Best Bird Houses

I really want to watch birds raise a family this year in a bird house. When do I put it up and do you have houses in stock? ~ Lansing, MichiganIt's never too early or too late to put up a bird house. If you listen, you’ve probably already noticed the excitement in the air. Every day the sun is rising a little earlier and...

Category › Question of the week

When birds make noise, it's not always with a song

The wings of the smallest hummingbirds can reach 100 beats per second during courtship displays. As their wings slice through the air, it produces a hum. The hummingbird gets its name from this sound.Pigeons and Mourning Doves use a wing whistlenoise to warn their flock about approaching enemies--the first example...

Category › Quick fun Facts

What is the smallest hawk in North America?

I don’t see this bird very often so it’s a treat when he showed up in the tree outside my window recently. A little larger than a BlueJay, the Sharp-shinned Hawk (Accipiter striatus) looks like a mini Cooper’s Hawk.Sharp-shinned Hawks are the smallest hawk in North America. The name Sharp-shinned comes from the long...

Category › Bird of the week

When do Northern Cardinals Nest?

I've had a steady colony of Cardinals coming to my feeder for the past six years. They live in the pines in my front yard and all spend time at the feeder in the back yard. Their number has grown from two pairs to three and now to four over these few years. Imagine my surprise that just now I looked out to see NINE pairs....

Category › Bird Basics

Photo Share: Singing Vole

Singing Vole (Microtus miurus) by Anne Morkill, at the Alaska Martime National Wildlife Refuge.This species gets its common name from its warning call, a high-pitched trill, usually given from the entrance of its burrow. Did you miss anything on the Wild Birds Unlimited blog this week? Weekly Recap: How ...

Category › Friday Photo

Happy Birthday Michigan: How the state got its name

On January 26, 1837, President Andrew Jackson signed a bill making Michigan the nation's 26th state. "Michigan" is believed to come from the from the French form of the Ojibwa word mishigami, meaning "great water" and referred originally to Lake Michigan itself. The Great Lakes account for one-fifth of the world's surface...

Category › Family Fun

Why are there more birds at the feeders in the summer?

I know you told me that birds don’t depend on my feeder to survive, but I was just wondering why I see the birds visit my feeder more often in the summer than the winter. To me it would seem winter would be the hardest time to find food naturally. ~ Linden, MichiganYear-Round FeedingMany people enjoy feeding songbirds...

Category › Nature up close

What seeds do wild birds eat?

Can you give a definitive answer as to what seeds wild birds will and will not eat at my feeder?When choosing a seed blend to feed wild birds I always make sure sunflower is the first ingredient. I also like seed blends with nuts. Sunflower seed is the favorite of most seed eating birds like cardinals, finches and titmice...

Category › Question of the week

Chapter 2: Forests of Ghumsar- Where Tigers once used to prowl

Continued from Chapter 1The Day BeginsBefore sun rose above the horizon, we had left for Kaliamba for a detailed bird study of the area. Bijaya bhaina was there with us for the last day of the trip. We wanted to reach pretty early so that maximum recordings could be done. I was so happy to see Gendu ready at the Guest...

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Chapter 1: Forests of Ghumsar- Where Tigers once used to prowl

On a winter morning of 1985, two forest guards bicycle down a road in the Ragada forests of Ghumsar North Forest Division near Bhanjanagar in South Odisha. Suddenly one of the Forest Guards, Mohanty who was riding in front stops his bicycle and other guard bangs his cycle into Mohanty’s. Mohanty had frozen with terror...

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Titmice Fun Facts

There are five species of titmice in North America: Black-crested Titmouse, Juniper Titmouse, Oak Titmouse, Bridled Titmouse, and Tufted Titmouse. The most widely distributed and only titmouse in mid-Michigan is the Tufted Titmouse. • The Bridled Titmouse is the only North American member of its family that appears...

Category › Quick fun Facts

Dark gray bird with white speckles

I have flocks of robins eating the fruit from my Mary Potter Crab trees. Mixed in with the robins, (seemingly a part of the flock), I see a bird that initially looked like a baby robin as it has the speckled look, but I knew it couldn't be that this time of year. These birds are a darkish gray, about the size of a robin...

Category › Bird of the week