by Vern Norbury

(Updated June 5, 2000)
For seniors, as with all who feed wild birds, there are problems. An ongoing one is birds flying into windows and either killing themselves or leaving them stunned and vulnerable to predators. Of course it is not only birds which we are feeding that do this as we found out on one occassion.

Returning from a walk we found our living room covered in broken glass, a hole over 12 inches in diameter in our window and , lieing dead at the foot of the bookcase lined wall 27 feet from the window, a ruffed grouse Why the bird had chosen to crash through what is commonly called a picture window we can only speculate but it was a spectacular demise.

Returning to feeder birds and the reasons for for their flying into windows, the reasons appear to be as numerous as the birds that do it.

Sometimes it is an attack by a predator such as a hawk sending them into blind, panic stricken flight that is responsible. At other times there seems to be no apparent reason. Apparent to us, that is. Flock feeders have an automatic defense response which causes them to suddenly fly all together . In the case of some, like Redwinged Blackbirds this sudden fkight of a large number of birds with the resulting flashing of the red epaulets of the males prevents a hawk from focusing on a single bird to make it's kill.

Silouhettes of hawks placed on windows have, in my experience, little effect. Short of hanging netting over the window or placing the feeders a long way away there seems little one can do.

This leaves us with the need to try and save the victims.The best method I have found is as follows.

Prepare a small box, a shoe box is ideal, by making a few holes in the lid for ventilation and placing a cloth pad in the bottom. Do not use cotton wool as the birds claws will get entangled in it.

Then when you have a bird which is unconcious or stunned from crashing into your window, pick it up carefully and place it in the box. Leave the box in a warm, quiet place for at least 1/2 hour. After the time has elapsed take the box outside and remove the lid. Almost always the bird will have recovered and will fly away.

I estimate that we have had a better than 90% success rate with this method. It gives one a good feeling to see a bird which may have looked fatally injured or even dead fly away. Broken wings or necks are, of course, a different matter but they are rare occurencies.

Happy birding, Vern.

Birdwatching, or as it is now known, Birding, is one of the fastest growing hobbies in our society. However, with the passing of the years, some of us can no longer go on hikes and take part in bird counts or travel to exotic places to lengthen our life list.

The answer may be to initiate a wild bird feeding program which will bring the birds to us and enable us to enjoy some of natures most delightful creatures at first hand.All one needs is a window looking out on an open area which can be quite small, a table and chair where one may sit and observe and a means of hanging up a couple of feeders and, if possile a small ground area on which to scatter food for ground feeding species.

To this we should add a good bird identification book, a pair of binoculars {in the low to medium price range will do} and a note book in which to keep a record of sightings, dates, weather conditions, unusual ocurrences and any other info the individual birder deems relevant.

Here in the Cariboo there we have a large number of bird species which will come to feeders.When we moved into 100 Mile from Hawkns Lake last fall we took up residence in a mobile home park where the extent of activity involving birds appeared to be a humming bird feeder which had not been taken down and a seed feeder which was not in use.We put up a seed feeder and a 'bird pudding' feeder in October and awaited results.

At first nothing happened. Then on Christmas Day,{what a great present}, they came. Upwards of a dozen Red Polls and Hoary Red Polls, a couple of Mountain Chickadees, the same number of Black Capped Chickadees and a Red Breasted Nuthatch arrived and began feeding. Since then we have had, to date, a total of 20 species at our feeders.True it was not nearly the number of species of of individuals as we had had at Hawkins Lake but we felt we had made a reasonable start.

Here in the Cariboo the years can be divided into two distinct parts when we are dealing with bird feeding. Starting in early spring we have the arrival of migrants to add to the numbers of year round residents that come to our feeders. After a while things settle down Some migrants stay only a short while but others remain and soon everyone has a nest and family. I have known some people to say that with the advent of spring there is plenty of naturally occuring food available so there is no longer a need to continue stocking our feeders. However, with young to feed our guests can do with any help we can give them. Also, this one of the most rewarding times of the year for us for we may have the pleasure of seeing a Hairy Woodpecker bring his son or daughter to your site and alternately feed the youngster or demonstrate to it how to get beakfuls of bird pudding from the supply you have provided. Or perhaps you may see three or four young Red Breasted Nuthatches all in a row and all proclaiming , "I'm hungry, Mom!" while their parents work overtime to satisfy the demands of their family.

So it goes until autumn sends the migrants and their families south and the permanent residents have your feeders to themselves. This is also the time when you can begin participating in Project Feederwatch, an international program of data collecting which can make your winter watching even more interesting. In my next page on the internet I will give details of Feederwatch and also types of feeders and foods.

Happy Birding,
Vern