Feeding birds during the winter months.

Birds depend on us humans to help them survive winter, especially during periods of lots of snow. Don't forget to put out plenty of food so they can keep up their strength and body heat. Bird feeders, putting food on the ground are both good options. Suet, even peanut butter on a pine cone will help them maintain their weight during the cold season.

Remember that February is Bird Feeding month!

FEBRUARY IS NATIONAL BIRD FEEDING MONTH!

Don't forget to feed the birds in your backyard. They can bring you such joy on a dreary day, or any day!

"Many people wonder what time of year to start feeding. if you enjoy bird feeding year-round, any month will do. If you'd prefer to feed only in the winter, you should start late summer or autumn, before the onset of the winter. This way, you'll entice birds to build your feeder into their feeding routines. Come spring, should you wish to discontinue feeding, wait until you've noticed a drop-off in the number of birds coming, and the amount of foood consumer, before tapering off."

The Great Backyard Bird Count is also this month: February 12-15th. Go to this website for more information. www.birdsource.org/gbbc

Excerpts taken from Enjoying Birdfeeding more by Julie Zickefoose. a special publication from BirdWatcher's Digest. All of these great booklets can be purchased directly on our website at www.shopidentiflyer.com

For Lovers of all Raptors

I wanted to recommend a great website that is also a non-profit dedicated to helping the Raptor population in Georgia. http://www.hawktalk.org/ is totally funded by caring individuals who love birds and hate to think of any of them suffering needlessly. She has a great blog that is fun to read and educates readers all about the raptors that she rescues. Great educational material for kids! For lovers of the Birdsong Identiflyer, we have 3 great songcards dedicated just for Raptors!. Raptors 1-Owls, Raptors 2-Hawks, Raptors 3-Falcons. These songcards are compatible with both the Identiflyer and the Singing Alarm Clock. How would you like to wake up to singing birds as opposed to an obnoxious buzzer? www.identiflyer.com

Birdbaths in Winter

Birds need water. Clean feathers are warm feathers. If birds cannot get water from your yard, they will find it elsewhere. Typical urban sources of winter include snowmelt puddles in the street and roof gutters. Whether it's in a garden water feature or a simple birdbath, keep water unfrozen any of these ways:

• A water pump that circulates the water
• An air pump that vigorously aerates the water
• A submersible water heater
• If you choose a submersible heater, use only a model with a thermostat that will turn the heater off when the water heats up sufficiently. They cost more but are much cheaper and far safer to operate. Make sure you plug your heater into a grounded outdoor plug with a
• ground fault interrupter to avoid electric shock
• Avoid metal birdbath components to prevent wet feathers and toes from freezing to them.

(These excerpts were obtained from The Backyard Bird Watcher's Answer Guide published by Bird Watcher's Digest. You can order this and many other great booklets on our website at: www.identiflyer.com