bird feeding
Did You Know? Cool Winter Bird Fun Facts
Wild Birds Unlimited Seed Blends The Right Food for Every Season
Convenient Bird Feeding & Offering Fats “Looks Great, Stays Straight” Put your feeders and houses right where you want them with our Advanced Pole System® hardware.
Create a New Bird Feeding Station
White-breasted Nuthatch
Jim Carpenter — present day
Celebrating 30 Years of Bringing People and Nature Together In 1981, Jim Carpenter, unemployed, combined his retail experience with his enjoyment of nature and backyard bird feeding to open the first Wild Birds Unlimited store in Indianapolis, Indiana. Now there are more than 270 Wild Birds Unlimited stores. Each store is locally-owned and operated and is dedicated to helping bring people and nature together. Products Designed by Experts More than 30 years of knowledge gained from our customers helps make our products the highest-quality bird feeding supplies on the market. Trusted Local Advice Our goal is to help you better enjoy this wonderful hobby by providing the best local advice and bird feeding products to meet your needs. We’re excited to celebrate the 30th anniversary of the opening of the first Wild Birds Unlimited store. As always, we’re here to help bring you, your family and nature together. Jim Carpenter and the first Wild Birds Unlimited store in Indianapolis, Indiana — 1981 2 | Wild Birds Unlimited • www.wbu.com
Check local store for product availability
Did You Know? Cool Winter Bird Fun Facts Backyard birds adapt to winter in various ways. Check out how a few different birds cope with winter and falling temperatures. • Chickadees may use up to ¾ of their fat reserves (as much as 10% of their body weight) in one night and then replenish those fat reserves the next day. • American Goldfinches rarely over-winter in northern areas where temperatures fall below 0° F (-17° C) for extended periods. • In winter, residential flocks of American Goldfinches roam widely between food supplies and have been recorded moving more than four miles between multiple feeding stations in a single day. • Visiting flocks of juncos will usually stay the entire winter within an area of about ten acres. • Because they roost in cavities overnight and snowfall rarely hampers their ability to find food during winter, tree-foraging birds, such as woodpeckers, do not increase their body fat as much as ground-foraging birds.
Carolina Chickadee
Caching Behavior During fall and winter many birds, including jays, chickadees, nuthatches and titmice, will hide food to retrieve and eat at a later time. This behavior is called “caching.” Caching helps birds survive during bad weather and when food sources are low. These birds store hundreds of seeds a day. Each seed is placed in a different location and they remember where each one is. They can find each site accurately, even a month later. By providing an easily accessible food source, you can help your birds with their caching needs.
More Caching Information • Some birds’ hippocampus,
the spatial memory part of the brain, actually grows larger in the fall to help them remember where they stored food.
Check local store for product availability
• Because their weather conditions are typically more
severe, more northern birds rely on caches than their southern cousins. In relation, more northern birds have larger hippocampi, for greater memory storage, than their southern counterparts.
• Due to jays’ habit of burying
acorns over a wide area, 11 species of oak trees have become dependent on jays for the dispersal of their acorns.
Wild Birds Unlimited • www.wbu.com | 3
Foods to Serve During Fall and Winter The Importance of Fat and Calories in a Bird’s Diet Whether they are preparing for fall migration or the onset of winter, birds need foods that are high in oil, fat and calories. These foods and stored body fat are the primary energy supply that fuels a bird throughout migration and during long, cold winter nights.
Seed-eating birds will continue to look for supplemental sources of seeds that will provide them with their essential fall and winter fat and calories. So it’s important to offer the right seeds in your bird feeders. Many of these seeds, including black oil sunflower, Nyjer® (thistle) and millet, are featured in our regionally selected, customized seed blends that also have other seasonally appropriate ingredients. More information about seed blends that will help your birds during fall and winter is featured on the next page.
Seed
Pictured: Black-capped Chickadee
Loaded with fat and protein, peanuts provide birds with energy and are particularly helpful to fatten up for migration and during the winter months when the extra calories help keep them warm. As winter approaches, many birds change some of their eating habits. Birds that usually eat insects may start to eat berries to supplement their diets. Dried or fresh fruit are a winter favorite of birds such as robins, waxwings, bluebirds and mockingbirds. Our Cranberry Fare Seed Cylinder is loaded with seeds, nuts and cranberries and is a great way to offer your fall and winter birds these foods.
Nuts & Berries/Fruits
Pictured: Male House Finch
Suet is a high-energy, pure-fat substance that is particularly helpful in winter, when many birds have a hard time finding the insects they normally eat. We carry a selection of suet and high-fat foods, such as Jim’s Birdacious® Bark Butter®, various suet cakes and plugs, No-melt Suet Dough Cylinders and Stackables®.
