when you need one?) Anyway, the charge broke off when I lowered the rake to a guard position with the seagull just 5’ away. It turned, made a few undoubtedly obscene bird gestures and utterances, and waddled back out of the kill zone. But it continued to follow me down the beach as I called it quits for the afternoon.

Seriously, the story above is true. The fellow wanted to go “ala a mano”.

Only on Cape Cod,

See you by the feeders if I don’t get mugged...

CapeCodAlan

P.S. You know, that little "Comments" button below can come in mighty handy!

Posted by CapeCodAlan at 8:37 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Hi all,

Did you know that you can tell the temperature (F) by the chirping of crickets? Well, you can get a good approximation by noting the number of times that an un-threatened cricket chirps in 15 seconds, and then adding 37 to that number.

But what about birds? Do they have some sort of lock into the "Natural Cycle"? Glad you asked! Yes, in fact they do. Birds seem to have some sense of time. Here’s how the wife and I see it for winter on Cape Cod:

• At first light everybody (cardinals, blue jays, sparrows, crows, squirrels, etc.) comes to feed.
• Somewhere around 10 AM the non-descript LBB (Little Brown Birds) such as chickadees, titmice, and nuthatches descend.
• Noon to 1 PM brings out the entire gang.
• Mid afternoon (3 PM) draws back the chickadees, blue jays, and the titmice.
• Just before dusk, pretty much everyone shows up.
• Finally, when dusk gets serious, Otis the Eastern Screech-Owl levitates onto the scene.

Now ain’t that cool or what?

And here are two of the timekeepers now…



See you by the feeders, and be punctual!

CapeCodAlan

Posted by CapeCodAlan at 6:53 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

ellow and fair citizens of Birdland, welcome!

We bring forward to you on this very day the American crow, who has occasionally been referred to as a member of the Corvus brachyrhynchos species within the Corvidae family.

Said skittish, gregarious crow is shown below in all his natural splendor and dark-violet sheen.


Understand that these ruffians of the ether are all too well known for chasing away hawks, owls , and hooligans both two-legged and four.

The cacophonous brutes range all over the United States and even west through the territories just explored by Lewis and Clark.

Scientists, trappers, merchants, and both gentlemen and ladies of late hours and questionable character have all noted the following about the common crow:

• Crows can count.
• A wise frontiersman will beware! Corvus brachyrhynchos has been known to travel/roost in a murder of 200,000 or more.
• Crows seem to have the unlikely ability to learn and solve puzzles.
• You can listen to (and learn more about) the American Crow from the town crier and world authority Cornell Lab of Ornithology site.

And with that friend, please feel free to comment on this and any other post as well.

See you by the feeders,

CapeCodAlan

References used for this post are listed below:

• Cornell Lab of Ornithology
• Wikipedia
• Audubon Society
• U.S. Geological Survey
• The National Audubon Society’s “The Sibley Guide to Birds”
• ”Birds Of North America” published by Golden
• ”Birds of New England” from Smithsonian Handbooks

Posted by CapeCodAlan at 4:37 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

First things first… Here’s a tip of the cap to all who entered the “Give the Latin Name to That Bird!” contest. And let’s all give Gerry a “virtual” round of applause for winning said contest! Gerry’s entry follows…

What we apparently have here is the "Rocketus-J-Squirrelum Vespucciland" as this little critter is found all over North America.

So now it’s official… The “bird” below is a “Gordon Alan Pterodactyl Squirrel”, ("Rocketus-J-Squirrelum Vespucciland"), and Gerry's Duncraft feeder is on the way.



Onward…

The tales that follow are going to sound particularly strange, but they’re all true. I‘ve hesitated to speak of these incidents because I was afraid that I‘d be called a nut. No more. (And no, I don‘t wear an aluminum-foil hat, and I don‘t think that there are aliens in Area 51.)

The first story is described in a chilling account by the wife. Understand that she likes to leave the house just at daybreak to wait for her ride and listen to the birds sing their morning songs… Her email description follows verbatim:

Just wanted to fill you in on something that happened this morning as I went out to wait for the carpool.

As I went out the door and down the steps, I heard a howl coming from up the road (towards the Water Dept). One howl. NOT a coyote. NOT a dog. It was a wolf, I’m sure of it.

Stood waiting for a few minutes, listening to the birds wake up. Another single howl. Then a woman screaming, and a small dog barking and yipping. More screaming, more yipping, sounded like a few more dogs joined in. It was all far enough away that I was not worried for myself (but it was definitely creepy), but I did call 911 on my cell phone and let the police know what I had heard. Gave them my name and address.

This isn’t the first time she’s run across this thing… One night Suzie and I went out to the attached garage to work on a boat and we both heard it howl right outside. Needless to say, we made a hasty retreat back into the house. Whatever that thing was, it was big. We checked with some neighbors, and one woman heard it a quarter of a mile away.

The final story takes place roughly 12 years ago… The wife and I had arrived home on the Cape after a long week living and working in the corporate world of Boston. It was a Friday night in Autumn, and we decided to take out one of our favorite rowboats and explore Hinckley’s Pond in Pleasant Lake, Harwich. (Understand that I grew up traipsing all over the swamps, bogs, woods, harbors, beaches, and ponds of Cape Cod at all hours, and felt completely comfortable.) In particular, I wanted to check out the northern shore opposite of our launching point. It was probably 10 pm when we landed the boat and looked about. Nothing much was there - a couple of old abandoned summer cabins, a small cranberry bog, woods, a small dirt road back to civilization, and a lot of darkness. So we hopped back into the boat and shoved off. We were no more than 50 feet off shore when something charged us. I remember several distinct impressions:

• It was growling and snarling. It wasn’t barking or howling, it was definitely growling and snarling.
• Judging by the sound it made as it pawed the beach, it was big.
• I was Olympic-grade sculling material.

So what does all this have to do with feeding the birds? Everything.

I approached nature secure in the knowledge and experience that there was nothing on Cape Cod that was going to attack me. That was hubristic.

Put another way, when you step out of your house and enter the “great outdoors“ of your backyard, you need to keep your eyes open. The rare threat may be a mountain lion in California, an alligator in Florida, a wolf (or chupacabra) on Cape Cod, or a thief anywhere… But wherever, folks should understand a harmless activity like listening to the early-morning bird songs (or even just feeding the birds) can result in a 911 call.

To borrow from “Sgt. Phil Esterhaus” (Michael Conrad on “Hill Street Blues”), “Let’s be careful out there.” After all, sooner or later, there might well be “something out there.”

Now, lets go feed those birds!

See you by the feeder,

CapeCodAlan

P.S. As always, please feel free to comment, especially if you have any explanation concerning the stories above.

Posted by CapeCodAlan at 7:59 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)