April 2008

Your morning newspaper and coffee: now with birding!

Check out Jan's new column in the St. Cloud Times, appearing the first Tuesday of each month, Life section!
If you live in the Hutchinson area, you also may have noticed her column that appears every first Thursday of the month in the Hutchinson Leader. 

Spring has arrived!
(Kind of)

It may be cold, but many of our feathered friends are back in town!

Robins are back in abundance.  Recently, our phone has been ringing off the hook with the question: “What can I do for the poor robins? It’s so cold outside!” Robins are, as many of you know, primarily insect eaters, but not many bugs are out and about just yet.  You may notice the robins sitting still in your yard with their backs to the wind- conserving energy, waiting until there is more of a bug population to really start foraging.  Until that time, you can put apple halves out, water-soaked chopped raisins, or (if you’re especially kind) waxworms or mealworms.  Place these foods near the ground, where the robins prefer to feed.

What's around? Spring Birds are in Town!

Just to name a few: American robin, Eastern bluebird, yellow-rumped warbler, Eastern pheobe, common grackle, red wing blackbird, meadow lark, white crowned sparrow, white throated sparrow, fox sparrow, great egret, wood duck, great blue heron, mallards, double crested cormorant, ring billed gull, coot, pie billed grebe, northern shoveler, killdeer, canada goose, common loon, northern harrier, red shouldered hawk, red tailed hawk, turkey vulture, american kestrel.

Also, watch for the color change in year long residents- cardinals become redder, goldfinches become golder, etc!

Bloggin'

So, there's a lot of blogs out there, some commenting on headlines, or talking about personal lives. How about one about the birds, for the birds, and best of all, the birds 'round here? Check out our blog, at http://www.wildbirdfeeding.net/blog/.

As always, be sure to keep checking up on www.wildbirdfeeding.net for more updates.

- Jan and Katy of the WBC Waite Park, your local birding experts