Wild Birds Unlimited Advanced Pole System ®
Male Downy Woodpecker
®
The Ultimate Bird Feeding Station Hardware
Best Foods The Importance of Calcium, Protein and Fat in a Bird’s Diet
Best Feeders Attract More Birds by Using Different Types of Feeders
Male American Goldfinch
2010 Spring/Summer Edition
Your Source for: • The Finest, Freshest Bird Food • The Best Selection of High-quality Bird Feeders
welcome
• Our Exclusive Advanced Pole System® • Decorative Nature and Garden Gifts At Wild Birds Unlimited, we’re dedicated to helping you turn your yard into a spring and summer habitat that not only benefits wild birds and the environment, but also brings song, color and life to your home. And though we carry the finest quality selection of bird feeding supplies, we’re not just about selling seed and feeders. We pride ourselves on being able to give you the most accurate information about our local birds. Our passion is to talk to you about your birds and the bird feeders, food and accessories that are right for you. We want you to have the best bird feeding experience possible. After all, it’s the most relaxing, fulfilling, educational and exciting hobby that anyone, young or old, can enjoy.
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Check local store for product availability
It’s an Exciting Time to Feed the Birds Bird feeding isn’t just a winter hobby. Spring and summer are great times to feed the birds, too. During this time each year, hundreds of wild bird species return from their tropical, wintering grounds to nest and raise their young. This massive migration brings the greatest opportunity of any season to attract the widest variety of birds to your yard and feeders. Finches and other birds will feature their brightest breeding plumage. Woodpeckers, bluebirds and other bird parents will attempt to keep their fledgling young corralled around the yard and at your feeders, and those juveniles will constantly harass their parents for food. Finally, there’s the excitement of having your own resident hummingbirds flitting and flashing about the yard as they make countless trips to and from the nectar feeder. As rewarding as all this activity is for you, there are a number of benefits for birds, too. Access to bird feeders during this time of the year allows nesting females to spend less time foraging, which can lead to better protection of eggs from predators, earlier fledging of the nestlings and higher survival rates of the broods. Combine the excitement of seeing so many active, colorful and energetic birds with the fulfillment of helping birds thrive during these seasons, and spring and summer become the best times of year to feed the birds.
Female Ruby-throated Hummingbird with Babies
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Wild Birds Unlimited • www.wbu.com | 3
Foods to Serve During Spring and Summer The Importance of Calcium, Protein and Fat in a Bird’s Diet As they are establishing territories and attracting mates, birds are also looking for foods high in calcium, protein and fat to bolster their energy supply and help them during nesting, raising their young and molting their feathers.
Seed-eating birds will continue to look for natural sources of seeds that will provide them with their essential spring and summer protein, fat and calories. So it’s important to offer the right seeds in your bird feeders. Many of these seeds, including black oil sunflower, sunflower chips and Nyjer® (thistle), are featured in our regionally-formulated, customized seed blends that also have other seasonally appropriate ingredients. More information about seed blends that will help your birds during spring and summer is featured on the next page.
Seed
Pictured: Black-capped Chickadee
As spring blooms and baby birds are born, a bird’s need for protein increases dramatically. Loaded with protein, mealworms can help you attract common and uncommon insect-eating birds like bluebirds or wrens. Bird parents, such as bluebirds, will often bring their offspring to mealworm feeders and feed them.
Mealworms
Pictured: Adult Eastern Bluebird with Juveniles
Suet is a high-energy, pure-fat substance that is helpful in spring and summer (especially when loaded with nuts), when birds are looking for supplemental sources of nutrition.
Suet & Fats
We carry a selection of seasonally appropriate suet and calcium-included, highprotein, high-fat foods, such as Jim’s Birdacious® Bark Butter®, various suet cakes and plugs, Suet Snacks™ and No-melt Suet Dough Cylinders and Stackables. Pictured: Male Hairy Woodpecker
Hummingbirds and orioles are looking for reliable nectar sources in the spring. Provide for them at your WBU nectar feeder early, and they will reward you by continuing to visit your yard throughout the summer.
