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This is a snapshot compilation of the books members of Project FeederWatch recommended over a couple of years while I was active on their email list. I updated the list every time someone made a new recommendation, so at any given time there may have been more or fewer titles. The same is true of the reviews. I haven’t checked to see if these titles are still in print.

Books about birds

• All the Birds of North America: American Bird Conservancy’s field guide / concept and design by Jack L. Griggs. New York : Harper Perennial, 1997.
• Another Field Guide to Little Known and Seldom Seen Birds of North America / by Ben Sill, Cathryn Sill, and John Sill. Atlanta/Memphis : Peachtree Publishing, 1988 / 1990.
• The Audubon Society Field Guide to North American Birds / New York : Alfred A. Knopf, Inc., 14th edition, 1988.
• The Backyard Birdwatcher / by George H. Harrison. Fireside books, 1979.
• The Beak of the Finch : A Story of Evolution in Our Time / by Jonathan Weiner. Vintage Books, 1995.
• Beyond Birdwatching: More Than There Is To Know About Birding / by Ben Sill, Cathryn Sill, and John Sill. Atlanta / Memphis : Peachtree Publishing, 1988 / 1990.
• Bird Behavior / by Robert Burton. New York : A. Knopf, 1985.
• Bird Brains : The Intelligence of Crows, Ravens, Magpies, and Jays / by Candace Savage. San Francisco : Sierra Club Books, 1997.
• The Bird Feeder Book: An Easy Guide to Attracting, Identifying, and Understanding Your Feeder Birds / by Donald Stokes, et al. Little, Brown & Co. 1987.
• The Bird Garden / by Stephen W. Kress; foreword by Roger Tory Peterson. London; New York : Dorling Kindersley; Boston: Distributed by Houghton Mifflin, 1995.
• Bird Watching for Dummies / by Bill Thompson III. IDG Books, 1997.
• Birder’s Guide to Texas / by Edward A. Kutac; illustrated by Judy Teague. Gulf Publishing, 2nd edition, 1998.
• The Birder’s Handbook / by Paul R. Ehrlich et al. Fireside Books, 1988.
• The Birder’s Life List and Diary, Revised Edition / Cornell Laboratory of Ornithology Staff
• The Birder’s Miscellany: A Fascinating Collection of Facts, Figures and Folklore from the World of Birds / by Scott Weidensaul. Fireside Books, 1991.
• Birds at Your Feeder: A Guide to Feeding Habits, Behavior, Distribution, and Abundance / by Erica H. Dunn and Diane L. Tessaglia-Hymes; illustrations by Peter Burke; abundance maps by Jeffrey Price; sponsored by Cornell Laboratory of Ornithology…[et al.]. New York : Norton, 1999.
• Bird’s Nests / by Hal H. Harrison. Peterson Field Guides.
• Birds of North America: A Guide to Field Identification / by Chandler S. Robbins, Bertel Bruun and Herbert S. Zim. New York : Golden Books Publishing Company, 1983.
• Birdscaping Your Garden: A Practical Guide to Backyard Birds and the Plants that Attract Them / by George Adams. Emmaus, Pa.: Rodale Press; [New York] : Distributed in the book trade by St. Martin’s Press, 1994.
• Birdwalk Through the Bible / by Virginia C. Holmgren. Dover Publications, 1972.
• The Bluebird Book : The Complete Guide to Attracting Bluebirds (A Stokes Backyard Nature Book) / by Donald Stokes and Lillian Stokes. Little Brown & Co., 1991.
• The Complete Birdhouse Book: The Easy Guide to Attracting Nesting Birds / by Donald Stokes and Lillian Stokes. / Little, Brown & Co. 1990.
• Diary of a Left-handed Birdwatcher / by Leonard Nathan. St. Paul, Minnesota : Graywolf Press, 1996.
• Down and Dirty Birding / by Joey Slinger. Fireside Press, 1996.
• The Feather Quest : A North American Birder’s Year / by Pete Dunne; introduction by Roger Tory Peterson. Mariner, 1999.
• A Field Guide to Little Known and Seldom Seen Birds of North America / by Ben Sill, Cathryn Sill, and John Sill. Atlanta / Memphis : Peachtree Publishing, 1988 / 1990.
• Field Guide to the Birds of North America / written and published by the National Geographic Society, 1987.
• The Field Guide to Wildlife Habitat, Eastern US / by Jeanine M. Benyus. Fireside Books, 1989.
• The Field Guide to Wildlife Habitat, Western US / by Jeanine M. Benyus. Fireside Books, 1989.
• A Garden of Birds / by Andre Dion.
• A Guide to Bird Behavior / by Donald W. Stokes and Lillian Q. Stokes ; illustrated by John Sill, Deborah Prince, and Donald Stokes. 3 volumes. Boston : Little, Brown & Co. 1983-1989.
• A Guide to the Identification and Natural History of The Sparrows of The United States and Canada / edited by James D. Rising; illustrated by David D. Beadle. Academic Press, 1996.
• The Habitat Guide to Birding / by Thomas P. McElroy. New York : Nick Lyons Books, 1987.
• Hawks in Flight: The Flight Identification of North American Migrant Raptors / by Pete Dunne, David Sibley, and Clay Sutton. New York : Houghton Mifflin, 1988.
• How to Spot an Owl / by Patricia Sutton and Clay Sutton. Chapters Publishing, 1994.
• The Human Nature of Birds : A Scientific Discovery With Startling Implications / by Theodore Xenophon Barber. Penguin, 1994.
• The Hummingbird Book : A Complete Guide to Attracting, Identifying, and Enjoying / by Donald Stokes and Lillian Stokes. Little, Brown & Co., 1989.
• Hummingbird Gardens: Attracting Nature’s Jewels to Your Backyard / by Nancy L. Newfield and Barbara Nielsen. Shelburne, Vt. : Chapters; Boston : Houghton Mifflin, 1996.
• A Hummingbird in My House : The Story of Squeak / by Arnette Heidcamp. Crown Publishing, 1991.
• Kingbird Highway: The Story of a Natural Obsession that Got a Little Out of Hand / by Ken Kaufman. New York : Houghton Mifflin, 1997.
• Landscaping for Wildlife / by Carol L. Henderson. St. Paul, MN : Non-game Wildlife Program, Section of Wildlife, Minnesota Department of natural Resources, 1987.
• The Life of Birds / by David Attenborough. Princeton University, 1998.
• The Life of Birds / by Joel Carl Welty and Luis Baptista. Saunders College Publishing, 4th edition, 1988.
• Lives of North American Birds / by Ken Kaufman. New York : Houghton Mifflin, 1996.
• Living on the Wind: Across the Hemisphere with Migratory Birds / by Scott Weidensaul. New York: North Point Press, 1999.
• Mind of the Raven / by Bernd Heinrich. Sliff Street Books, 2000.
• The National Wildlife Federation’s Guide to Gardening for Wildlife: how to create a beautiful backyard habitat for birds, butterflies, and other wildlife / by Craig Tufts and Peter Loewer. Emmaus, PA: Rodale Press ; [New York] : Distributed to the book trade by St. Martin’s Press, 1995.
• The Oriole Book / by Don Stokes and Lillian Stokes. Little, Brown & Co., 2000.
• Ornithology / by Frank B. Gill. W H Freeman & Co., 1994.
• Purple Martin Book / By Donald Stokes and Lillian Stokes. Little, Brown & Company, 1997.
• Ravens in Winter / by Bern Deinrich. Vintage Books, 1991.
• Refuge: An unnatural history of family and place / by Terry Tempest Williams. Vintage Books, 1992.
• Stokes Bird Gardening Book: The Complete Guide to Creating a Bird-Friendly Habitat in Your Backyard / by Donald Stokes and Lillian Stokes. Little, Brown & Co. 1998.
• Stokes Field Guide to Birds. Eastern Region and Stokes Field Guide to Birds. Western Region / by Donald and Lillian Stokes. Boston : Little, Brown, 1996.
• Stokes Field Guide to Bird Songs: Eastern Region and Western Region/ by Donald Stokes and Lillian Stokes. Little, Brown & Co. 1998.
• Tales of a Low-rent Birder / by Pete Dunne and David Sibley; foreword by Roger Tory Peterson. Austin : University of Texas Press, 1986.
• Tenth Legion / by Tom Kelly. New York : The Lyons Press, 1973, 1998.
• Thoreau on Birds / by Henry David Thoreau; introduction by John Hay; illustrated by Louis Agassiz Fuertes. Beacon Press, 1998.
• Wild About Birds / by Carrol L. Henderson. St. Paul, Mn. : Minnesota DNR.
• Wild America : The Record of a 30,000 Mile Journey Around the Continent by a Distinguished Naturalist and His British Colleague / by Roger Tory Peterson and James Fisher; illustrated by Roger Tory Peterson; foreword by Patrick O’Brian. Boston : Houghton Mifflin Co., c1997.
• Woodpeckers of Eastern North America / by Laurence Kiham. Dover Publications, 1983.
• Woodworking for Wildlife / by Carrol L. Henderson. St. Paul, Mn. : Minnesota DNR.

