bird feeding
2011 Spring/Summer Edition Downy Woodpecker
Jim Carpenter — present day
Celebrating 30 Years of Bringing People and Nature Together
welcome
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. 30 years of knowledge gained from our customers helps make our products the highestquality bird feeding supplies on the market. 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
It’s an Exciting Time to Feed the Birds During spring and summer, 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 feeders.
Rufous Hummingbird Check local store for product availability
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 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 regionallyselected seed blends that also have other seasonally appropriate ingredients.
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 to eat.
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-added, 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 their needs at your WBU nectar feeders early, and they will reward you by continuing to visit your yard throughout the summer.
Nectar
Pictured: Ruby-throated Hummingbirds
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 new feathers, proper color pigments 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
Summertime Convenience Foods How many foods can we shape into a cylinder? Available only at Wild Birds Unlimited, our exclusively formulated 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 ingredients, Bird Food Cylinders last longer, requiring feeders to be refilled less often. Bird Food Cylinders are great for every day use, and they’re wonderful vacation foods, too. Use a Bird Food Cylinder to feed the birds at your home while you’re away or take one with you as a simple way to attract birds while vacationing at a camp site.
Seed Cylinder 7 Varieties (4 Available in Extra Large Size)
White-breasted Nuthatch & Carolina Chickadee
WBU Dinner Bell™ Feeder with Cranberry Fare Seed Cylinder Check local store for product availability
Different Ingredients Attract More Birds and Meet Their Different Needs • Seed • Mealworms • Suets and Fats • Nuts, Berries and Fruit
Stackables™ 5 Seed Varieties 2 No-melt Suet Dough Varieties
Red-bellied Woodpecker
WBU Cylinder Feeder with Stackables
No-melt Suet Dough Cylinder 2 Varieties
Black-capped Chickadee
WBU Suet Cylinder Feeder with No-melt Suet Dough Cylinder Wild Birds Unlimited • www.wbu.com | 5
®
Available Exclusively at Wild Birds Unlimited Trays - Where the Action Happens Jim Carpenter is the founder and CEO of Wild Birds Unlimited and the creator of Jim’s Birdacious® Treats, Trays & Toppers™. This fun, revolutionary system helps you attract the most birds in the least amount of space.
Treats - They’re Oh So Yummy We have an assortment of tidy Treats that you can offer your birds. Don’t be surprised if your birds gobble up the food in no time. That’s okay, they’re treats, and they’re supposed to be offered in small amounts, when you actually have time to enjoy watching your birds.
Crumble them to attract woodpeckers, jays, wrens, bluebirds and many more!
6 | Wild Birds Unlimited • www.wbu.com
The TreatTray™ is where the fun begins. It allows you to offer four Treats at one time and provides a clear view of birds and their antics.
Toppers - Customize Your Creation What’s a Topper? Roofs, crook arms, feeders and finials - if it attaches to our Advanced Pole System®, it can go on top of the TreatTray. This setup maximizes the bird feeding capabilities of a small space such as a deck, balcony or patio, and it’s ideal for apartments, condos or any home with a small yard. Plus, the Treats require very little storage space.
BugBerry Blend™ contains all of your birds’ favorites - roasted mealworms, sunflower chips, chopped tree nuts and four different fruits - cherries, blueberries, raisins and cranberries. BugBerry Blend is available as a specialty blend, a Stackable™ Bird Food Cylinder, Suet Nuggets and a new flavor of Bark Butter!
Full of protein and fat, this Treat is loaded with peanuts and large tree nuts, including almonds, walnuts, cashews and Brazil Nuts. Check local store for product availability
Toppers • Hummingbird Feeders • Shepherd Crook Arms with Tube Feeders • Bark Butter® Feeders
more birds more fun less space ™
Treats Trays
• Available in Wood or EcoTough® recycled plastic • 4 Treat Sections • Fits All WBU Advanced Pole System® Poles • Optional Squirrel Inhibitor Cage (not shown)
Check local store for product availability
Rufous Hummingbird (top) Red-breasted Nuthatch (left) Western Scrub Jay (right) Wild Birds Unlimited • www.wbu.com | 7
Chipping Sparrow 8 | Wild Birds Unlimited • www.wbu.com
Check local store for product availability
American Goldfinches
Cooper’s Hawk Check local store for product availability
Wild Birds Unlimited • www.wbu.com | 9
New! WBU High Perch Hummingbird Feeder
WBU High Perch Hummingbird Feeder Ruby-throated Hummingbirds
Our High Perch™ Hummingbird Feeder features a high perch that allows hummingbirds to comfortably rest. Longer perching/sitting times at the feeder = better, longer views of the birds.
Why Our Hummingbird Feeders Are Best Benefits for Hummingbirds
Benefits for You
• WBU Hummingbird Feeders do not leak. This helps keep 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 (top rack dishwasher safe), 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.