Nectar
Pictured: Male Anna’s Hummingbird
Loaded with protein and fat, peanuts provide birds with the necessary energy to defend territories and raise healthy families. Fresh and dried fruits are popular with summer birds and help provide proper color pigments, new feathers and other nutritional needs. Fruit is a favorite of birds such as orioles, robins, bluebirds and mockingbirds. Our Cranberry Fare Seed Cylinder is loaded with seeds, nuts and cranberries and is a great way to offer your spring and summer birds these foods.
Nuts & Berries/Fruits 4 | Wild Birds Unlimited • www.wbu.com
Pictured: Male House Finch Check local store for product availability
WBU Regionally-formulated Seed Blends
No-Mess Blend
Choice Blend
Supreme Blend
Deluxe Blend
Loaded with protein and fat, our No-Mess Blend is a mix of shelled seeds and is a tidy feeding solution that is perfect for helping birds prepare for nesting, raising babies and molting their feathers.
Loaded with protein and fat, our Choice Blend is a combination of black oil sunflower seeds, sunflower chips, striped sunflower and safflower seeds and peanuts that will satisfy your birds’ needs.
Our Supreme Blend features black oil sunflower, striped sunflower and safflower seeds and sunflower chips and attracts birds, such as chickadees, nuthatches and wrens.
Full of black oil sunflower seeds, millet, striped sunflower and safflower seeds, Deluxe Blend is an excellent blend for groundfeeders like towhees, buntings and various native sparrows.
Seed Feeders
Enjoyed by Birds and Bird Feeding Enthusiasts We offer a variety of feeders that you can use to offer your birds seed or seed blends during spring and summer. • Hopper feeders have a seed storage bin that automatically releases seed to a tray on which the birds perch to feed. Most of our hopper feeders, including our EcoTough® Classic, have extended roofs that protect your birds and seed from the elements, curved ends that allow you to see birds feeding on both sides at the same time and perch drains that let seed drop for ground-feeding birds. • Seed tube feeders are easy to fill and hold many types of seed and seed blends. The seed ports allow birds to see and choose what they want to eat. The perches are small enough to keep larger birds off the feeder, yet large enough to let small- to medium-sized birds perch, relax and get their fill. Our Quick-Clean® Seed Tube Feeders are the absolute easiest-to-clean feeders on the market. • Solve squirrel problems with squirrel-proof feeders like our Eliminator™. When a squirrel touches the perch ring, its weight closes the seed ports. The Eliminator’s unique technology allows you to set the sensitivity level, so you can also exclude large birds.
Classic with Catch-a-Seed Tray
Check local store for product availability
Quick-Clean® Seed Tube Feeder with Weather Dome & Seed Tray
Eliminator™ Squirrel-Proof Feeder
American Goldfinch, Black-capped Chickadee, Tufted Titmouse Wild Birds Unlimited • www.wbu.com | 5
Finch Feeders American Goldfinches
Attract More Finches to Your Backyard
Goldfinches live throughout the United States and southern Canada, a fact that makes attracting them to your backyard a bit easier. Though goldfinches carry the reputation of being finicky eaters, you’ll have no problem finding a suitable offering that will please their palate. Goldfinches love to eat fresh, dry Nyjer® (thistle). Here are a few items to remember when you are attracting finches:
Tidier Dining With the right combination of food, feeders and accessories, you can enjoy feeding your birds and have a tidy backyard, too. 1. (Above) The WBU Dinner Bell™ feeder’s built-in dome provides protection from the weather, and the built-in tray prevents food from falling to the ground. Simply fill the WBU Dinner Bell with any of our seed, WBU Seed Cylinders or No-melt Dough Cylinders, mealworms or other food and enjoy the birds as well as a tidier feeding station. 2. (Pictured on page 5) Fill the WBU EcoTough® Classic hopper feeder with WBU No-Mess Blend, and mount it on an Advanced Pole System® setup with an EcoTough Catch-a-Seed Tray to create a tidy feeding combination that will attract a variety of birds. 3. (Pictured on page 5) For a compact, yet versatile tidy feeding station, we recommend offering WBU No-Mess Blend in our WBU Quick-Clean® Seed Tube Feeder with a WBU Weather Guard and WBU Seed Tray.