Books about nature and wilderness

• American Nature Writing 1995 (1996, 1997, 1998): An Annual Collection of New and Distinguished Voices in Contemporary Nature Writing / selected by John A. Murray. San Francisco: Sierra Club Books, 1995 (1996, 1997, 1998).
• American Nature Writing 1999: An Annual Collection of New and Distinguished Voices in Contemporary Nature Writing / selected by John A. Murray. Corvalis: Oregon State University Press, 1999.
• Attracting Backyard Wildlife: A guide for nature lovers / by Bill Meriless. Voyageur Press, 1989.
• Before the Echo: Essays on Nature / by Pete Dunne; illustrated by Diana Marlinski. University of Texas Press, 1995.
• Beyond the Aspen Grove / by Anne Zwinger. New York: Random House, 1970.
• The Book of Yaak / by Rick Bass. New York: Houghton Mifflin, 1996.
• Desert Solitaire / by Edward Abbey. Ballantine Books, 1991.
• Go Tell It on the Mountain: A Collection of Essays, Stories, and Journal Writings by Fire Lookouts / compiled and edited by Jackie Johnson Maughan. Mechanicsburg, PA: Stackpole Books, 1996.
• The Natural History Essays / Henry David Thoreau; introduction by Robert Sattlemeyer. Peregrine Smith Books, 1989.
• Northern Farm: A Glorious Year on a Small Maine Farm / by Henry Beston; illustrated by Thoreau MacDonald. Owlet, 1994.
• Outermost House: A Year in the Life of Cape Cod / by Henry Beston. Henry Holt, 1992.
• Outwitting Squirrels / by Bill Adler, Jr. Chicago Review Press, 2nd edition, 1988.
• Pilgrim at Tinker Creek / by Annie Dillard. New York: Harper’s Magazine Press in association with Harper & Row, Publishers, 1974.
• The Practice of the Wild: Essays / by Gary Snyder. New York: North Point Press / Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 1990.
• A Sand County Almanac / by Aldo Leopold. New York, Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1949.
• Seasons at Eagle Pond / by Donald Hall. Ticknor & Fields, 1987.
• Secret Islands / by Franklin Russell. 1965.
• The Singing Wilderness / by Sigurd F. Olson. Knopf, 1956 and University of Minnesota Press, 1997.
• A Walk in the Woods: Rediscovering America on the Appalachian Trail / by Bill Bryson. Bantam, 1998.
• Watchers of the Pond / by Franklin Russell. David R. Godine, 2000.
• Wild Heritage / by Sally Carrighar
• Wilderness and the American Mind / by Roderick Nash. New Haven, and London: Yale University Press, 1967.
• Words from the Land / edited by Stephen Trimble. Reno and Las Vegas: University of Nevada Press, 1988.

