All the beautiful birds that left us last fall to head south for the winter have started arriving back on Anarchist Mountain. You’ve probably already heard robins singing from the treetops, and observed the flitting of little brown and grey jobbies bee-bopping from branch to branch as they sort out where to set up shop or find food as they continue further north.
As we get ready to receive our winged friends, here are a few things to be mindful about.
- Wild birds don’t need bird seed. There are more than enough wild food sources available to keep them fat, healthy and happy. And not leaving feeders out all year ensures the birds don’t become dependent on feeders.
- If you did put up bird feeders during the winter, now is the time to take them down. Clean them with a 10:1 solution of water/bleach to kill bacteria and pathogens, scrub away any poop, and store the feeders somewhere dry and secure.
The bears will soon be waking from their winter slumber, and they will be very hungry. Bird seed is an easy source of fat and protein which, if they find it, will create a safety issue for you and the bear(s). Remember, habituated bears are dead bears. - Think about planting native flowering plants in your yard and garden that will attract pollinators and hummingbirds. Hummingbird feeders also attract bears so if you do put them up, keep them someplace high and inaccessible. Bears are surprisingly agile and able to ‘Cirque du Soleil’ their way up almost anything. And remember to change the sugar water in the feeders every two to three days and regularly clean them to prevent the spread of disease.
- Proactively remove nuisance and noxious weeds from your property. These plants will quickly crowd out beneficial native plants that are super important to native songbirds and other wildlife. Not to mention, dried and overgrown weedy areas can be a big fire hazard. Pulling or mowing invasive plants will give native ones a chance to establish.
OASSIS has lots of helpful information and how to identify and manage invasive species (https://www.oasiss.ca/).
- Having a clean water source in your yard will attract all kinds of birds – and other cool critters – throughout the spring, summer, and fall. Place a bird bath or water bowl somewhere close to a tree or shrubs so birds have a place to perch and seek safety from predators. If the bath is deep or slippery, place a rock in it so the birds can grab onto something. Be sure to clean the water regularly (especially during the hot summer) and keep the bath or bowl clean and free of poop and algae.
- Consider using bird-friendly window tape to help prevent lethal collisions. Many of our homes have huge windows so that we can enjoy the amazing views. The downside is that birds can’t see glass and randomly spaced window stickers applied more than 5 cm apart don’t work as birds think they can fly around them and collide with the glass (https://ebird.org/region/CA-BC-OS).
When a bird hits a window, it may seem okay or it might quickly recover from being stunned. However, most birds that strike a window will fly off and later die of internal bleeding or a brain injury. If you find a bird injured by a window strike, carefully pick it up and put it in a shoebox with a towel in a warm, dark place. DO NOT ATTEMPT TO GIVE IT FOOD OR WATER. Contact our local wildlife rescue as they will be able to help and ensure the bird gets the proper care.
Feather Friendly makes an excellent product that significantly reduces window strikes but also maintains the view into and out of your windows. And, the window markers are super easy to install (https://www.featherfriendly.com/).
- Put up bird boxes around your property. Songbirds like bluebirds, wrens, chickadees and white and red-breasted nuthatches prefer boxes placed five to seven feet off the ground, with the hole facing east-southeast. The box shouldn’t have a perch as this just provides easier access for predators – as will an access hole that is too big.
- As excited as we all are to get a start on spring cleanup, try to delay cleaning up flowerbeds and gardens and raking up pine needles and leaves until mid-April as this will give insects like bees, beetles, spiders, butterflies and moths that have overwintered under leaves and other debris a chance to safely emerge. These bugs are an important food source for native songbirds. The debris is also a safe place for wood frogs to overnight until temperatures are consistently above zero.
- Keep pet cats indoors. If they go outside, keep them on a lead. Domestic cats kill 100 million birds in Canada every year. Combine this number with the millions of birds that die in window strikes, and the toll is pretty staggering. Also, letting your cat roam outdoors puts it at risk of predation by coyotes, wild cats, hawks and eagles or being hit by a vehicle.
Now, get out there with your binoculars and enjoy the beauty of our winged friends. Below are a few links to websites with great information about birds commonly seen in the south Okanagan.
https://www.birdscanada.org/
https://inaturalist.ca/guides/8863
https://southokanagannature.com/galleries/birds-sparrow-swallows/
https://ebird.org/region/CA-BC-OS
If you have any ideas for future Who’s Who in the Wild articles, please let us know at wildlife@amfrs.ca.
Selena Cole
Vice President & Wildlife Safety Program Lead
Anarchist Mountain Fire Rescue Society