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Why Our Finch Feeders Are Best • Specially-designed to hold smaller seeds like Nyjer® (thistle), fine sunflower chips or finch blends. • Metal armor around seed ports to prevent squirrel damage. • Durable and carry a lifetime guarantee. • Easy to hang or mount. • Convenient sliding top makes refilling easy. • Removable Quick-Clean base makes cleaning easier. • Accessories like our Weather Guard, to protect seed from the elements, and Seed Tray, to help keep your yard clean, are easy additions.
• Keep food fresh and dry inside the feeder. Shake the feeder periodically to make sure that the food is dry, and use a Weather Guard to help protect your food from the elements. Make sure the food does not stay in the feeder uneaten for more than three to four weeks. • Be prepared for increased activity at your feeders in the spring, when goldfinches are molting. • Once they've fledged, young goldfinches still depend on their parents for food. Watch for these juveniles at your feeders as they beg for food from their parents.
Quick-Clean Finch Feeders Our Quick-Clean® Finch Feeders feature removable bases for easier cleaning. Check local store for product availability
Mealworms The Other Bird Food
You can attract birds, such as wrens, chickadees, bluebirds, titmice, mockingbirds, robins, thrushes, thrashers, catbirds, woodpeckers and occasionally, certain warblers to your yard by offering them an insect dish they’ll love — mealworms. Some birds change part of their eating habits during spring and summer. In fact, chickadees switch to eating primarily insects. Almost 80% of their spring/summer diet is made up of insects, whereas only 20% of their fall/winter diet is made up of insects. Plastic-walled feeders such as our APS SideDish™ or Dinner Bell™ are perfect for offering mealworms.
APS SideDish™ Male Western Bluebird
Dinner Bell™ Adult Eastern Bluebird with Juvenile
Suet Feeders
The Suet-able Way to Feed Your Birds Suet is a high-energy, pure fat substance that is invaluable in early-spring when insects are harder to find and during late-spring and summer when birds need more energy for courting and nesting. Upside-Down Suet Feeder Male Hairy Woodpecker
By offering suet in summer, you’ll have an excellent opportunity to see woodpecker babies. Look for them from May to July. Featuring juvenile plumage that is missing colors or is more pale in color, these younger birds will look distinctively different than their adult counterparts. Some suet is plain and some suet contains nuts, raisins or other fruit and insects. The variety of suet flavors helps attract a variety of birds.
Supper Dome Female Hairy Woodpecker Check local store for product availability
For convenience, leave suet cakes in their plastic containers to enjoy birds on the open side that faces your window.
Tail Prop Suet Feeder Male Hairy Woodpecker Wild Birds Unlimited • www.wbu.com | 7
Hummingbirds
Spring and Summer Sensations
WBU Decorative Hummingbird Feeder Female Ruby-throated Hummingbirds
Individually, hummingbirds are the smallest of all birds, and yet, with more than 320 species, they are the second largest family of birds in the world. Except for regions along the Pacific Coast, the Southwest and in the extreme Southeast where hummingbirds stay throughout winter, a vast majority of hummingbirds travel north to their summer territories during spring, a round trip between North and Central America that they have instinctively participated in for hundreds of years. Hummingbirds return to the same nesting area each year, and females raise their young alone because of the male’s aggressive behavior. Their nests are made of plant down and glued together with spider webs and tree sap. Hummingbird nests are usually located on pencil-sized limbs and camouflaged with bits of lichen. Use one of our WBU Hummingbird Feeders to attract hummingbirds to your backyard. Fill it with Hummingbird & Oriole Nectar, or mix your own nectar solution (four parts water, one part sugar). Clean nectar feeders every two to four days; then fill with fresh nectar solution.