10 | Wild Birds Unlimited • www.wbu.com
Check local store for product availability
WBU Decorative Window Hummingbird Feeder Ruby-throated Hummingbirds
WBU Oriole Feeder Male Baltimore Oriole
Orioles
One of North America’s Favorite Fruit-eaters
WBU Nectar & Bottle
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. 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.
Hummingbird Fun Facts • There are more than 325 species of hummingbirds, making them the second largest bird family in the world, second only to flycatchers. • A hummingbird’s brain is about the size of a BB. • Hummingbird nests are made of plant down and glued together with spider webs and tree sap.
Check local store for product availability
• Hummingbirds lay the world’s smallest bird egg. • Hummingbirds eat about every ten minutes. • Hummingbirds lap up nectar with their long tongues. • Hummingbirds’ hearts are larger proportionally to their body than any other bird or mammal.
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. 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. 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 | 11
All Around Nesting Care WBU Nesting Boxes and Poles
Bluebird Nesting Box Wood or EcoTough® recycled plastic
Bluebird Basic Nesting Box Wood
Wren/Chickadee Nesting Box Wood or EcoTough recycled plastic
APS Basic Setup Mounting Hardware
The Importance of Calcium-added Foods During nesting season, birds are looking for foods that are high in calcium, an ingredient that helps promote stronger eggs and healthier bones for mother birds and their babies. We offer a variety of calcium-added foods that can help your birds.
WBU “Plus” Blends
Jim’s Birdacious® Bark Butter® and Treats
WBU Calcium Care™ and PB’n J No-melt Suet Dough
Meeting Birds’ Nesting Needs Access to bird feeders, nesting boxes, nesting materials and a source of water allows adult 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.
Adult Eastern Bluebird with Juveniles
WBU Dinner Bell™ Feeder with protein-rich mealworms 12 | Wild Birds Unlimited • www.wbu.com
Female American Goldfinch
Nesting Material
House Finch & Evening Grosbeaks
Bird Baths to help birds stay hydrated and clean Check local store for product availability
Why Our Nesting Boxes Are Better • WBU nesting boxes are designed to have the dimensions and features that appeal to specific bird species. • “Crawl out” ladders on the inside of WBU nesting boxes make it easier for fledgling birds to leave the nest. • Featuring thick walls for insulation, WBU nesting boxes maintain safe inside temperatures during late-spring cold snaps and hot summer days. • WBU nesting boxes have a unique ventilation and drainage system to provide fresh air and prevent heat and moisture build-up.
• Our nesting boxes feature double openings (illustration right): a lid that opens for monitoring nest building, eggs and baby birds and a side that opens for easy cleaning after the birds leave the nest. • WBU nesting boxes feature overhanging roofs for protection against inclement weather. • When pole-mounted, a raccoon baffle (pictured right) can be placed below WBU nesting boxes for extra protection from predators.
Eastern Bluebird Check local store for product availability
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Tidy Dining Foods So Many Ways to Keep it Clean in the Summer
No Mess Blends
Peanuts
Hairy Woodpecker
No shells and 100% edible – perfect near flower beds, patios and decks.
No-melt Suet Dough
The best single source of protein and fat – attracts most birds (except finches).
Nectar
Ruby-throated Hummingbirds
Carolina Wren
High in fat and energy, suet dough won’t melt in temperatures up to 130° F.
Bark Butter®
Juvenile Downy Woodpecker & White-breasted Nuthatch
No other food attracts more birds. Watch adult birds take chunks to feed their babies.
14 | Wild Birds Unlimited • www.wbu.com
Hummingbirds’ favorite – just keep it fresh, and there’s no mess!
Mealworms
Tufted Titmouse
Attracts bluebirds, chickadees, titmice and other birds that eat insects during summer.
Check local store for product availability
The Advanced Pole System
®
Create the Ideal Setup for the Birds in Your Yard
Sending Nearly 250 Kids to Summer Camps Each Year 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. By the end of the summer of 2011, Pathways To Nature for Kids, in partnership with the National Audubon Society, will have 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.
APPLY NOW!
Advanced Pole System with Squirrel Baffle A bird feeding setup is not complete without our patented Advanced Pole System® (APS). It’s a revolutionary concept and the foundation for successfully attracting 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.
Our Decorative APS hardware is eyecatching as well as functional and can also be used for feeding or housing birds, hanging plants and more. All APS parts are powder-coated to prevent rusting, and they fit together easily with no special tools required.
To see a list of Audubon Centers that will be taking applications for scholarships for a week of summer camp, visit: www.audubon.org/educate/cw Scholarship eligibility is determined by each Audubon Center. For more information or details about general registration, camp programs and scholarships, please contact the camp where you or your children want to connect to nature.
APS is protected by U.S. Patent No. 6,386,142 www.pathwaysforkids.com
Check local store for product availability
www.audubon.org
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