With summer behind us, our local birds have finished their breeding season, and the fledglings are striking out on their own. Many species are switching their diets from insects to high fat seeds and suets to help them get ready for wintering here or migrating south. That means it’s time to get your bird feeders cleaned up and back out in the yard. To prepare feeders for the season, you can run them through the dishwasher, or wash with boiling water and soap to get them ready. Regularly cleaning them this way throughout the season will help your birds stay healthy and avoid your feeder being a source for disease transmission.
Bird feeding helps sustain birds through the harshest winter days as well as provides exciting interactions with birds as you get to see beautiful cardinals, chickadees, nuthatches, goldfinch, titmice, finches and more bouncing around your feeding station every time you peek out your window. You’ll have hours of endless entertainment as you watch your favorite cardinals and goldfinches come to the feeder as well as see surprises like white-breasted nuthatches and fox sparrows.
Pickering Creek Audubon Center’s annual birdseed sale will be held from Oct 16th to the Nov 6th. Friends of the birds can order seed from Pickering during this time period. A large variety of seeds including black oil sunflower and thistle will be available as well as a variety of seed mixes and suet cakes. Different seeds and feeder types attract different types of birds. Our carefully selected seed provider provides a high quality seed, typically with less chaff and other debris than what you will find in seed purchased at big box retailers. This program is primarily designed to help people get interested in bird feeding, have a source for high quality seed and interact with fellow bird lovers at the birdseed social. Purchasers are welcome to make an additional donation to support the Center’s many programs. This year all payments will be made by credit card online. The largest order wins a free birdfeeder!
Order forms will be available beginning October 16th at https://pickeringcreek.org
Orders must be placed by November 6.
Seed pick up will be at our Third Annual Birdseed Social on Tuesday Nov 14th from 3:30 to 5:30pm at Pickering Creek. Come have a drink and snack on us, meet fellow bird lovers, and pick up your seed! We will have Pickering Creek staff onsite to answer any bird questions you might have.
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