Suet & Fats
Pictured: Male Downy Woodpecker
As temperatures fall, birds have a more difficult time finding the limited number of live, active insects. Loaded with protein, mealworms can help you attract common and uncommon insect-eating birds like bluebirds or wrens.
Mealworms
Pictured: Tufted Titmouse
It’s important to continue offering WBU Nectar in regions along the Pacific Coast, the Southwest and in the extreme Southeast where hummingbirds stay throughout winter.
Nectar 4 | Wild Birds Unlimited • www.wbu.com
Pictured: Ruby-throated Hummingbirds Check local store for product availability
WBU Regionally Selected Seed Blends
Choose from the Very Best Bird Seed Available — Here Are Just a Few of the Blends We Carry
Supreme Blend
No-Mess Blend
Deluxe Blend
TreeNutty Plus Blend
Loaded with fat and calories, our Supreme Blend features sunflower seeds, safflower seeds and sunflower chips to attract birds, such as chickadees, nuthatches, wrens and more.
Loaded with fat, protein and carbohydrates, our No-Mess Blend is a tidy feeding solution that is perfect for helping birds prepare for migration and winter.
Full of black oil sunflower seeds, millet, striped sunflower and safflower, our Deluxe Blend is an excellent fall and winter blend for ground feeders like juncos, doves and various sparrows.
A favorite of woodpeckers, TreeNutty™ Plus Blend mixes sunflower seeds and chips, nuts, raisins and added calcium to provide lots of fat, protein and carbohydrates.
New In-store Seed Blend Signs Now, it’s even easier to choose the right blend for your birds.
Choice Blend Use your smart phone to see a video about Choice Blend.
What is a QR Code? You’ll see these Quick Response Codes, or QR Codes for short, throughout this Hobby Guide. QR Codes are an easy way to see videos and/or learn more information using your smart phone and a downloaded QR Code reader app. We’re excited to add this technology to make your hobby even more enjoyable.
Check local store for product availability
QR Code
a great all-around blend with peanuts
Seeds with Shells oil sunflower striped sunflower safflower nyjer® (thistle) peanuts in the shell white millet
100% Edible, No Shells
Special “Plus” Blend Ingredients
sunflower chips shelled peanuts hulled white millet chopped tree nuts corn
Regular Price • Specific blend ingredients
are indicated with colored boxes, and the three columns make it easy to compare blends.
• The more ingredients in
the center column, the less uneaten seed debris left behind.
cherries cranberries raisins peanut suet nuggets calcium
$XX.XX • The more “Plus” ingredients,
the more seasonally appropriate or the more species that are attracted.
Wild Birds Unlimited • www.wbu.com | 5
Convenience Bird Feeding 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. Made of different combinations of tightly packed seeds, nuts, and sometimes, fruits and suet, Bird Food Cylinders last longer, requiring you to refill your feeders less often.
Red-bellied Woodpecker
With several unique flavors to mix and match, our smaller Stackables® allow you to offer more than one flavor at a time (including suet) and cater to your birds’ food preferences. Supreme Fare Seed Cylinder Packed with pecans, peanuts, black oil and sunflower chips, our Supreme Fare Seed Cylinders entice a greater diversity of birds. White-breasted Nuthatch & Carolina Chickadee
Chickadees, Titmice & Nuthatches – Oh My! Chickadees, nuthatches and titmice are typically the first and easiest birds to attract to feeders in a wooded setting. They are also some of the hobby’s most adored feeder visitors. They’re small and cute, their movements are quick and erratic, and though they’re gone from feeders just as fast as they arrived, it’s easy to be a big fan of these little birds. During fall and winter, some chickadees, nuthatches and titmice search for food together in a “foraging guild.”
This behavior results in many eyes looking for 1) the now dwindling supply of natural food and 2) potential predators. Birds in the guild recognize each other’s alarm calls. This lets the guild keep a collective watch for predators and allows the individual birds to concentrate more on finding food. They have a mixed preference for sunflower (in and out of the shell), safflower and peanut pieces for caching (to retrieve and eat later), ingredients found in many of our exclusive seed blends, cylinders, Stackables® and more.
Black-capped Chickadee
WBU Suet Cylinder Feeder with No-melt Suet Dough Cylinder 6 | Wild Birds Unlimited • www.wbu.com
Check local store for product availability
Feed Fats! Suet A Boost of Energy for Your Birds Suet is a high-energy, pure-fat substance that is invaluable in fall and winter when insects are harder to find and birds need many more calories to keep their bodies warm. Offering suet at a backyard feeding station is one way to attract a greater diversity of insect-eating birds. Birds that eat suet will still find natural food sources, such as insects, insect eggs and larvae for a well-rounded diet. Birds that eat both insects and seeds, like chickadees and nuthatches, will also visit suet feeders.
