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?

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Pileated Woodpecker feeding from our Suet Palace

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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.

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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.

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Include as many native plants as possible in your yard to provide food for the insects, and then you will be feeding the summer birds too!

In his book Bringing Nature Home, Doug Tallamy ranks the best native plants to grow, based on their ability to support butterflies, moths, and caterpillars.  The plants that feed caterpillars feed the birds! Now is the time to plan on what you will plant in you garden to attract birds this year.

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The Crane Trust preserves critical migratory habitat by purchasing and managing land in and along the central Platte River in Nebraska. The Trust owns and manages more than 10,000 acres of land, and works with private landowner on improving land management practices for cranes and other migratory birds. Without this habitat to rest and refuel on the cranes would not be able to make their long migrations on the route now follow, ultimately causing their numbers to decline. There are only 570 whooping cranes left on earth and 263 left in the last wild, self-sustaining flock. The Crane Trust is considered critical for their survival.

Click here to go the Crane Trust website.

Click here to go to the Crane Trust website

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Snow Geese on Fir Island, Conway Washington

Snow Geese in flite, Fir Island, Skagit Valley

Skagit Valley Snow Geese skattering, Conway, WA

Skattering Snow Geese, Fir Island, Conway, WA

Skagit Valley Snow Geese skattering, Fir Island, Conway, WA

Snow Geese in flight, Fir Island, Conway, WA

Skagit Valley Snow Geese in flight, Fir Island, Conway, WA

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It brought home my lack of knowledge about why there are so many different markings.  Does each one have a different classification?  It was clearly time to do some research!

Western Gull photo by Jeff Poklen Copyright 2005

The most important basic keys to identifying gulls are size, shape, and color pattern.  The species you see will depend on where you are, of course, but sorting them by size and location first will leave only one or two common species.

Glaucous Winged Gull phoyo by Rtein Eynsue

In the Pacific Northwest, it’s probably a Western Gull, a Glaucous-winged Gull, or a Herring Gull.  Pictured are mature ones.  The Herring Gull can be found all across North America.

The Atlantic and Gulf coasts are blessed with the Laughing Gull considered a medium size.

GreatBlack-backedGull photo by Steven Wickstrom

The North Atlantic coast has the Great Black-backed Gull and it is the largest.  Also called the California Gull and is common in Utah, their state bird.  Now there is a story for a later blog!

Color pattern is very useful so pay attention to the body parts:

Back color: Pay close attention to the color of the mantle, or back.

Head pattern: Most gulls have white heads although Franklin and Bonaparte’s have a black hood.

Wing pattern: Most gulls have gray wings with dark tips but some have pale wings.

Leg color: Large gulls typically have pink legs and medium gulls usually have yellow legs.  Small gulls can have black or red legs.  The leg coloring can change with age, season and health of the gull.

GreatBlack-backedGull photo by Steven Wickstrom

“What about that smudgy brown and mottled one I saw on the beach?”  you ask.  Ah, yes, now we get to the difficult part of identifying gulls.  Gulls change their coloring seemingly unceasingly as they mature from chicks to adults, which can take up to FOUR YEARS!  Including the color of their legs!   Most color descriptions are based on the breeding season.  Some changes in coloring will occur during non-breeding.  For a novice like myself, male and female markings are about the same.

So, if you know the most common gull along your beach and you are with friends for a stroll, you can confidently exclaim:  “That one is a Glaucous-winged Gull (insert the one most common to your area) and that brownish one over there is an immature one.  And the one over there is a non-breeding one!”

Photo Credits

Western Gull photo by Jeff Poklen click here to see his Seabird Photo site.

Glaucous Winged Gull phoyo by Rtein Eynsue from the blog Birdwatching by Wrwin, click here to see this blog.

Laughing Gull photo from Focus On Nature Tours, click here to see their website.

“The Seagull Who Was Afraid to Fly” is a book by Steven P. Wickstrom. Click here to check out his site to order the book and see the Great Black-back Gull photo and other gull photos and information.

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Ever notice that when you are trying to take photos of ducks, geese or swans you mostly get photos of them moving away from you!

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