Why Our Hummingbird Feeders Are Best Benefits for Hummingbirds
Benefits for You
• WBU Hummingbird Feeders do not leak. This keeps bothersome bees and wasps away from the feeder.
• Our Hummingbird Feeders provide the best visibility, allowing you to see all the birds feeding at one time.
• Our feeders have raised ports that keep rain water from diluting the nectar solution.
• Our feeders are easy to fill, clean, hang or mount and are extremely durable.
• Nectar solutions can also be diluted by overfilling the ant moat. Our Hummingbird Feeders’ moats have drains that prevent this from happening, even in the rain.
• WBU Hummingbird Feeders feature built-in ant moats to prevent crawling bugs from reaching the nectar solution.
• Our Hummingbird Feeders feature colors that mimic natural nectar sources.
• Our feeders have clear bottoms that allow you to see hummingbirds’ tongues lap up nectar (up to 12 times a second) as well as the level of the nectar solution. • All WBU Hummingbird Feeders are backed with a lifetime guarantee.
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WBU Hummingbird Feeder Female Anna’s Hummingbird WBU Oriole Feeder Male Baltimore Oriole
Orioles
One of North America’s Favorite Fruit-eaters Of the nine oriole species found in North America, the Baltimore is widespread in the east and the Bullock’s is common in the west. WBU Decorative Window Hummingbird Feeder Ruby-throated Hummingbirds
Hummingbird Fun Facts • Hummingbirds weigh ¹/10th of an ounce; about the weight of a penny. • Hummingbirds’ nests are about the size of a golf ball; around 1½ inches in diameter. • Hummingbirds have weak feet and legs that are used more for perching than walking. • Hummingbirds are most comfortable in the air, and they are capable of hovering as well as flying up, down, forward and backward.
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• Hummingbirds learn to associate flower colors, like red, with food. They do not have an innate preference for red. • Hummingbirds can drink up to twice their body weight in nectar every day (most birds only eat ¼ - ½ their body weight). • Female Hummingbirds’ tongues are longer than the males. • Hummingbirds can fly up to 60 mph, but typically fly at 30-45 mph.
Orioles can be drawn to backyards by offering food, such as orange slices, grape jelly and mealworms. They will even use the protein-rich mealworms to feed their nestlings. Orioles seem more easily attracted to feeders if their preferred foods are waiting for them upon their return from their tropical winter homes. Place feeders in the open so they are readily visible and away from other bird feeding stations. Nectar feeders are also attractive to orioles, supplementing the natural nectar they typically find in flowers. Boil two cups of water; add ¹/3 cup of sugar; cool and fill the feeder. Be patient and keep the foods fresh, replacing them every few days, and be sure to keep your feeders clean, too. Wild Birds Unlimited • www.wbu.com | 9
Peanut Feeders
Female Downy Woodpecker
Let Your Birds Go Nuts
Peanuts are a great addition to the choices you offer your backyard birds. Peanuts are a high-energy food enjoyed by a wide variety of birds, such as woodpeckers, titmice, nuthatches, chickadees, jays and more. Offering peanuts is especially important in spring and summer. Peanuts are loaded with protein and extremely beneficial for young, growing birds. WBU Mesh Peanut Feeders Attract peanut-loving birds to your yard with our Mesh Peanut Feeders. These feeders are designed to hold peanut pieces and are easy to fill and easy to hang.
Black-capped Chickadee
Most of our WBU Peanut Feeders are backed with a lifetime guarantee.
WBU Peanut Wreath Hang it in your favorite tree and watch peanut-loving birds fly in for a meal. It’s durable, yet it remains flexible so birds can pull out the whole peanuts. This versatile feeder is also great for offering suet balls and nesting materials.