Book Reviews

I just finished a book I wanted to recommend here. Check out Hummingbird Gardens by Nancy Newfield and Barbara Nielsen. The photography is gorgeous enough to rate this as a coffee table book, but the text is equally worth mentioning. I found it to be balanced geographically, with sections on all of the various regions you find hummingbirds in North America, with plant recommendations and sample gardens for each region. In the Pacific Northwest region, which covers where I live, I know and highly respect each of the birders who were quoted, so I expect the same would be true of each of the other regions. I’ve read a lot of birding books, and this is one of the finest I’ve seen in a long time. Since this is the height of hummingbird season, I thought I’d pass that on to the rest of you.

I’ll add my personal recommendation for Kenn Kauffman’s Kingbird Highway, his story about how (at age 16, no less) he decided to try to break the American “Big Year” record and try to identify a record number of birds in one year. He hitchhiked across the country, ate cat food and diner coffee (lots of sugar) to survive, and occasionally worked as a temporary farm laborer to earn enough money to get to his next birding destination. He managed to cover Florida to Alaska, with some amazing adventures in the process. 

I’ll also recommend Wild America, co-authored by British naturalist James Fisher and America’s Roger Tory Peterson. This may be hard to find, since it is out of print, but check libraries and used book stores. They recount a trek together across America in 1953, trying to see as many birds as they could. The writing is amusing and insightful, and I found it particularly interesting to note things like how excited they were to see Cattle Egrets in Florida, since they were almost unheard of in North America at the time. I also was highly entertained by their descriptions and observations of each other as the journey progressed. 

— Terrie, Portland, Oregon

Birdscaping Your Garden by George Adams gives profiles of many backyard birds, and lists appropriate plants for both food and shelter for each species. In the Plant Directory, it focuses on native plants, detailing the birds each attracts, their native distribution, and their cultivation. Very nice photos. Covers most of the United States.

A Garden of Birds by Andre Dion This book is divided up by the seasons, with the plants grouped according to when they flower and/or provide fruit. This is a Canadian book, from Quebec.

Landscaping for Wildlife by Carrol Henderson, Minnesota Department of Natural Resources. General landscaping information including benefits, principles, habitat components, and specifics for landscaping your yard, farmland, and woodlands for wildlife. Very much a “how-to” book, including a diagram of a brush pile! Lists of plants including grasses, trees, perennials, annuals, plants for butterflies/moths, for hummingbirds/orioles, and plants by season, are all contained in appendixes. This was an interesting book, for included in the lists were numbers of species using the plant – for example, 42 species of butterflies use the common milkweed, while 9 use peppermint. The book also includes information about mammals. All told, appendixes run from A-P

–Susan, West Bloomfield, Michigan

Birder’s Guide to Texas, Second Edition, by Edward A. Kutac is essential if you live in Texas or are planning a trip to Texas and will do any birding. The author breaks the state down not only into main regions, but continues to dissect the regions until he has given information on nearly 300 locations statewide. 606 species, detailed maps and directions to all locations, some of which are remote and difficult to find without the directions given in the book. There is information on how to obtain bird checklists for areas that he mentions.

Birder’s Life List and Diary, Revised Edition, by Cornell Laboratory of Ornithology includes 934 bird species with places for date, location, and remarks for each one. There is a place to keep a life list as well as an index which is designed in such a way as to facilitate keeping lists for your state, yard, city, year, or other lists.

-Brenda Muncrief, Huntsville, Texas

Seasons at Eagle Pond by Donald Hall is a celebration of new England and the seasons, the poet laureate of New Hampshire records his love of place. The place is a 180-year-old farmland, Eagle Pond, the home of Hall’s grandparents and now his home. “There is no reason to live here except for love,” write Hall as he describes the sight of huge Holsteins frolicking or when impatient for the arrival of spring, he suggests pushing winter “off to a condominium in the keys of Antarctica.” This collection of four essays by a close observer of the natural world is a blend of reminiscences, anecdotes, and vignettes that captures continuity of family and the quiet delights of rural life in each season.

-Margaret Brown, Chelmsford, Massachusetts

Living on the Wind by Scott Weidensaul is about bird migration. I learned about the book on my way home from work while listening to NPR. Weidensaul was on All Things Considered talking about his book and Bird Migration. It bogs down occasionally, but most of the time his stories are wonderful. I give it 4 stars.

The Human Nature of Birds by Theodore Barber contends that birds have been clearly, consistently, and scientifically shown to possess intelligence comparable to-and in some cases superior to-that of humans. There are very interesting case studies, stories, etc. He concludes that scientists have this hoary taboo against anthropomorphism which prevents detailed consideration of intelligence in the animal kingdom. I quite enjoyed these case studies. Another 4 star.

Attracting Backyard Wildlife by Bill Merilees is a guide to creating and maintaining a garden that will encourage regular visits from butterflies, birds, and other creatures. It has bird seed mixtures and recipes, which flowers and shrubs to plant, how to build and where to place birdhouses, birdbaths, etc., and lots more. A really nice book.

-Margy Roeck, Groton, Massachusetts

A Hummingbird in My House by Arnette Heidcamp is the story of how a hummingbird came to stay with Arnette for a winter. Makes a nice gift to someone who loves birds, or hummingbirds in particular. I give it five stars.