Upside-Down Suet Feeder Male Hairy Woodpecker
Why is our Suet Better? All of our suet and no-melt dough contain high-quality ingredients, providing invaluable fats and calories and making every trip to the feeder count.
Tail Prop Suet Feeder Male Hairy Woodpecker
®
®
More Than 100 Birds (and Counting) Love It Jim Carpenter is the founder of Wild Birds Unlimited and the creator of Jim’s Birdacious® Bark Butter®, the food that has attracted more than 100 different bird species. Available only at Wild Birds Unlimited, now there are multiple ways to treat your birds with Bark Butter, including BugBerry Blend™ Bark Butter, regular Bark Butter Bricks, BugBerry Blend Bark Butter Bricks and Bark Butter Plugs. For more information and to see a video of birds eating Bark Butter, visit www.barkbutter.com. Bark Butter and Jim’s Birdacious Squirrel Inhibitor (left)
Pictured Left to Right: Male Downy Woodpecker, Male Hairy Woodpecker Check local store for product availability
Use the Squirrel Inhibitor on a tree with Bark Butter, or place it in the Birdacious TreatTray™ to slow squirrels trying to gobble up all your Treats.
Jim’s Birdacious Bark Butter
Wild Birds Unlimited • www.wbu.com | 7
Available Exclusively at Wild Birds Unlimited
REVOLUTIONARY
PRODUCT
Bird Feeders with Product Protection embedded into:
Quick-Clean® Removable Base
• Tube • All Black Powder Coated Metal Components
• Seed Diverter • Perch Covers
Carolina Chickadee
Tufted Titmouse
EcoClean Seed Tube Feeder
Manufactured exclusively for Wild Birds Unlimited, Inc. EcoClean is a trademark of Wild Birds Unlimited, Inc., Carmel, IN 46032. EcoClean products are protected by U.S. Patents and Patents Pending. U.S. Patent No. 5215039, 5452682, 7621232.
1 | Wild Birds Unlimited • www.wbu.com
Check local store for product availability
EcoClean Seed Tube Feeder with Weather Guard* & Seed Tray
*Not Available in EcoClean Line
EcoClean Dinner Bell™ Feeder EcoClean Finch Feeder
Male Downy Woodpecker, Black-capped Chickadee
EcoClean: Bird Feeding’s Latest Advancement
Available exclusively at Wild Birds Unlimited, our EcoClean® feeders and accessories are the most advanced bird feeding products available on the market. EcoClean products contain a material preservative to inhibit microbial damage on treated surfaces. This protection won’t wash or wear away. We’re excited to be the first to bring EcoClean technology to the hobby of backyard bird feeding, providing your birds the cleanest possible feeding environment. For more information about EcoClean, visit www.wbu.com/ecoclean.
EcoClean Perch Covers
Give older feeders a facelift or easily replace perch covers that have been lost. Check local store for product availability
Wild Birds Unlimited • www.wbu.com | 2
The Advanced Pole System
®
The Ultimate Bird Feeding Solution Available exclusively at Wild Birds Unlimited, our patented Advanced Pole System (APS) is a revolutionary concept and the foundation for successfully bringing more birds to your yard. 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 resist rusting, and they fit together easily with no special tools required. The Stabilizer The Stabilizer is the key to APS looking great and staying straight. It’s lawnmower-friendly and tests show the Stabilizer holds the pole straight in wind gusts up to 35 MPH. (See Step 1 on the next page.) Pictured above: Carolina Chickadee, White-breasted Nuthatches, American Goldfinches
10 | Wild Birds Unlimited • www.wbu.com
Deck Setups If you don’t have much of a yard, but you still want to enjoy the wonders of bird feeding, try creating an APS bird feeding station on your deck or porch. We have a number of deck mounts that accommodate all types of decks and patios, whether they’re made of metal, wood or composite. APS Accessories Make the most of your bird feeding station by adding APS accessories. A Squirrel or Raccoon Baffle will deter unwanted visitors from eating all your bird food. Our Decorative Branch Perch gives birds a place to rest before visiting feeders. The APS SideDish™ Feeder is a versatile feeder for offering foods, such as mealworms, fruit, peanuts, seed blends and more. APS is protected by U.S. Patent No. 6,386,142
Check local store for product availability
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
Decorative APS Most decorative bird feeding station hardware is created to be more aesthetic than useful. Our Decorative APS hardware is eye-catching as well as functional. It and can be used with feeders, nesting boxes, hanging plants and more.
36"
Snap Button Attachments make building easier and prevent the setup from twisting in the wind.
Pictured: Female Northern Cardinal, Carolina Chickadee, Downy Woodpecker
Step 3: Accessorize it Window Strike Zone:
10'
EZ-Attach Parts and Accessories allow you to simply add arms, APS feeders and other parts.
