The final days ...

The Bird House will close permanently by Tuesday, October 31, after 14 years in business. It has been an adventure—not only a learning experience but more importantly as an opportunity to meet many wonderful people.

I've enjoyed hearing your stories of birds and bird sightings and your attempts to outwit squirrels. We're shared observations about backyard visitors. I hope you've benefited from my tips on how to make your backyard bird habitat even more enjoyable. I will miss these discussions.

I am taking a well-deserved retirement. I'll probably continue to meet many of you in our travels. Maybe we can bring each other up to date on this great hobby and pastime we share!

For now, however, it's time for me to move on. Everything in the store must go at discount prices. Some merchandise remains but the final few items are disappearing quickly. The sales booth and the display walls already have been removed in preparation for the building's new tenant. The lease on the building expires on October 31.

The Bird House will be open from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Saturday. It will remain open on Monday and Tuesday, depending on whether the merchandise has run out. All sales are final, with no returns.

This blog will be shut down on November 5, so if you have any stories that you'd like to retain for future reference, please copy them now!

One question you're probably asking is where will you buy seed and suet now? (One of the principal companies that I used was an Amish-owned supplier in Ohio, but I can't recommend traveling that far!) I do have a few suggestions on places that offer seed closer to home. A few of these locations also sell suet, feeders, houses, baths or bird-related merchandise.

Moyer Products
113 E. Reliance Road, Souderton
The Bird House has sold Moyer's "Scarlett" brand seed since 2003 because of the superior quality. The company offers sunflower, safflower, Nyjer, white millet and other seed. It also is the source for seed mixes that you've become accustomed to, such as "Conservation," "Backyard Best," "Classic" and "Ultimate." You'll see an abundance of feeders and houses as well.

Neighbors Home & Garden Center
38 South Main Street, Hellertown
Neighbors offers two different sources of seed. Straight seed mixes such as sunflower and safflower can be found, along with mixes from Agway. Feeders and houses from Woodlink, Audubon and Perky Pet are available. In summer, Neighbors sells those popular clay-fired Burley Clay bird baths. One of the nice things about traveling to Neighbor's is that the Route 412 construction is finally completed!

Phillips Pet Supply Outlet
Bath Pike (Route 512) south of Bath
The store offers straight seed but check the ingredients on the mixes. Many of the mixes contain red milo, a filler that is ignored by backyard birds. You'll identify red milo by the reddish globe-like seed. The red in milo differs from the white millet which sparrows, Mourning Doves, juncos and other birds enjoy. Mixes may contain cracked corn. Some birds eat cracked corn but you are bound to see more squirrels than anything. The variety of feeders and houses is limited.

Lehigh Valley Home & Garden Center
(4220 Crackersport Road, located off Route 309 west of Allentown)
Primarily a garden and outdoor furniture distributor, the company does offer Lyric and Scott's bird seed and suet, as well as some feeders.

Big-box stores such as Lowe's, Home Depot and most grocery stores sell seed, seed mixes, suet, feeders and houses. However, the seed and suet is questionable, in part because the low turnover may make the product stale. (The Bird House turned over its seed every two weeks or so.) Another problem is that many seed blends are high in red milo. Thinking she is getting a bargain, a friend's neighbor buys grocery-store seed mixes. She now has a heap of reddish seed beneath her feeder. Not even the squirrels touch it.

I'm not endorsing one business over another—just telling you what is available so you can make your own selections based on price and priority.

Thanks once again to my loyal customers. Whether you've been a faithful customer for 14 years (as some people actually have!) or new visitors to the store, I appreciate your choosing me as your source for your backyard birding needs. 

Tips to remember

As The Bird House prepares to close its doors this month for retirement, we leave you with a few tips to keep in mind for the caring for backyard birds.

Bird Houses
Now is the ideal time to clean out houses, make repairs or add homes to your backyard. Putting up a number of houses will give different species a selection for breeding and rearing their young in the spring. In March or April, put out nesting material such as 8-inch lengths of string, yarn or raffia. Pet hair works well too. Never use dryer lint for nesting material. When the lint becomes wet, it creates an unstable nest that takes long to dry.

