National Bird Day
Celebrate - National Bird Day - January 5 - 2017
National Bird Day is celebrated on January 5th, it is the time to remember that in many places in the world birds cannot survive without our help.
First, let's help to take some of the confusion around a number of distinctly different "bird" days in the USA.
Bird Day is always May 4th.
On May 4, 1894, Bird Day was first observed at the initiative of Charles Almanzo Babcock, superintendent of schools in Oil City, Pennsylvania.
Bird Day is the oldest of the days set aside to recognize birds.
According to the U.S. Library of Congress, Bird Day was first observed on May 4, 1894.
By 1910, Bird Day was widely celebrated, often in conjunction with Arbor Day.
International Migratory Bird Day observed on the second Saturday in May, celebrates the incredible journey that migratory birds take each year.
National Bird Day is celebrated on January 5th
National Bird Day was established by bird activists.
It calls upon people to recognize the plight of captive birds.
It also draws attention to the exploitation of birds in the U.S. pet industry.
2012 was the year when Born Free USA, a leader in animal welfare and wildlife conservation, shines a spotlight on issues critical to the protection and survival of birds.
2016 is nearly here, what can we do to help?
A day to reflect on how we treat our birds on National Bird Day 2016
Bird Feeding in Winter
Many Woodpecker Species are Threatened - Ways to help woodpeckers survive.
Woodpeckers
Bird watching has been a favorite pastime for centuries. It can be enjoyed anywhere.
Why not in your own backyard?
There are three requirements for success in attracting birds to your yard and feeders.
These three necessary ingredients for success are food, water, and shelter.
While everyone can put out bird feeders, you as a gardener can grow natural food that will be the first stop for birds every time.
Attracting birds to your gardens is a natural way, with the right plants, your yard will soon be filled with birds.
Many woodpecker species are threatened or endangered due to loss of habitat or habitat fragmentation.
The diet of woodpeckers consists mainly of insects and their grubs taken from living and dead trees.
This photo of a woodpecker feeding is what you can do to help these birds survive a harsh winter.
Purchase woodpecker seed formulas, black oil sunflower seeds, beef suet logs or cakes, berries, grapes, cherries, peanuts, acorns, almonds, cashews and dehydrated insects, which are found at a pet supply store.
Design a garden landscape that includes canopy trees, flowering or ornamental trees, evergreens, bushes, shrubs, hedges, grasses, and annual and perennial flowers.
Creating areas with a diverse selection of nesting material and places for red-bellied woodpeckers to build their homes provides shelter and protection from predators.
It is illegal to keep woodpeckers as pets, but that doesn't mean that we can't do something to help those birds in the cold winter.
Woodpeckers are wild birds and their populations are rapidly dwindling, I think we should all be able to help by putting out bird feeders, with a seed formula in them.
How to Attract Woodpeckers by Wild Birds Unlimited mid-Michigan
Did You Know?
There are more than 200 species of woodpeckers worldwide.
A woodpecker can peck up to 16 times per second.
American Robin - They are the state bird of Connecticut, Michigan and Wisconsin.
American Robin
American Robins are a focal species for the Celebrate Urban Birds! project.
Would you like to help?
Conduct a 10-minute count and record whether or not you see robins.
Count birds for Project FeederWatch to help track the movements of numbers of robins and other birds in winter.
Cool Facts
An American Robin can produce three successful broods in one year.
On average, though, only 40 percent of nests successfully produce young.
Only 25 percent of those fledged young survive to November.
From that point on, about half of the robins alive in any year will make it to the next.
Despite the fact that a lucky robin can live to be 14 years old, the entire population turns over on average every six years.
Cardinal
Northern Cardinal
The northern cardinal is so well loved that it has been named the official bird of no fewer than seven U.S. states.
Cardinals, also called "redbirds," do not migrate and have traditionally been more common in warmer climes such as the U.S. southeast.
However, in recent decades they have expanded their common range north through the United States and even into Canada.
This population growth may be due to an increase in winter birdfeeders and to the bird's ability to adapt to parks and suburban human habitats.
Northern Cardinals are preyed upon by a wide variety of predators native to North America, including Cooper's hawks, loggerhead shrikes, northern shrikes, eastern gray squirrels, long-eared owls and eastern screech owls.
Predators of chicks and eggs include milk snakes, coluber constrictors, blue jays, fox squirrels, and eastern chipmunks.
Do you want to know what your state birds is? - Check it out below.
State: Bird:
Alabama: Yellow Hammer
Alaska: Willow Ptarmigan
Check it out here to find out what your State Bird is.
Do you know the United States Bird?
Of course, it's the Bald Eagle.
Give It A Go
There is no right or wrong way to feed the birds.
Plant some flowers or vegetables.
Put out a bird feeder. Or, just spread some seed on a picnic table or your deck.
As long as you are having fun and the birds come to visit, you're doing it right!
© 2012 Elsie Hagley