-Phyllis Bolding, Appleton, Wisconsin

Watchers At The Pond, by Franklin Russell is a great account of a year at a northern pond. Franklin Russell has an incredible eye and ability to describe the interworking of the ecosystem from the amoeba to the large animals. The saga of death and survival in the wild has never been told better.

The Secret Islands by Franklin Russell. In this book Russell visits Newfoundland and the Maritimes, visiting off shore islands, some of which are almost impossible to reach. His descriptions of life in sea and bird rookeries will make you fell like you are there.

Feather Quest by Pete Dunne. In this book Pete and his wife set off across North America to visit some of the great birding sites to find the rarest of the rare as well as to experience some of the premier sites. Immensely entertaining and informative.

Before the Echo by Pete Dunne is a series of essays on nature, the people who love it and those who will destroy it. Dunne, who is also a hunter as well as a premier birder, gives a non-sentimental assessment of where we stand in this country environmentally.

Wild Heritage by Sally Carrighar is a very entertaining account of animal behavior and similarities and perhaps origin of behavior in humans. This is a good book to read when trying to decide how much emotion to attribute to animal life.

The Singing Wilderness by Sigmund F. Olson. It has been a while since I read this account of the Quetico-Superior wilderness, but I recall it to be both a philosophical as well as descriptive account by a woodsman who spent his life in the wilds of Superior. I also enjoyed his book, The Listening Point.

A Sand County Almanac by Aldo Leopold. What Olson did for Superior, Leopold does for Wisconsin in a highly entertaining and thought provoking account.

The Outermost House by Henry Beston. Much like Thoreau, Beston goes to a small house on the outer beaches of Cape Cod to live for a year.

Northern Farm by Henry Beston. In this instance, Beston describes life on a remote Maine farm.

-Donald Tucker, Maine

I’d forgotten about doing this until I was looking at the old pages. We all enjoyed PFW-L, and eventually set up our own separate email lists where we could talk about non-FeederWatch topics without irritating our host moderators at Cornell. I’m still on few noncommercial email lists, but that’s showing my age, isn’t it?

As with the other resurrected pages, I’ve removed the links because most would be broken at this point, and I’m not energized to update the ones that still exist. As a result, the FAQ’s questions have survived but not necessarily the answers.

Frequently Asked Questions

Questions about habitats, wildlife, bird feeding, birds, and related subjects that have often come up in conversation, online and off.

How do I get my yard certified as a Backyard Wildlife Habitat?

• The National Wildlife Federation Backyard Wildlife Habitat Certification program

How can I become a wildlife rehabilitator?

• Career information from the National Wildlife Rehabilitators Association (NWRA) 
• Becoming a wildlife rehabilitator from the Wildlife Rescue League

How can I keep squirrels out of my birdfeeders?

• Put the feeders on poles in a clear area away from branches, trees, and other launching points. Feeders should be at least 6 feet off the ground and 10 feet horizontally from trees and buildings.
• Hang suspended feeders using fishing line rather than wire
• Use baffles below the feeders if mounted on a pole and above the feeder if handing from a hook or tree branch
• Suspend the feeders from a wire strung between two poles. Put sections of freely rotating plastic tubing on the wire between the poles and the feeders.
• Use a feeder with a weight-sensitive tray that will close if a squirrel climbs on it but will allow birds to feed freely.
• Use a feeder with a surrounding metal cage that will allow songbirds in but keep out squirrels and larger birds such as blackbirds and grackles.
• Give the squirrels their own food supply elsewhere in the yard.
• Don’t believe the people who tell you that squirrels don’t eat safflower seed or suet with hot pepper in it.

How can I keep cats away from my feeders?

• No one has a great solution, but squirting them with water is highly recommended. A garden hose works fine for this purpose, though many people highly recommend a supersoaker. Cats can also be handled by surrounding the feeding area with two- or three-foot high lengths of large mesh fencing (like chicken wire).
• If you own a cat, keep it indoors! For more information, see the American Bird Conservancy’s Cats Indoors! Campaign.

What should I feed to attract bluebirds?

From Darlene Sillick, North American Bluebird Society, Education Chair: Our feeder of choice has been the X1 from Droll Yankee. It is a plastic dome top feeder with an adjustment screw that enables you to raise and lower the top to allow only small birds into the ‘tray’ to feed. I suggest hanging it in a tree where you see the bluebirds etc perching as they are looking to hunt for those slow moving insects. Another good idea is to cut a couple of small branches of berries of some sort and twist tie them on the hanging arm to help attract the birds to the feeder naturally. Keep the top raised till the birds are comfortable at entering the tray. Do not place the feeder close to your regular feeder because the bluebirds are not usually attracted to a seed feeder.

Here are some of the suggested items to place in the X1, in moderation till the birds use the feeder:

• Bluebird choice, a prepared suet, raisin, corn mixture
• Currents, they love them! 
• Raisins, cut into thirds
• Mealworms
• Crumbled suet (our recommended one is Blueberry Suet, but any type of fruit suet will work); crumble a tablespoon at a time.
• Sometimes sunflower chips or peanut hearts

Water is one of the most important draw for the bluebirds in the winter. Be sure to use a heater to keep some open water for all birds.

A tray feeder of some type could also be used but the Droll Yankee X1 has a life time guarantee. To use the wooden bluebird feeders means a lot of time for you to ‘train’ the birds to get comfortable to use it. 

If you have bluebirds around consider placing a nestbox for them to use as a roost. If you have nestboxes up already be sure to winterize them by stuffing weather stripping in all holes and vents. Other birds may use the boxes such as downy woodpeckers, chickadees, and titmice. Remember to keep dead trees around and consider even ‘planting’ a dead tree in your yard

What’s GORP?