Keep feeders thoroughly clean

Feeders
Clean out feeders monthly during winter, and more often during the summer. Wet, clumpy seed can get moldy. No bird will want to eat that! Use a long bottle or seed brush to get rid of solid material. If you have a tube feeder, wash it carefully using a solution of 10 parts water to 1 part bleach. Then rinse thoroughly. Let dry before refilling. Tube feeders used to feed Nyjer seed to goldfinches deserve special attention. If Nyjer seed gets wet in rainstorms, the seed will cake and the birds will find food elsewhere. Platform and hopper-style feeders are a bit easier to clean. Still make sure there is no caked-on grit. Wash the feeder thoroughly and let dry before refilling. The weather remains a good time for a good clean. The temperatures are still relatively warm and many days are sunny, so the feeder should dry quickly.

Seed

Seed-eaters will find something on the menu

If you use just one type of seed, use black oil sunflower. It is high in protein and fat, and the thinner shell is easier for most birds to crack. Almost all songbirds love shelled sunflower seed—there is no work involved in opening the hull. If you want to attract the widest number of species, try a seed mix. The best kinds of seed mixes have black oil sunflower seed (50%), white millet (20%) and some shelled peanuts. Almost every bird will find something they will like. You can mix up the proportions depending on which birds you want to attract. For example, cardinals and House Finches will enjoy a bit of safflower seed in the mix. Experiment to see what works best. One word of caution: Never buy seed mixes that contain red milo. These seeds look like tiny reddish globes. Backyard birds don't eat red milo. Many big-box stores and grocery stores sell seed mixes that include red milo. The seed mix may seem much cheaper but for all it's worth, you might as well throw your money on the ground.

Red Milo

Hummingbird Havens
Clean your feeder every three to four days—each time you fill it. The high sugar content of the nectar can get cloudy and moldy quickly. The general rule for seeing hummingbirds is mid-April through the end of September.

Perfect Plantings 
Include vines, shrubs and trees that produce nectar, berries or nuts, or that attract insects. If you use the right vegetation, there will be something available for birds as a backyard buffet. Consult your nursery for the plants most favorable to birds. This is the ideal time to buy and plant shrubbery. Vendors are offering great discounts to sell off their inventory so they won't have to deal with it through the winter. Plant you bargains immediately. The plants will become dormant over the winter if properly protected from sub-Arctic blasts. When warm moist weather arrives in the spring, they will flourish.

Birds love a heated bath in winter

Splish Splash
The best magnet you can include in your backyard to attract birds is water! Water is essential for birds to drink and bathe. One of the biggest favors you can do is include a heated bird bath so there is a supply of water in the winter. When warm months arrive, simply unplug the bath. An alternative is to buy a heating element that is placed in the bath and attached to a source of electricity. (Fortunately we still have a few heating elements in stock at reduced prices.) Another feature that will bring birds to your yard is a "Water Wiggler"—a bowl-shaped battery-powered device that creates tiny waves of water that catch the birds' eye—just like tiny streams do. Another option are misters or tricklers. Any motion that Most birds prefer the bath to be filled with only 1 to 3 inches of water. If the bath comes with a deeper bowl, add a few flat rocks. Be sure to change the water often. During mosquito-breeding season, "mosquito dunks" can be used to kill the larvae without harming the birds. Finally, don't count on solar bird baths functioning during cold winter days. We've tried solar baths. They don't work in our climate. When it's a frigid night, the water freezes solid. Because the sun is so low in the sky, It takes most of the day to thaw the ice in the bath. By then, the sun begins to set and the water begins to freeze again. Think, too, of the number of cloudy days in the winter. There simply isn't enough sun to keep a bath free of ice on a daily basis.

Best insectivores

The year-round birds seen in our area sometimes vary their diet with seed but insects often are at the top of the menu. Sometimes birds such as cardinals and chickadees will eat insects and feed them to their young for the protein. Other birds that predominantly favor insects are absent during the colder months because there are few insects to be had.

Gray Catbird has snagged a caterpillar

Here's a short list of who's who among common insect eats (in no particular order).

Gray Catbirds eat ants, beetles, grasshoppers, midges, caterpillars and moths.

Chipping Sparrows eat insects and seed that has fallen onto the ground. You may see them picking insects off shrubs and trees.

Downy Woodpeckers are always on the move searching  for small bugs as they peck away bits of wood under which the insects lie.