Jim’s Birdacious Bark Butter ®
®
Now Every Tree Is a Bird Feeder® Jim Carpenter is the founder and CEO of Wild Birds Unlimited. Jim created Bark Butter in his home kitchen more than 20 years ago and used it to attract Brown Creepers. Jim soon discovered that it attracted much more. Available exclusively at Wild Birds Unlimited, Jim’s Birdacious Bark Butter has attracted more than 75 species of birds, including many summer birds, such as thrushes, warblers, wrens and more.
Bark Butter is high in protein and fat and is perfect for birds’ spring and summer nutritional needs. Bark Butter is also easy to use. Simply spread it on a tree or one of our Bark Butter Feeders. For more information and to watch video of birds eating Bark Butter, visit www.barkbutter.com.
White-breasted Nuthatch 10 | Wild Birds Unlimited • www.wbu.com
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Bird Food Cylinders The Easy, Long-lasting Way to Feed Birds Available exclusively at Wild Birds Unlimited, our Bird Food Cylinders are an easy and tidy way to offer your birds a wide variety of food. Bird Food Cylinders are made of different combinations of tightly packed seeds, nuts, and sometimes, fruits and suet. Watch nuthatches pry seeds loose and sometimes fly off to store them for retrieval later in the same day or as a quick source of food the next morning. Bird Food Cylinders last longer than blends and are perfect for feeding your birds while you are on vacation. Our Seed and No-melt Suet Dough Stackables allow you to offer more than one food at a time and cater to the preferences of the birds visiting your yard. With several unique flavors to mix and match, you can have fun creating various combinations that will attract different birds to your backyard. Available in two flavors (Peanut Butter’n Jelly™ and Naturally Nuts®), our No-melt Suet Dough Cylinders and Stackables are an easy way to offer a high-protein, high-energy food to your birds during spring and summer. All Bird Food Cylinders and Stackables can be offered in our Decorative Seed Cylinder Feeder or Dinner Bell feeder. Each feeder has a roof to help protect your food from inclement weather.
Male Red-bellied Woodpecker
Decorative Seed Cylinder Feeder Unique food requires a unique feeder. Whether you want to attract clinging birds or perching birds, our Decorative Seed Cylinder Feeder accommodates different birds’ eating preferences. This feeder is easy to fill and capable of holding Seed and No-melt Dough Stackables, No-melt Dough Cylinders or small or large Seed Cylinders. We carry a variety of flavors of Seed Cylinders, including Deluxe Fare, Cranberry Fare and Supreme Fare. Check local store for product availability
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The Advanced Pole System
®
The Ultimate Bird Feeding Solution
How to Create Your APS Bird Feeding Station Step 1: Plant it
48"
Stabilizer
helps the APS look great and stay straight.
Step 2: Extend it
36"
Snap Button Attachments make building easier and prevent the setup from twisting in the wind.
Step 3: Accessorize it
Advanced Pole System with Squirrel Baffle Our patented Advanced Pole System® (APS) is a revolutionary concept and the foundation for successfully attracting birds to your backyard.
Our Decorative APS hardware is eyecatching as well as functional and can also be used for feeding or housing birds, hanging plants and more.
Comprised of interchangeable hardware pieces, the APS lets you create a customized setup that best suits your yard and the birds you want to attract.
All APS parts are powder-coated to prevent rusting, and they fit together easily with no special tools required.
EZ-Attach Parts and Accessories allow you to simply add arms, APS feeders and other parts.
APS is protected by U.S. Patent No. 6,386,142
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Check local store for product availability
Feed the Birds from Your Deck Without Any Mess Your deck or patio is your safe haven. It’s your place to relax; a place to get away from it all. With our APS, you can create the ultimate system for hanging or mounting feeders to your deck or patio rails. We have a variety of deck mounts that accommodate all types of decks and patios, whether it’s made of metal, wood or composite. We offer a variety of combinations that will attract the birds to your backyard but keep the mess off your deck or patio.