Originally published in Wild Bird Digest

1 C. Lard (no substitute if you don’t want it to melt)
1 C. Peanut butter (crunchy or not)
2 C. quick cook oats
2 C. corn meal
1 C. white Flour
1/3 C. sugar
Melt lard and peanut butter over low heat, then stir in remaining ingredients. Pour into a pan or what have you (such as margarine tubs), let cool.

More Gorp and Other Recipes [Originally, this linked to another webpage, so I think I’ll make it a separate post.]

What are millet sprays?

Millet sprays are the stalks with seed heads still attached. They are sold for pet birds and can be purchased at pet stores. They come in packages or bulk – bulk is cheaper by far. Tie them to small branches (so the squirrels can’t get them; the branches are too thin to support their weight). Several species of birds, including juncos and cardinals love them.

Is feeding peanut butter bad for birds?

There have been no documented cases of a bird being harmed by eating straight peanut butter. It’s fat, just like pure suet. However, those who are concerned about this can mix in other ingredients.

Do bird bath heaters work?

Yes. Many people use heaters for their birdbaths in the winter. For safety, choose a model with a thermostat that will shut off if the temperature is above freezing or if all the water evaporates or spills out, plug the heater into an outlet with a Ground Fault Interrupt (GFI) safety feature, and protect the outlet and extension cord from water as much as possible.

How can I keep birds from flying into my picture window?

Window kills are a problem that is just being realized in the birding community as a major source of bird mortality. The numbers of such deaths may be in the millions. When birds are startled, they fly to safety as quickly as possible. The reflection in windows offers one such escape route. You need to break up that reflection so that the birds take a different route to safety. 

• A contrasting hawk silhouette is one method. Go outside and look into your window. If your interior is dark, use a light colored silhouette. If your interior is light, use a dark hawk.
• Other types of window cling decorations work also, and may be less expensive. Check a school supply store, Staples, or other source of children’s nature supplies for attractive alternatives to hawk silhouettes.
• Hanging things in front of the window will help–hanging baskets, wind chimes, stuff like that. Dangling a couple of ribbons may also break up the reflection.
• Cut streamers like metallic blue tinsel or bright orange surveyors’ tape into narrow pieces and tape them here and there to the outside of the window so they flutter in the breeze.
• A recent article in a birding magazine recommended taking two toilet paper rolls (or a paper towel roll cut into to pieces), covering the pieces in iridescent contact paper, tying one to each end of a piece of string, and hanging them in the window at different levels. The theory is that the reflected light will warn birds away.
• Closing your curtains or turning on a inside lamp during the hours of the reflection may also help.
• Screens help, both by breaking up the reflection and by providing a cushion before hitting the glass.
• Putting up a safety net will save a few birds, but it doesn’t solve the problem of the reflection.
• Check the suggestions on the PFW web on the PFW web

What should I do if I find an injured bird?

First, do no harm. Assess the need for intervention and follow advice from experienced rehabilitators. The basic steps are to keep the bird isolated and quiet while locating a licensed rehabilitators to care for it. Do not feed it food or water.

Did I really see a bald cardinal?

There are ongoing reports of “bald” birds, especially cardinals and blue jays. No one knows for sure what causes the baldness, but the possibilities include molting (for some unknown reason, the bald birds may have dropped all of their head feathers at once), feather mites, lice, or environmental or nutritional factors.

What is the “Great Wren Debate”?

In 1925, Althea Sherman wrote an article “Down With the House Wren Boxes” reporting her observations of the wrens’ destruction of nearby nests of other birds. Today, some people feel that because of this behavior and its effect on other species, house wrens should not be so overwhelmingly helped by humans and the providing of nest boxes.  Others feel that Althea Sherman was a bit hysterical both in her initial embrace and her subsequent demonizing of house wrens.

It is true that house wrens wreak havoc on nearby nests and sometimes the nestlings and nesting birds as well. Providing nestboxes for house wrens will help attract them if they are not already present and will decrease the chance of nesting success of other birds. Other birds would have to nest a distance away from the nest box to be safe.

However, many people greatly enjoy a pair of house wrens on their property. Wrens exhibited this behavior long before humans started providing nest boxes and apparently the other species are able to maintain their populations. It’s worth noting that the birds that have their eggs destroyed typically start over in another location and complete their nesting. The only species whose numbers are reported to be affected by the house wren is Bewick’s wren in some eastern areas.

How do I tell a house finch from a purple finch?

• Overall Size: Purple Finches are slightly (but clearly) larger than House Finches
• Head Size: A Purple Finch’s head is slightly (but clearly) larger relative to its body than a House Finch’s head
• Color: Male Purple Finches are wine-colored, and the color is more evenly distributed over the bird than is the case for the House Finches
• More Color: The Purple Finch’s wing bars are pinkish – vs. white in the House Finch.
• Even More Color: The chest and belly stripes on the Purple Finch are pinkish vs. brown for the House Finch
• On females, the two head stripes of the Purple Finch are clear and distinct vs. absent on the House Finch

How do I create field notes and sketches?

The more specific detail, the better. You can also create a sketch or take a photo to assist in the identification.

What’s that group of birds called?

• A siege of herons
• A siege of bitterns
• A brood of chickens
• A herd of cranes
• A murder of crows
• A team of ducks (in flight)
• A paddling of ducks (on the water)
• A convocation of eagles
• A charm of finches
• A skein of geese (on the wing)
• A gaggle of geese (on the water)
• A flight of goshawks
• A covey of grouse (single family)
• A pack of grouse (larger band)
• A colony of gulls
• A kettle of hawks
• A brood of hens
• A charm of hummingbirds
• A band of jays
• A deceit of lapwings
• An exaltation of larks
• A flush of mallards
• A watch of nightingales
• A flock of parrots
• A covey of partridge
• A muster of peacocks
• A brood of pheasants (family)
• A nye of pheasants (large group)
• A flight or flock of pigeons
• A congregation of plovers
• A run of poultry
• A bevy of quail
• An unkindness or a congress of ravens
• A clamour of rooks
• A walk of snipe
• A host of sparrows
• A chattering of starlings
• A mustering of storks
• A flight of swallows
• A herd or a wedge of swans
• A flock of swifts
• A knob of widgeons
• A herd of wrens
• A parliament of owls
• For more information, see Group Names for Birds or Birds in Numbers

What’s the best book on … ?

