Cardinals, chickadees, doves, jays, juncos, nuthatches, titmice and woodpeckers will visit a feeder stocked with sunflower kernels.
Packaged in a consumer friendly clear poly bag, light enough for easy carrying.
Contains: 100% Black Oil Sunflower kernels No shells and therefore no waste.
The Blue Jay (Cyanocitta cristata) is a showy and inquisitive bird often found at the edge of mixed forests, woodlands and residential areas if they are well treed Both males and females are similar in plumage and size, measuring approximately 25-30 cm long with a wingspan of 40 cm and a body mass of 70-100 g. The Blue Jay has a long, graduated tail and a head crests. Markings include various shades of blue on the back with wings and tail marked with black bars and a black necklace and eye-line. The belly is light grey to white. Juveniles are similar to adults with the exception of the blue areas that are slightly greyer and the black areas are slightly browner. The Blue Jay is unmistakable in appearance and is unlikely to be confused with and other species with the exception of the Stellar’s Jay which is similar in size but is dark blue-grey on its belly and lacks white on its wings and tail.
The Jay is an omnivore therefore it eats nuts, seeds, soft fruit and berries as well as insects and small vertebrates. Blue Jays are quick to take human food such as nuts, bread and dog food. Generally, Jays will be seen picking food from the ground, trees and shrubs or platform bird feeders. Additionally, these birds will catch insects from the air.
Reference: Tarvin, Keith A. and Glen E. Woolfenden. 1999. Blue Jay (Cyanocitta cristata), The Birds of North America Online (A. Poole, Ed.). Ithaca: Cornell Lab of Ornithology; Retrieved from the Birds of North America Online: http://bna.birds.cornell.edu/bna/species/469
doi:10.2173/bna.469
Photo Credit: © 2008 Nick Saunders. Photos may not be used without written permission from Nick Saunders. All Rights Reserved. www.saskbirder.com
The cardinal is a beautiful, well-loved bird that is a blessing to have visit your feeder. These birds are 20-25 cm long with a wingspan of 30 cm and a body mass of 42-48 g. The male is a bright red while the female is primarily grayish, brown. Both sexes have a black facemask and a prominent crest and orange bill.
These birds can be spotted in shrubby woodland edges and in some cases forest interiors and urban districts throughout eastern and central North America from southern Canada into Mexico and Central America. In recent years these birds have been spotted further north due in part to the provision of bird feeders changing habitat and increasingly moderate temperatures.
Cardinals are primarily vegetarian feeding on nuts, seeds and fruit. They can be found foraging the ground for wild seeds but since they are opportunistic feeders they will readily feed from bird feeders with appropriate bird food.
Reference: Halkin, Sylvia L. and Susan U. Linville. 1999. Northern Cardinal (Cardinalis cardinalis), The Birds of North America Online (A. Poole, Ed.). Ithaca: Cornell Lab of Ornithology; Retrieved from the Birds of North America Online: http://bna.birds.cornell.edu/bna/species/440
doi:10.2173/bna.440
Although there are numerous Chickadees, the Black-capped Chickadee is the most common throughout North America and therefore the focus of this article. These cute, curious and tame birds are 12 to 15 cm long with a wingspan of 20 cm and a body mass of 10-14 g. Both males and females are similar in appearance with a solid black cap and bib, white cheeks, gray back, tan flanks and dark gray wings and tail.
These birds are common to woodlands, parks or any place with sufficient foliage to support adequate food and shelter. They can be found from coast to coast of most of Canada and the northern two thirds of the United States.
Chickadees eat both animals and plants, which they glean from bark, twigs and feeders. They can often be seen clinging to a tree or a feeder to get their food but will rarely be seen foraging on the ground. Interestingly, these birds rarely eat their food where they acquired it but rather carry it off to eat it elsewhere. Since these birds are so tame, they can frequently be spotted on backyard feeders or may even feed from an outstretched hand if you have enough patience.
