Bird watching is fun and proof of this is the ever growing market for bird watching tools and equipments like spotting scopes and binoculars. Some have actually made a profession out of it by doing bird photography. But you actually do not have to spend a large amount of money to enjoy a bird watching hobby. All you need to is transform your garden into a bird friendly environment

One way of doing this is by putting or growing plants that are beneficial for them. A good plant example is honeysuckle. For one, this plant produces fruits in the autumn season that are sought by birds like bullfinches, warblers and thrushes. Different species of insects also feed on honeysuckles and these little creatures are attractive meals to birds as well. Sunflower is another plant most attractive to them. Sunflower seeds are good come-ons for birds and not only that, their bright yellow flowers can brighten up any garden.

Cotoneaster berries can be a good source of food for birds during the cold season of autumn and winter. Its flowers are also frequented by bees because of their rich nectar contents. By carefully choosing the kinds of plants to put in your garden, you will not only have a pleasing outdoor spot, you can also help in maintaining a good balance in the eco-system.

Bird baths do not just add accents in a garden space as they can also be a good spot for bird watching fun. When this becomes a permanent piece in your front or backyard you can monitor the different bird species that stays in your area all year round and those that visit in different seasons. A very interesting topic for people who will come to visit your house, don’t you think?

I was able to photograph a Pileated Woodpecker eating from our Songbirds Essentials Suet Palace. We enjoy these birds very much when they come in to eat the suet we offer them. It is very important to be putting out suet to help our feathered friends to survive the cold nights.

Pileated Woodpecker feeding from our Suet Palace

I saw one Goldfinch last week on my sunflower seed feeder and it made me wonder where they migrate for the winter. I went to my favorite site to find information about birds, the Cornell Lab of Ornithology “All About Birds” website. The map on the site showed that the Goldfinches had been in my area all winter, their non-breeding winter colors had fooled me! The Goldfinches lose their bright yellow color during the winter and take on a very much more drab olive color that fooled me as well as their predators. The drab color blends in well with the winter landscape, especially when they are in the trees or bushes. The “All About Birds” website has a photo of them in their winter coat to compare to them in their summer breeding coat.

Now is the time to begin to clean out your finch feeders and add fresh Nyjer or Finch Mix seed. A long brush such as Songbird Essentials wooden handled Best Long Brush. One

Finche's Favorite 3 Tube Feeder SE324

 of my favorite feeders is the Songbird Essentials Yellow Spiral Thistle Feeder. I can fill it from the top one time and from the bottom the next time. The seed never gets old since I can always putting the oldest seed at the bottom ports when I hang it back up. I also like the Finches Favorite 3 Tube Feeder. This feeder seems to almost always be covered with birds. A friend of mine in Missouri says that he also sees bright florescent Blue Indigo Buntings on his 3 tube feeder each spring. Another way to attract Buntings is to have a platform or tray feeder with white millet on it.

Went to the area just south of Stanwood, Washington in the river delta of the Snohomish River early Saturday morning and found 4 eagles during the two hours I spent there. Here are some photos I was able to take. The whole time I was their they never left the trees, just sat turning their heads back and forth.

I found this pair of Bald Eagles sitting in a tree with their nest. Came back to them several times and each time they where just sitting watching everything that was going on around them.

This is a close up shot of the eagle that was on the right side of the nest. I was never able to get a good photo of the eagle on the left due to the branches being in the way.

Another photo of the eagle to the right of the nest.

On Saturday morning April 9, 2011 I went out looking for some Bald Eagles. I found this eagle about a mile north of the pair in the tree. He just kept looking behind him and never turned my way the whole time. Must have had his eye on his breakfast.

This is the last eagle that I found Saturday morning. It was a normal gray Pacific Northwest morning, not much color in the sky for a background.The sun was out for the first half hour or so, then the clouds started to come in off the Pacific to the west and by 8AM  that was the end of the sunshine for the entire day.

Here is a close up photo of an eagles nest.

You can follow the Hummingbird migration pattern using the Migration Map by clicking here. Now that the hummingbirds are beginning to come back it is time to think out  getting your hummingbird feeders out and getting them ready for a new season. Check out our selection feeders on our website.