A bibliography and reviews of titles recommended by participants in Project FeederWatch has been compiled by Cristina Eisenberg. [I’ll make that separate webpage into a separate post as well.]

Which are the best binoculars (or scope)?

This must be one of the most often heard questions in every birding discussion group I’ve ever been a part of, I guess because all of us need the information at some point in our birding lives, when we realize that those old faithful binoculars we had for years and taken for granted just aren’t good enough. Here are some sources of objective reviews: 

• Better View Desired
• BWD… Your Guide to Optics!
• Optics for Birding Home Page
• Living Bird – A Guide to Spotting Scopes
• New Jersey Audubon Society
  • Reviews
  • Pick of the Pack
  • Pick of the Pack for Spotting Scopes

What other gadgets are available?

Birdcam

Should I buy Shade-grown coffee?

The Smithsonian Migratory Bird Center discusses shade-grown coffee and provides a list of certified shade-grown organic coffee vendors. The 2001 theme for International Migratory Bird Day was helping people make the “Coffee Connection.” 

You might be a birder if …

• Someone yells “Duck!”, and you look up and shout “Where?”
• Vacations are planned to maximize the number of life birds.
• You criticize television programs and commercials that depict a Bald Eagle but play a Red-tailed Hawk call.
• Your kids are named Buteo and Accipiter.
• People stop and stare when you pish at the shrubbery at the local mall.
• Lunch breaks find you driving to check out your favorite hot spot.
• Your spouse says, “Its either me or the birds,” and you have to think about it.
• On sunny days you hop in the car, crank up your tape of bird calls, and drive like crazy to the nearest mountain where the thermals are great for soaring hawks.
• You pay a neighbor kid $20 to roll on a carcass and lay still while you search the sky for vultures.
• You try to talk your kid into going to college in Belize so that you have an excuse to go and bird there.
• It’s a northeaster, the rain is horizontal, a small craft advisory has been issued, but it’s birdathon and you need to up the day’s list.
• Clouds take on the shape of birds, and you can distinguish male from female, and adult from immature plumage.
• A machine squeaks at work and you describe it to maintenance as sounding like a black-and-white warbler.
• The first time you meet your future in-laws, you demonstrate the courtship dance of the woodcock, replete with sound effects.
• You spend fifteen minutes preparing dinner for your family, and thirty minutes mixing and placing seed for your birds.
• You wake up your spouse at 5:30am and exclaim, “Is that a phoebe I’m hearing outside the window?”
• Preparing for trips to visit out-of-state relatives involves contacting local birders, securing local bird lists, and buying the appropriate Lane’s Guide.
• You identify calls of birds in the soundtracks of television shows and movies.
• You’re willing to fight with anyone who criticizes your optics.
• You participate in hours-long discussions about the pros and cons of using a certain field guide.
• You lose friends, and perhaps even your spouse, from fighting over the pronunciation of “pileated.”

More Jokes

Thayer Birding Software….Bird Jokes

Acknowledgements

This FAQ was created by members of the email list for Project FeederWatch, PFW-L, to help new members of the list have ready access to some of the information learned and shared over their time together online. Comments, corrections, and suggestions for additions may be sent to faq@wrenaissance.com. The FAQ is not an official part of Project FeederWatch and has neither been reviewed nor sanctioned by the staff nor by the Cornell Lab of Ornithology.

Thanks are due to the following contributors, whose suggestions are included or who are quoted or paraphrased in this FAQ: Sara Anderson, Dave Bowman, Mike Ciaramitaro, Shelly Ducharme, Cristina Eisenberg, Catherine Fagan, Susan Freeman, Jackie Gribble, Jack Griggs, Teresa Hall, Marilyn Hardy, Denise Hughes, Sherry Hunter, Dick Meyers, Terrie Murray, Bill Paolini, Ron Piper, Patty Scott, Darlene Sillick, Alice Topping, and Katherine Wolfthal. Thanks are also extended to Cornell University, Project FeederWatch, and present and former FeederWatch staff members Laura Kammermeier, Anne Marie Johnson, and Margaret Barker.

Gorp

The original Gorp recipe posted in Wild Bird Digest can be found in the post, FAQ from 2001.

From: Shelly (Auburn AL) peanut butter “gorp” recipe

• 1 part each of peanut butter (smooth or chunky), Crisco, and flour (I usually use whole wheat)
• 3 parts corn meal
• optional stuff like seed, raisins, nuts, etc… can be added, but my birds inhale it like this so I’ve never felt a need to add other stuff!

Just mix with a fork or pastry cutter until well blended. It has no lard or animal grease to rot, and even in a Southeastern US summer, if not placed in direct sun, it holds its shape pretty well. It can be molded into pine cones or wood with holes in it.

I put it out in “chunks” on my platform feeders too and the mockers, thrashers, Carolina wrens, yellow-rumped warblers, cardinals, robins, blue jays, (you get the picture!!) all love it.

In cooler weather I just leave it in a Tupperware container out on my screened in porch. When it gets to be really hot, I do bring it inside just to make sure the peanut butter doesn’t get too liquid and make it too mushy to handle.