Reference: Smith, Susan M. 1993. Black-capped Chickadee (Poecile atricapillus), The Birds of North America Online (A. Poole, Ed.). Ithaca: Cornell Lab of Ornithology; Retrieved from the Birds of North America Online: http://bna.birds.cornell.edu/bna/species/039
doi:10.2173/bna.39
Photo Credit: © 2008 Nick Saunders. Photos may not be used without written permission from Nick Saunders. All Rights Reserved. www.saskbirder.com
These birds are very common, flourishing in large cities to remote deserts but rarely seen in dense forests. There are numerous species of doves but this article focuses on the Mourning Dove. Doves can be spotted from the southern half of central Canada, throughout the Unites States from coast to coast to Mexico. These streamlined birds are 22-35 cm long with a wingspan of 45 cm and a body mass of approximately 120 g. Both males and females are a grayish blue or grayish brown with the exception of black spots on the wings and behind the eye and black-bordered white tips on the tail.
Doves are opportunistic feeders that primarily feed on grains and seeds. These birds are lazy feeders that avoid foraging or searching for food amongst litter or other inedible objects. They feed from the ground almost exclusively with the exception of other flat surfaces such as platform feeders.
Reference: Otis, David L., John H. Schulz, David Miller, R. E. Mirarchi and T. S. Baskett. 2008. Mourning Dove (Zenaida macroura), The Birds of North America Online (A. Poole, Ed.). Ithaca: Cornell Lab of Ornithology; Retrieved from the Birds of North America Online: http://bna.birds.cornell.edu/bna/species/117
doi:10.2173/bna.117
The Dark-eyed Junco is a familiar bird often called the “Snowbird.” It is a small bird with a length of 14.5-1605 cm, a wingspan of approximately 23 cm and a body mass of 18-22 g. These birds show dramatic geographical variation in size and colouring but typically its plumage is characterized by white outer tail-feathers that flash when the bird takes flight and by a gray or blackish upper body and throat that contrast with its whitish breast and belly. Sexes are similar but in some subspecies that females are lighter in colour.
These birds are often found in suburbs (especially at feeders), at edges of parks and similar landscaped areas, around farms, and along rural roadsides and stream edges across the continent from northern Alaska to northern Mexico.
These birds are mostly vegetarian preferring small seeds but sometimes consuming fruit and grains. Most food is acquired by ground-foraging and can often be seen hunting for food under backyard bird feeders.
Reference: Nolan, Jr., V., E. D. Ketterson, D. A. Cristol, C. M. Rogers, E. D. Clotfelter, R. C. Titus, S. J. Schoech and E. Snajdr. 2002. Dark-eyed Junco (Junco hyemalis), The Birds of North America Online (A. Poole, Ed.). Ithaca: Cornell Lab of Ornithology; Retrieved from the Birds of North America Online: http://bna.birds.cornell.edu/bna/species/716
doi:10.2173/bna.716
Photo Credit: © 2008 Nick Saunders. Photos may not be used without written permission from Nick Saunders. All Rights Reserved. www.saskbirder.com
The White-breasted Nuthatch and the Red-bellied Nuthatch (Canadian Nuthatch) are both common birds to Canada and northern United States. Both birds are small measuring between 11-14 cm long with a wingspan of 21-28 cm and a body weight of 10-21 g. In both species males and females are similar in appearance with the female being slightly paler in colour. The white-breasted Nuthatch is characterized by a dark crown, white face and breast, bluish gray back and wing that have white edging. Under the tail and on the sides the plumage is rusty coloured. The Red-breasted Nuthatch is similar to the White-breasted Nuthatch but has a characteristic red belly and a black stripe extending from the base of the bill through the eye to the neck. Both species have the characteristic long bill, upturned.
Nuthatches are common resident of deciduous forests and woodlands in North America. They generally live in pairs in permanent territories throughout the year.
