Friday, April 22, 2011

Why Spring is my favorite season...

Because the Goldfinches turn yellow...

American Goldfinch molting
Molting American Goldfinch male


And some of my favorite species return...

Blue-winged Teal
Blue-winged Teal


Caspian Terns
Caspian Terns


Forster's Tern
Forster's Tern


Meadowlarks are everywhere proclaiming "It's the Spring of the year!"...

Eastern Meadowlark
Eastern Meadowlark

And Blue-gray Gnatcatchers are back...

Blue-gray Gnatcatcher
Blue-gray Gnatcatcher

And love is in the air...

Blue-winged Teal pair
Blue-winged Teal pair



Canada Goose with goslings
Canada Goose with goslings

And even the "Winter species" look cool...

Far away Common Loon
Common Loon


Bonaparte's Gull
Bonaparte's Gull

And butterflies and other insects add color to the dull landscape...

Black Swallowtail
Black Swallowtail Butterfly


Six-spotted Tiger Beetle
Six-spotted Tiger Beetle

And wildflowers are in bloom...

White Trout Lily
White Trout Lilly


Dutchman's Breeches
Dutchman's Breeches

And first of season birds abound...

Purple Martin
Purple Martin


Spotted Sandpiper
Spotted Sandpiper in the setting sun



Hope everyone get outside on this Earth Day to enjoy our beautiful planet!



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Monday, April 11, 2011

Wild Birds Unlimited's Jim's Birdacious® Treats Combo Pack Review

I was asked by Wild Birds Unlimited (WBU) to review a product of my choice from their site. Since I have heard good things about this product called Jim's Birdacious® Bark Butter® , I decided to choose the Jim's Birdacious® Treats Combo Pack.

At the end of this review is a chance to win free products from WBU, so you will want to take advantage of that!

The combo pack contained one tub of Original Bark Butter, a tub of Bugberry Blend Bark Butter, a mixed nut blend (Nutty for Nuts), a chipped sunflower seed, berry and meal worm mix blend (Bugberry Blend) and a tub of suet type nuggets (Bugberry Blend Nuggets).

The first of the non-suet like products that I tried from the Combo Pack was the mixed nut blend. Now, I have put out mixed nuts that I have purchased from the grocery store before, but with only minimum results. That being said, I was very surprised at the variety of birds that the Nutty for Nuts blend brought in. This blend was very popular with Northern Cardinals, which I would not have expected. But I think I was most surprised to see Red-winged Blackbirds chowing down on it.

The Bugberry (non-seut) Blend was also very popular. I presented it in a tray feeder that would allow for the most diversity of species. The Pine Siskins loved it! Many people ask me if this species feeds on anything but Nyjer seed, well I now know that they love Jim's Birdacious® BugBerry™ Blend. The Bugberry Blend Nuggets only lasted a few hours, as the Chickadees, Downy Woodpeckers, and Tufted Titmouse cleared them out fast.

I will have to say that Jim's Birdacious® Bark Butter® lived up to its reputation. This is the product that made me choose the Combo Pack. Both varieties were very popular with the woodpeckers.

Female Red-bellied Woodpecker
Female Red-bellied Woodpecker chowing on Bark Butter.

I usually only rarely see Pileated Woodpeckers in the yard. So imagine my surprise when I pull in the driveway to see a Pileated fly from the backyard right over the car! The Pileated Woodpecker visited for about three days and preferred that the Bark Butter be spread on the trunk of a tree.

Male Downy Woodpecker
Male Downy Woodpecker on Bark Butter.


Yummy Jim's Birdacious® Bark Butter® , need some more!

Male Downy Woodpecker


The American Robins loved the Bark Butter. This American Robin was feeding on the bits of Bark Butter that was dropped by the woodpeckers.

American Robin


Here is a complete list of species that the chowed down on the Jim's Birdacious® Treats Combo Pack :

Carolina Chickadee
Tufted Titmouse
White-breasted Nuthatch
Northern Cardinal
Red-winged Blackbird
Downy Woodpecker
Hairy Woodpecker
Red-bellied Woodpecker
Pileated Woodpecker
Blue Jay
American Robin
Pine Siskin

None of the products in this combo pack lasted more than a few days, so I would highly recommend all of these products!

You might also want to try these other products from Wild Birds Unlimited:

You may want to keep up with new products as well as get bird feeding tips by subscribing to the Wild Birds Unlimited Newsletter. You can also find them on their Facebook page.

Also, for a chance to win any product of your choice of up to a $50 value from the Wild Birds Unlimited website, simply reply to this post in the comments stating what product you like or think you would like to try from WBU. This giveaway will be open till Monday, April 25th, 2011 at which time I will pick a winning commenter at random by putting all the names in a box.


***I had put all the names in a bowl with a lid and shook them up. I then had my mother pick a winning name at random.


And the Winner is...

Dawn

Thanks to all readers who participated and good birding!