From: Peg

I read [the BirdWatcher’s Digest] recipe and I use almost the same ingredients except I use:

• wheat flour instead of white
• and also add raisins if I have them
• and in spring, I add grape jelly

From: Cindy (Ohio)

• 1 cup crunchy peanut butter
• 1 cup lard
• 1 cup wheat flour
• 2 cups oats
• 2 cups corn meal
• 1/3 cup sugar

Melt all and mix, add raisins if you want, or bird seed and sunflower seeds. I then put it in a regular wire suet feeder and also put in holes in 2 log feeders. I have to fill the 2 log feeders every day, they eat so much! They love it.

From: Katherine (Weston, MA)

• I feed lard, which I alternate/mix with commercial suet, peanut butter, seed, and eggshell.
• I generally smear it in the nooks and crannies of a piece of driftwood which I hang from a tree. It gets woodpeckers, nuthatches, and chickadees, primarily.
• Sometimes I smear it on the bark of an oak tree right around my house; and then it gets squirrels, Carolina wrens, and the occasional brown creeper.

From: Ron

• I buy large eight-pound tubs of lard at Wal-Mart to get a good price. It can be stored without refrigeration, this is a plus since it soft and easy to work with.
• I take a large margarine tub and place lard in it
• and then add a few spoons of peanut butter.
• I place this in the microwave until it is melted and then stir in a mixture of hulled sunflower, other small seeds, and some corn meal.
• This mixture when soft is quite easy to handle. I keep this in the refrigerator covered and whenever I need some, nuke it till it is soft and load the log.
• I have also tried melting it to the point where I can take a spoon full and pour it into the hole. By the way, I take the log down and do this laying on its side. I find the hard seeds give the birds more of a challenge and they can’t clean the holes out as fast.

From: Jay, Cordova, Alaska

• 1 cup cornmeal
• 1 cup peanut butter
• 1 cup sugar
• 1/2 cup flour
• 1 cup water
• 1 cup birdseed

In a microwave safe bowl mix first five ingredients and microwave on high 3-5 min. Stir in birdseed. Cool and press into sandwich size plastic container. Stick in fridge. Once it sets up, put into suet feeder. The birds will go nuts. Squirrels like it too – drat them!

From: Janet, Hurricane, WV

I will guarantee that you will get birds with this. If the raisins don’t bring mockingbirds in, I will be surprised!

• 1 cup lard
• 1 cup crunchy peanut butter
• 2 cups cornmeal
• 2 cups flour
• 2 cups quick oats
• 1/3 cup sugar plus a handful of raisins, nut meats, and mixed bird seed

Melt the lard and the peanut butter. Mix well and add other ingredients. Pack into feeder-sized containers. Freeze until you need them; then defrost and use. I get five cakes from this recipe and use only the cheapest ingredients. I use the old store-bought suet-feeder cake containers to put the stuff in.

Feathered Friends Corn Bread

From: Peg, Legend Lake, WI

• 2/3 C cooking grease or vegetable oil
• 3 C cornmeal
• 1 C flour (I’ll use wheat)
• 3 tsp baking powder
• 3 ½ C milk
• 1 C chopped nuts

Mix well. Spread into well-greased 9 x 13 pan and bake at 350 degrees for 45-50 minutes. Cut to fit suet feeder or put in mesh bag.

Bird Bread

From: Peg, Legend Lake, WI

• 2 C Bisquick
• 2 C corn meal
• 1 C wheat flour
• 2 TBS baking powder
• 4 eggs (can include shells)
• 3 six-oz jars of pureed fruit or baby food (any flavor) 
• Additional items
  • cheese
  • nuts
  • peanut butter
  • chopped fruit

Heavily grease 9 x 13 pan. Mix dry ingredients together well. Add eggs and baby food. Stir until evenly moist. Batter will be very thick and heavy. Pour into pan. Bake 40 minutes, or until cake pulls away from sides of pan. Cool.

Home-made Seed Bell

From: Peg, Legend Lake, WI

• small terra cotta pots
• microwave-safe plastic wrap or plastic oven bags
• length of firm wire (like coat-hanger)
• birdseed
• 2 egg whites per cup of birdseed

Beat egg whites until white and fluffy, but still liquid. Prepare pots by lining them with the wrap or oven bag. (One oven bag will line two pots.) Bend the end of the wire that goes into the seed bell into a closed loop. 

Mix beaten egg whites and birds seed in bowl until all seed is coated, then spoon the mix into the prepared pots, patting it down firmly. Push the uncoiled end of the wire through center of mix in pot and then out of the drainage hole until looped end rests flat on top of mixture, then push loop slightly into mixture.

Place on an oven shelf set high enough to allow wire to hang free. Cook at 225 degrees for 60-90 minutes. The important things is not to burn the mixture and slow cooking is needed to set it firmly.

Remove from pots when still warm (careful, wire is hot).

HINT: If you use large seed in your mixture, the widest part of the bell which is exposed during cooking will become slightly crumbly. This only happens for a centimeter or two. If you want to avoid this, spoon mixture into pot leaving a few centimeters and mix some seed with another egg white to fill up the last centimeter and cook as usual.

More Hints from Louise, Southern Alabama: 

• Six egg whites will hold enough seeds to make 10 bells.
• Terra cotta herb pots made the prettiest bell shapes but didn’t work any better than the small paper cups.
• Aluminum foil works better than plastic – easier to shape to fit in the pots/cups, and easy to peel off the finished bell.
• Spraying the foil lined pots/cups with cooking spray worked great, but they peeled off just as easy without it!
• Coat hanger wire was too heavy; lighter weight craft wire was easier to bend, shape, and twist onto the tree limbs. Be sure to form a loop at the end, and bend it parallel to the top of the bell, fill, and sink the loop slightly into the mix. This keeps the wire from pulling out.
• To make big seed blocks for wire suet feeders, just line a oven or microwave rectangular container with aluminum foil, mix your seeds or seed, nut, fruit combo with the beaten egg whites, bake at 225 degrees for 1 and 1/2 to 2 hours, and unmold while still warm.