Check local store for product availability
3'
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. Squirrel-proof Zone: Place your baffled station at least ten feet away from other objects that squirrels can jump from to make it unreachable.
Wild Birds Unlimited • www.wbu.com | 11
Create a New Bird Feeding Station Two Trays, Seed Tube Feeder & SideDish For Offering: • Seed Blend(s) • Four Jim’s Birdacious® Treats • Peanuts Pictured: Carolina Chickadees, Tufted Titmouse, Downy Woodpecker
Your Yard: The Place to be This Winter Just look at a few of the many bird feeding stations you can create to attract more birds by providing them with helpful, reliable sources of food. A reliable food supply provides many benefits to the birds, especially during periods of extreme cold weather. Review your backyard bird feeding station(s) and be sure you have the variety of food and feeders that will meet your birds’ needs. In winter, birds require high-fat, quickenergy foods to stay active and warm. Insect-eaters are looking for more fats and fruits. Seed-eaters are searching for high-oil seeds and nuts. With our wide selection of foods, feeders and Advanced Pole System® (APS) hardware, it’s easy to add a new station or update your current one with new foods and feeders.
Window Feeder For Offering: • Seed Blend(s) Pictured: White-breasted Nuthatch, Carolina Chickadee
12 | Wild Birds Unlimited • www.wbu.com
Check local store for product availability
For Offering: • Seed Blend(s) • Use tray for various treats
Classic Hopper Feeder & Catch-a-Seed Tray
Two Tube Feeders For Offering: • Seed Blend(s) • Nyjer® (thistle) Pictured above: Carolina Chickadee, American Goldfinches
Just Fats!
Two Tube Feeders, Peanut Feeder, Double Decker, Suet Cage & SideDish
For Offering: • Bark Butter® • No-melt Suet Dough Cylinder • Suet Cake • BugBerry™ Blend Nuggets
For Offering: • Nyjer® (thistle) • Bark Butter • Stackables®
Dinner Bell, Suet Cylinder Feeder, Suet Cage & Bark Butter Feeder
Check local store for product availability
• Suet • Mealworms • Seed Blend(s) • Peanuts Wild Birds Unlimited • www.wbu.com | 13
Feed the Birds — Not the Squirrels Solutions for your backyard Whether you are looking for a new squirrel-proof feeder or a way to make your existing bird feeding station more squirrel resistant, we offer a variety of solutions that will help you foil unwanted backyard visitors.
Squirrel-proof Feeders
Pole Baffles
The weight of a squirrel closes the feeding ports.
Deter squirrels from reaching your feeders from below. The top of the baffle must be 4' to 5' off the ground. Feeders must be at least 10' from any tree or building. We offer baffle solutions that work on APS, other hardware and even 4x4 lumber.
Squirrel Baffle
Squirrel Baffle
Squirrel & Raccoon Baffle
Hanging Baffles Deter squirrels from reaching your feeders from above. For best results, tuck a smaller feeder (the bigger the feeder, the bigger the hanging baffle) inside a hanging baffle and place it at least 10' from any tree or building.
Carolina Chickadee
The Eliminator™ Squirrel-proof Feeder
On-Guard Cages Allow small birds to eat while deterring squirrels.
Tufted Titmouse, White-breasted Nuthatch
Fundamentals Squirrel-proof Feeder 14 | Wild Birds Unlimited • www.wbu.com
Check local store for product availability
Providing Water for Birds The Importance of Water in Winter Birds continue to need a source of water for drinking and bathing during winter. Providing a reliable source of water when natural sources are frozen can attract more birds to your backyard than just feeders alone. Bird baths help birds keep their feathers clean and in top condition. Research has shown that a chickadee with wellmaintained feathers can sustain a 70° F (21° C) layer of insulation between the outside air and its skin.
Over 1,000 (and Counting) Kids Sent to Nature Camps 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.
Bird Bath Heater (Above) This bird bath heater helps keep a bird bath free of ice in temperatures below -20° F (-29° C).
Metal Bird Bath (Left) Metal baths are durable, versatile and can be easily moved about your yard. These baths work well with a bird bath heater and can be used in freezing conditions without cracking or breaking.
Pathways To Nature for Kids, in partnership with the National Audubon Society, has provided more than 1,100 scholarships to young people for attending summer camps at 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.
Heated Bird Bath (right) This durable, plastic bird bath provides a reliable source of water, even to temperatures below -20° F (-29° C). Easily mounted to wood deck rails, it features a built-in 150 watt, fully grounded heater that is thermostatically controlled to conserve energy.
www.audubon.org/programs/audubon-camps
Pictured: American Goldfinch Check local store for product availability
Wild Birds Unlimited • www.wbu.com | 15
Dark-eyed Junco
© Wild Birds Unlimited, Inc. • www.wbu.com • Please Recycle