Yellow Warblers have wonderful songs. Their favorite meals are caterpillars. They also eat moths, mosquitoes and beetles.

Northern Mockingbird with a morsel

Northern Mockingbirds eat beetles, earthworms, moths, butterflies, ants, bees, wasps and grasshoppers.

Ruby-throated Hummingbirds, in addition to sipping nectar from flowers, eat small spiders for necessary protein.

Baltimore Orioles are colorful migrants sometimes seen in backyards. Besides nectar and fruit, they eat man insect species including tent worms.

Wrens are regular backyard residents who eat mostly insects and spiders.

Nuthatches and Brown Creepers climb down and up trees searching for insects in the bark.

Native sparrows demonstrate a hop-front-scratch-back dance to loosen soil to locate insects.

Do you have a lawn service that sprays insects or shrubs? That may make your lawn look nicer but you'll be eliminating an excellent source of food for the birds—and thus see fewer of them.

Products and seed are flying off the shelf!

A reminder: The Bird House is closing on Tuesday, October 31 after 14 years in business. 

Seed is still available as long as it lasts but other products are dwindling as each day goes by. Dave received the last shipment of seed on Thursday, October 12. He has had his longest-running seed sale in the history of the store—six weeks long—as a thank-you to the many customers who have been so generous and loyal over the past 14 years. 

Seed and suet will available until October 31st or until supplies run out. 

Products such as hardware and feeders are on sale for up to 50 percent off. We are not able to accept special orders requests. Most fixtures are on sale. You might find them handy organizing your basement or garage. Many items already have been sold.

The only exception are the slat walls—those wood-colored horizontal walls that used to hang products for visibility's sake. Builders, hobbyists and homeowners who'd like to tidy up their basements can purchase the slat walls if they make arrangements by October 31.  The slat walls are avilable at $20 apiece. 

Bird symbolism

Bald Eagle

In many cultures around the world, birds are seen as a supernatural link between Heaven and Earth. In the Middle East and other part of Asia, birds symbolize immortality. In East Indian mythology, birds represent departed souls. In Christian art, birds often are depicted as saved souls.

Eagles represent power, resurrection and courage. They embody faith and inner reflection. In ancient Greek and Roman times, artists depicted a soaring eagle carrying a soul to Heaven.

Cranes are associated with long life, health, happiness, wisdom and good luck. In Asian culture, white cranes can travel to the heavens. In China, cranes flew with the gods to the "isle of the Immortals."

Sandhill Crane

The dove is regarded as the sign of peace and life. It was the bird Noah released after the flood in order to find land; the dove returned with an olive leaf, a sign of life and renewal. The Hebrew story acquired the meaning of peace during the Christian era. As Christian icons, the dove also symbolizes the Holy Spirit.

The hawk is represented as warlike, the opposite of the peace of the dove. However, treatment of the hawk as warlike is a secular and relatively recent term, entering the popular American culture during the 1800s.

In some societies, the falcon is a protective guardian and companion of hunters. In ancient Egypt, the falcon was associated with the Eye of Horus and the god Ra. Horus was believed to appear in the form of a falcon-headed god. He could see all because one eye was the sun and the other was the moon.

In dreams, owls represent wisdom, insight and virtue. However, the owl can also be an omen of death and darkness. An owl's hoot foretells future heartache and warms that deception or death lies ahead.

Nightingale

The nightingale, with its evening song, is the bird of love, sheltering secret lovers from prying eyes. Because it sings all night, it was once thought to not sleep at all. Legend tells of a reluctant shepherdess who kept postponing her wedding date. This caused the fiancée so many sleepless nights that he finally turned her into a nightingale to condemn her to a sleepless life.

The nightingale's song is cherished around the world and considered to be a good omen for poets, writers and singers.

The raven features prominently in another love story: a man's devotion the death of his beloved Lenore, as the poet Edgar Allen Poe tells the tale. Having entered the brooding man's chamber, the man asks the raven his name. "Nevermore," replies the raven to repeated demands, enraging the man. Poe leaves it unclear as to whether the raven knows what its word means or whether the bird gets pleasure out of the man's loss. The poet Homer and the Bible both refer to ravens, the former depicting the ability to erase memories and the latter suggesting a source of medicinal cure.