Bird Cereal

From: Peg, Legend Lake, WI

• Mix 2 C crushed cheerios with 2 C bird seed.
• Add 1 1/4 cup honey and stir until mixture is wet throughout but not soggy. (Add honey gradually to achieve this.) Corn syrup can also be used in place of the honey.
• Pour onto cookie sheet and spread out.
• Bake at 225 for 40-45 minutes.
• Halfway through cooking, score with a knife so it is easier to cut when baked.

Hint from Louise, Southern Alabama:

Use Christmas cookie cutters to cut the mix into shapes when it is about half baked, put holes in some and wires in some.

Kary’s Squirrel Cottage Cookies

From: Catherine, Carlisle, Ohio

• 1 cup butter, softened
• 1/3 cup granulated sugar
• 1 egg
• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1/2 cup finely chopped nuts (toasted almonds, salted peanuts, walnuts, or pecans)
• 1/2 cup white cornmeal

Heat oven to 350 F. Cream butter, sugar, and egg together. Stir in flour and nuts and mix well.

Shape into balls the size of small walnuts; place on ungreased cookie sheet.

Place cornmeal in a small bowl. Dip the bottom of a drinking glass into the bowl, then flatten dough balls with bottom of glass. With a straw, make a hole near the center of each cookie.

Bake for 14 to 16 minutes. Place cookies on a rack to cool. String twine or thread through holes and hang cookies from branches. (You could also cut a leafless tree branch, stick it into a crock filled with sand, and hang cookies on the bare twigs.)

Bird/Dog Biscuits

From: Cristina, The Swan Valley, Montana

Dog biscuits

• 1 cup white flour
• 1 cup whole wheat flour
• 1/2 cup powdered milk
• 1/2 cup wheat germ
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 6 tablespoons shortening or margarine
• 1 egg
• 1 teaspoon brown sugar
• 1 cup liquid (choose water, chicken, beef or tuna broth, pureed veggies)

Combine dry ingredients except sugar in large bowl. Cut in shortening until it resembles dry oatmeal. Beat the sugar with the egg and add to bowl. Add the liquid you choose gradually and mix in, forming a stiff dough. Knead on a floured surface until pliable. Roll to 1/4 inch and cut with cookie or biscuit cutters (for fun use kitty, bone, dog, people, and heart shaped cutters). Bake at 350 degrees until light brown (about 30 minutes).

Bird Biscuits

Make as above, except:

• omit the powdered milk (I never heard of birds consuming milk)
• when shaping cookies, be sure to put a hole in each cookie for hanging
• bake at 350 degrees for 15 minutes (so they come out softer and are easier for the birds to peck)

A month later, I’d changed the home page a little, added some photos, and included a habitat inventory. The author page and the lists of resources, habitats, and wildlife observed were unchanged, so I didn’t repeat them here.

A Little Wrenaissance History

To the great amusement of my family and friends, over the last four years I have become devoted to the idea of creating a wildlife sanctuary in our suburban yard. I had no idea this was going to happen – in fact, when house hunting, I was an advocate of buying a townhouse or large condo and it was my husband-to-be who felt strongly about buying a single family home. We found a house we liked, we didn’t find a townhouse or condo, and we both got tired of house hunting, so we ended up with the single-family house and a yard and a deck and all the accouterments of life in suburbia, including a bird feeder.

And I fell in love with the birds.

I became fascinated watching them. My love of animals and my interest in the environment merged as I learned about the National Wildlife Federation’s Backyard Wildlife Habitat Program. And so I began…

Confessions of a reluctant gardener

Having lived in apartments all of my adult life, gardening is a great mystery to me. I have no inherent green thumb. I’m not one of those people that loves to garden. Instead, I see planning, planting, weeding, and all those other outdoors chores as a means to an end.   Fortunately, my “end” is to build a backyard wildlife habitat using native plants, which are by definition suited to the climate, soil conditions, and coexistence with other native plants and wildlife. Native plants are lower maintenance   – i.e., less work – and strongly resistant to damage, disease, and inexperienced gardeners. Perfect for me!

Habitat Inventory

Plants that provide wildlife foods

• Large Trees
  • Oak (2)
  • Paw-paw (2)
  • American Holly (1)
  • Pine (1)
• Small Trees
  • Dogwood (1)
  • Serviceberry (1)
  • Apple (1)
  • Magnolia (1)
• Shrubs
  • Cotoneasters (5)
  • Butterfly Bush (1)
  • Azalea (1)
  • Blackhaw Viburnum (1)
  • Highbush Blueberry (1)
  • Inkberry (3)
  • Winterberry (3)
  • Spicebush (1)
  • Holly (2)
  • Juniper (1)
  • Rhododendron (1)
  • Rose of Sharon (1)
  • Pussywillow (1)
• Annuals and Perennials
  • Columbine (7)
  • Cardinal Flower (10)
  • Bee Balm (6)

Feeders & Food

• Tube feeders
  • Thistle
  • Sunflower
  • Peanut
• Platform/Hopper
  • Mixed Seed
• Suet Feeder
• Hummingbird Feeder

Water

• 1-2 birdbaths depending on time of year

Cover

• Pine tree
• Magnolia
• Holly-Juniper-Laurel Hedgerow
• Groundcovers – ivy, day lilies, irises, cotoneasters

Places to raise young

• Mature Trees
  • Oak (2)
  • Maple (4)
  • Pine (1)
• Small Trees
  • Dogwood (1)
  • Serviceberry (1)
  • Crabapple (1)
  • Magnolia (1)
  • American Holly (1)
  • Redbud (1)
  • Rose of Sharon (1)
• Shrub Masses
  • Holly (2)/Juniper (1)/Laurel (3)
• Nesting Boxes (1)