These birds are omnivorous eating both insects and plant matter with a preference for high oil-content nuts. Nuthatches characteristically walk head downward on large branches and trunks, probing crevices in bark for its seed and insect prey. It also uses such crevices to hold fast large seeds and nuts, which this bird then ‘hacks’ open with its bill. The name “nuthatch” is presumably derived from this behavior. These birds regularly visit feeders during fall and winter, a time of year when pairs hoard food in large amounts, dispersing it throughout their territory and using each site to cache only one item. These birds prefer to feed from nut feeders stocked with high quality nuts and fruit.
Reference: Grubb, Jr., T. C. and V. V. Pravosudov. 2008. White-breasted Nuthatch (Sitta carolinensis), The Birds of North America Online (A. Poole, Ed.). Ithaca: Cornell Lab of Ornithology; Retrieved from the Birds of North America Online: http://bna.birds.cornell.edu/bna/species/054
doi:10.2173/bna.54
Photo Credit: © 2008 Nick Saunders. Photos may not be used without written permission from Nick Saunders. All Rights Reserved. www.saskbirder.com
Titmice are cheerful birds with a number of species. They are a small bird measuring approximately 15 cm in length and having a wingspan of 24 cm and a body weight of 10.5-21 g. All titmice have a crest and are primarily grey. In general, the upper parts are dark gray, while the belly is lighter gray to white.
These birds are regular inhabitants of forests in central to southern United States. They also populate orchards, parks and suburban areas.
Dependant upon the species, titmice will feed either exclusively on insects or on a combination of insects and seeds, nuts and fruit. Titmice hoard food in fall and winter and can be seen caching sunflower seeds taken from a feeder: the birds stored the seeds within 40 m of the feeder and took only one seed per trip. This makes this bird an interesting guest for any backyard feeder.
Reference: Grubb, Jr, T. C. and V. V. Pravasudov. 1994. Tufted Titmouse (Baeolophus bicolor), The Birds of North America Online (A. Poole, Ed.). Ithaca: Cornell Lab of Ornithology; Retrieved from the Birds of North America Online: http://bna.birds.cornell.edu/bna/species/086
doi:10.2173/bna.86
Although there are numerous woodpecker species, the focus of this article is the Downy Woodpecker. This is the smallest woodpecker with a length of 14.5–17.0 cm, a wingspan of 30 cm and a body weight of 21-28 g. Like the majority of woodpeckers the Downy Woodpecker is black-and-white-checked. They have largely black upperparts with white stripes on the head above and below the black ear-coverts, white spots on wing-feathers and white along the center of back. The tail is black down the centre, becoming white laterally and with white areas barred black. The under parts are unmarked and vary geographically from white in most areas to grayish white in the Pacific Northwest. Sexes are alike, but male has a red patch on the nape of the neck.
The Downy Woodpecker is one of the most widespread of North American woodpeckers and is a year-round resident coast to coast; from the tree line in Canada and Alaska to southern Florida and the meager riparian forests of southern California. It is generally present in open, deciduous, woodlands throughout its range. It is also often seen in orchards and wooded, human-modified habitats such as urban and suburban parks and residential areas. It will venture into open areas where it sometimes nests in cavities in fence posts and feeds on arthropods found in tall weeds in vacant lots and fencerows.
The diet of this bird consists of insects, fruit, seeds and some plant tissue. It is particularly fond of mullein stalks where it can probe for insects. Since it is a relatively tame bird, it will feed at feeders specifically designed to hold nuts.
Reference: Jackson, Jerome A. and Henri R. Ouellet. 2002. Downy Woodpecker (Picoides pubescens), The Birds of North America Online (A. Poole, Ed.). Ithaca: Cornell Lab of Ornithology; Retrieved from the Birds of North America Online: http://bna.birds.cornell.edu/bna/species/613
doi:10.2173/bna.613
Photo Credit: © 2008 Nick Saunders. Photos may not be used without written permission from Nick Saunders. All Rights Reserved. www.saskbirder.com