Peacock

Peacocks represent spring, birth, new growth, longevity and love. The peacock's beauty is welcome in temples, royal gardens and, according to one Muslim tradition, the Gates of Paradise. The eye patterns in the peacock's tail feathers represent the stars, universe, sun moon and "the vault of Heaven."

The sparrow is a symbol of rebirth, resurrection and the mother goddess. The long battle of Troy was forecast when nine sparrows, one for each year of war, were eaten by a snake. As a Christian symbol, the sparrow represents the concern of God for the least among His people. Sparrows are always under God's protection.

Annual seed sale continues until store closes

The Bird House's final seed sale is continuing until the store closes later this month. We'll continue offering 15 percent off on favorite seed and suet.

The Bird House is closing its doors after 14 years in business now that Dave has reached retirement age. In addition to seed and suet, you can find bargains of up to 50 percent off on certain merchandise. But hurry. Items are flying off the shelves (most of which, by the way, also are available for sale).

A shrinking selection of bird houses, bird feeders, all-weather bird baths, accessories, books, puzzles and gift-giving items remain available but if you wait, you may find that favorite item gone forever.

The store will close on October 31 (or perhaps sooner, depending on whether seed and merchandise run out). Sales are final, with no returns.

The Bird House has had seed sales twice a year but this sale is the longest in the store's history. It is a great way to stock up! We want to give customers a big thank-you for their patronage and friendship.

Lehigh Valley bird sightings for September 29

Bake Oven Knob in Lehigh County is the place to be at this time of year. Thousands of raptors have begun their annual migration south, and they use the ridge of the Blue Mountain as their guide. The topography of the ridge makes it easy to see the birds as they soar close to the mountain.

Broad-winged Hawk

Dave DeReamus, of the Eastern PA Birdline, compiled a list of birds seen at Bake Oven Knob and other locations in the Lehigh Valley for the period ended September 29. The Lehigh Valley Audubon Society sponsors the Eastern PA Birdline.

Bake Oven Knob, Lehigh County
Bald Eagle, 7 on September 14 and September 15; 8 on September 18; 17 on September 29.
Northern Goshawk, 1 on September 21.
Broad-winged Hawk, 1,627 on September 15; 2,604 on September 17; 1,476 on September 18.
Peregrine Falcon, 1 each on September 18, September 26 and September 28; 6 on September 29.

Upper Mount Bethel Township, Northampton County
(along National Park Drive)
Ruffed Grouse, 2 on September 10.

Jacobsburg State Park, Northampton County
Philadelphia Vireo, 1 on September 10.

Lower Nazareth Township, Northampton County
(at the Koch Toyota retention pond)
Stilt Sandpiper, 1 from September 14 to September 18.
Baird's Sandpiper, 1 on September 15.
Pectoral Sandpiper, 11 on September 18.

Philadelphia Vireo

Little Gap, Northampton County
Ruffed Grouse, 1 on September 20.
Red-headed Woodpecker, 1 on September 18 and September 20.
Olive-sided Flycatcher, 1 on September 13.
Philadelphia Vireo, 4 on September 13; 1 on September 17; 2 on September 20; 3 on September 21; 1 on September 22.
Orange-crowned Warbler, 1 on September 12.

Beltzville State Park, Carbon County
Great Cormorant, 1 on September 21.
Connecticut Warbler, 1 on September 13.

Green Lane Reservoir, Montgomery County
(at the Walt Road area)
Black-crowned Night-Heron, 1 on September 16.
Black Tern, 1 on September 16.

Black Tern

(at the Church Road area)
Caspian Tern, 2 on September 20.

Deep Creek/Knight Lake, Montgomery County
Sandhill Crane, 4 fly-bys on September 29.

State Game Lands 157, Bucks County
(on Haycock Mountain)
Red-headed Woodpecker, 3 on September 12 and September 13; 1 on September 21.

Lake Nockamixon, Bucks County
Philadelphia Vireo, 1 on September 13 and September 16.

Peace Valley Park, Bucks County
Yellow-bellied Flycatcher, 1 on September 12.

To report bird sightings to Dave DeReamus, send an e-mail to becard@rcn.com with the word "Birdline" in the subject heading.