Decorative Advanced Pole System
American Goldfinches, Pine Siskin, Tufted Titmouse, Downy Woodpecker, House Finch
10'
3'
Window Strike Zone: To see birds up close, place your setup no more than three feet away from your window. This will decrease the likelihood of birds injuring themselves if they do hit your window. Otherwise, place your setup no less than ten feet away. Advanced Pole System Deck Setup Check local store for product availability
Squirrel-proof Zone: Place your baffled station at least ten feet away from other objects that squirrels can jump from to make it unreachable.
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Water
The Importance of Water in Spring and Summer Whether they are feeder visitors or not, birds need water. Offering a dependable source of water is probably the simplest and most important step you can take to greatly increase the variety of birds in your yard. Male Eastern Bluebird
Bird Houses
Give Birds a Place to Call Home With the increased loss of natural habitat, many cavitynesting birds are having trouble finding homes. By providing bird houses, you will encourage birds to raise their young in your backyard.
Birds need water as much they need food. Not only do they need it for drinking, but also for keeping their feathers clean. Water is also vitally important when it’s extremely hot and a bird’s ability to regulate its body temperature can become stressed. Birds do not sweat and must remove excess body heat through their respiratory system. So when temperatures rise, a bird’s respiration rate increases, sometimes to the point that it can be seen panting like a dog. This activity dehydrates birds and increases their need for a reliable source of water to replace lost fluids. We offer a variety of bird baths and bird bath accessories that will help attract more birds to your yard or garden.
Houses provide nesting sites for cavity-nesting birds that excavate their own nesting site (primary cavity nesters) or use pre-existing cavities (secondary cavity nesters) excavated by other birds. Primary cavity nesting species, such as chickadees, and secondary cavity nesters, such as bluebirds will readily accept man-made housing.
Female Evening Grosbeak Male Cassin's Finch
Wren House
Nesting Materials
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Bluebird & Babies Check local store for product availability
More Than a Hobby
Our Partners in Nature
Making a Difference in Our Communities Bird feeding is more than a hobby; it’s a way to connect with the outdoors and help the natural environment around you. By providing quality products, service and an inspiring shopping experience, Wild Birds Unlimited has been helping people enjoy birds and nature for more than 25 years. Pathways To Nature Conservation Fund The Wild Birds Unlimited Pathways To Nature® Conservation Fund (www.pathwaystonature.com) was established in 1999 and has been responsible for more than $2.2 million in projects at 25 sites across North America. These projects include the creation and maintenance of trails, boardwalks, wildlife-viewing platforms and nature center exhibits. The 25 recipients of Pathways To Nature grants jointly provide habitat and protection for 37 animal and plant species that are found on the U.S. Endangered Species list.
www.bsc-eoc.org
www.audubon.org
THE GREAT BACKYARD BIRD COUNT www.birds.cornell.edu
www.birdsource.org/gbbc
Pathways To Nature for Kids According to a Kaiser Family Foundation study, today’s overscheduled youth spend an average of 44 hours per week staring at some kind of electronic screen, creating America’s first generation to grow up emotionally and physically disconnected from nature. For years, our mission has been to bring people and nature together by offering products that make enjoying the outdoors easier. In 2007, we created Pathways To Nature for Kids (www.pathwaysforkids.com), an initiative that gives children from across North America opportunities to connect with the natural world.
www.batconservation.org
www.nabluebirdsociety.org
In partnership with the National Audubon Society, Pathways To Nature for Kids provides about 250 scholarships annually for underserved and underprivileged young people to attend summer camps at more than 30 Audubon Centers across the United States. While attending these camps, young people not only connect with nature, but they also learn to respect it and gain a desire to preserve it for future generations.
www.rtpi.org
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Tufted Titmouse, American Goldfinches, Carolina Chickadee, Ruby-throated Hummingbirds
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