Birds are animals hardwired for flight. Though some of them, like penguins, have lost the capability to fly, several kinds are able to run, jump, swim, and dive. Every inch of a bird’s physical make-up is fashioned to induce lift; hence airplane wings are designed after bird wings. Known to be the closest relative of the dinosaurs that lived in the Jurassic period around 160 million years ago, the largest of these winged creatures is the ostrich, which can grow to a towering nine feet; while the smallest is the long bee hummingbird which is cute at only two inches. History shows us birds that were depicted on cave walls and were valuable symbols for ancient civilizations such as Egypt,...
That’s Interesting… Did You Know? 1. A bird’s lungs are much more complicated and efficient and take up more space than those of mammals, such as humans. A human’s lungs compose about 1/20 of its body. A bird’s takes up 1/5. 2. Owls cannot swivel their eyes. Instead they move their heads completely around to see straight behind them. They live on every continent except Australia. Soft fringes on their wings make flight essentially silent. 3. Many birds such as starlings, sing notes too high for humans to hear. 4. The type of diet a bird eats in the wild is directly related to the shape of the bird’s beak. 5. The fastest flying bird in a dive is the...
The ruby throated hummingbirds as harbingers of changing seasons are now in migration mode flying south. The first hummingbirds to leave, usually at the end of July / early August, are the adult males followed by the females and the immature hummingbirds two to four weeks later. Hummingbirds do not migrate in flocks but chose to make the long journey on their own. For many, the summer and winter homes are more than 2,000 miles apart. Some hummingbirds fly straight across the Gulf of Mexico while others follow the western shore through Texas and Mexico. While most songbirds and some other kinds of birds migrate mainly at night, hummingbirds travel mostly in the daytime, flying fairly low—taking advantage of the...
You have picked up a bag of Mill Creek Seed Co.’s bird seed from Bird House Nature Company, filled your favourite feeders and while waiting for visitors you are stopped in your tracks with a bird call or song that you are not familiar with. There is an app to assist you in your curiousity. In this email, we will explore one of the many bird identification apps. While reviewing choices, we found one app that kept rising to the top of reviews for IOS and Android users. It is the Merlin Bird ID app created by Cornell University. The app has been known for identifying bird types. The latest version now includes identifying bird sounds along with the bird types....
A reliable known source for birds can make a difference in the amount of visitors you have to your feeders. Birds need water for two reasons: drinking and preening. Water helps keep a bird's body cool both from the inside and outside. Water baths can also remove dust, loose feathers, parasites and other debris from a bird's plumage. If you have or are considering a bird bath for your backyard visitors here are some tips: Shallow is Better:* Keep a level of water in your bird bath to a maximum of 2” in the centre of the bird bath * perfect atmosphere for songbirds to wade in and splash about* If a bird bath basin is deep, place a layer...
