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wp 14-- Scugog Citizen Tuesday, November 17, 1997 de Winter feeding of our fine feathered friends nature's corner ken carmichael A lot of money is spent to feed birds in the fall, winter and early spring. When I lived in Agincourt, it amazed me to see people who fed the birds even on busy city streets. Feeding birds can be a most enjoyable and enriching experience as one is able to study these fascinating creatures at close range. Nobody can become a profictefit bird watcher by reading books alone Knowledge comes from observations made in the field. So, put a bird feeder in your garden and you just might become a keen birder, but even more important, you will have the pleasure of being a "bird buddy" this winter The number of birds I have see at my feeding station over the past three years is remarkable. There are 18 species which I observe each winter, and three or four unusual species during the season. | have also observed in the woods around my home three species of raptors and one shrike. Following is a list of the birds seen on feeders in the Scugog area and the kind of food that each prefers. Cardinal-sunflower seeds, blue jay-sunflower seeds, peanuts, corn; mourning dove- wheat and corn; chickadee- suet and sunflower seeds; red- breasted nut-hatch-sunflower seeds and suet; white-breasted nut-hatch-sunflower seeds, suet; downy and hairy wood peckers-suet; house sparrow- wheat and millet; house finch and purple finch-sunflower seeds; goldfinch- sunflower seeds, niger seed; starling- suet, wheat, chopped corn; evening grosbeak-sunflower seeds; pine siskin-sunflower seeds, niger seeds; common redpoll, sunflower and niger seeds; dark-eyed junco- (ground feeder) wheat and millet; tree sparrow-(ground feeder) wheat and millet. Here are some of the more unusual birds that have turned up at my feeder and what they like to eat. Rusty blackbird-corn and wheat; song sparrow-millet and wheat; white-throated sparrow-millet and wheat. Some of the birds that live in the forest and feed on the birds at the feeder include the sharp-skinned hawk; coopers hawk, goshawk and northern shrike The type of food you need to feed birds is a good mixture of hard wheat, corn, red and white millet, peanuts and sunflower seeds. I prefer to add more sunflower seeds to the mixture and like the small black sunflowers because of the kinds of feeders I have. There are many kinds of feeders that come in all shapes and sizes. It is important to have at least one feeder large enough to hold sufficient seed for a weekend, should you happen to be away. I use two wooden feeders with mixed food and two large, "gilo-type" feeders that contain sunflower seeds as well as a cylinder feeder with niger seeds. Suet is another essential food for birds in the winter. You can get it at local stores at very reasonable prices. Suet can be placed in onion bags or in any "stringed" bag. Hang it from a limb of a tree, or wire it to the trunk of a tree. You can also drill holes in a log and fill them with suet. This works very well. I prefer to place suet in a piece of chicken wire and then strap it to the side of a tree. This stops raccoons, crows and squirrels from carrying away the suet. Open water in winter will attract birds to your property. 1 am fortunate enough to have an artesian well. You can purchase at most garden centres a thermostat controlled heater for the bird bath, and this should keep the water from freezing at all times. Feeders can be made for little cost simply by recycling plastic jugs, milk cartons, scrap wood, and many other materials found commonly around your house. Using a large milk carton, cut four triangular holes in the bottom. Insert meat skewers or chop sticks through the box below the holes to serve as perches for the birds. Or take an old Javex bottle, cut a large hole near the neck. Hang the feeder the clothesline or the branch of a tree. You will be surprised at the results. When placing feeders on your property, try to keep them well enough away from trees and bushes to discourage squirrels and cats from getting into the feeder And it is important to remember that once you have started to feed birds you need to keep the feeders full so that food is available at all times. The birds come to rely on your feeding stations. For these birds, the food is like the furnace in your home: without fuel it goes cold and without food to generate heat for their bodies, birds will not survive the cold winter nights. The fourth meeting of the Naturalist Club was held October 14 with 14 members present. The election of the following officers took place. Chairman-Ken Carmichael; treas- Ross Benns, secty- Liz Henderson; program committee-George Pearson, Dick Seaton and David Dietlein. At this meeting it was decided to have the first ever Christmas bird count in Scugog. The exact date of the event and details will be included in my next column on Nature's Corner. We hope we are able to get many residents involved so that perhaps as many as 25 species can be recorded. On November 27, 28 and 29, the birding "event of the year" will take place at the International Centre in Toronto. The show features seminars, speakers and films, plus many booths and exhibits promoting everything a bird watcher could ever need. I hope to see you at this show as [ am one of the speakers. (Ken Carmichael is a resident of Scugog Township; an acclaimed wildlife photographer, avid naturalist and bird watcher. Ken is chairman of the Scugog Naturalist Club. 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