SPRING IS A GREAT TIME TO PLAN AND INSTALL A BIRD FEEDING POLE SYSTEM. Here at All Seasons Wild Bird Store, we carry Erva Pole Systems because they’ve been manufacturing quality bird feeding systems for over five decades, they offer the heaviest duty bird feeding hardware on the market, and they’re made in the USA. I personally love this system because it is very versatile and can be added to as your hobby grows. 1) Select a pole height Poles come in 80″, 74″ and 60″ heights. The 80″ pole allows you to hang longer, tube-style feeders with sufficient clearance over a squirrel baffle. The 60″ po ..read more

Suet is the hard, white fat found near the kidneys and loins of ruminant animals (beef and sheep). It is largely a bi-product of the meat industry. Suet is a “super food” for birds providing much needed protein and fat especially during the colder months. Suet comes in many shapes, sizes, and flavors. It attracts multiple species including chickadees, wrens, nuthatches, jays, and most woodpeckers (Hairies, Downies, Red-bellieds, flickers, and Pileated). Suet feeders are typically constructed from metal or recycled plastic. They hold small cakes, large cakes, balls, and nuggets. They accommod ..read more

ANN’S WINDOW TO NATURE It’s a beautiful day. Everything seems a little bit brighter now that our days are growing longer, and our temps are warming. There’s a feeling of “we made it through another Minnesota winter. How did our ancestors do it?” I couldn’t live in a region that did not have four seasons. As the snowpack melts, little streamlets crop up everywhere. Although March is typically our snowiest month, nesting season is underway for some prominent residents including the Bald Eagle and many of our owl species. All these sights and sounds invite us outdoors to soak up the beauty and en ..read more

Seed cylinders, cakes and bells are a simple, affordable, long-lasting and less-mess solution for feeding birds. The post Seed Cakes Video appeared first on All Seasons Wild Bird Store ..read more

ANN’S WINDOW TO NATURE “Adopt the pace of nature: her secret is patience.” (1880s) Ralph Waldo Emerson Winter is a time for rest. Trees rest. Critters rest. We rest. As the days grow shorter and nights grow colder, we layer up with wool, fleece and down. We eat comfort foods cooked in the crock pot and we drink hot tea and hot chocolate. We move a bit slower, and we spend more time at home. Our backyard habitat becomes a winter sanctuary of sorts. We see little tunnels and tracks in the snow from the night before. We see snowflakes falling and ice forming. And we see our birds. We know our o ..read more

American Goldfinches on a heated birdbath (Photo by Jim Weisman)Want to attract more birds to your yard this winter? Supply a source of open water! When temperatures drop, birds are in a constant struggle to maintain their body temperatures. A steady source of fats and proteins will help to nourish and fuel birds’ metabolic needs and keep them warm. But also important—a source of water that is accessible (i.e. not ice) and doesn’t require using body heat to melt it (i.e. snow). The solution: open water provided by a heated birdbath. Take a look at the video below to learn more about providing ..read more

Christine Petersen, Natural Resources Engagement Coordinator for the City of Minnetonka, developed a Minnesota Wild Bird checklist in collaboration with the Minnetonka Bird Club. This is a great list of what you can expect to see in Minnetonka; it doesn’t include rarities. That said, it’s a great start for Minnesota birders—including young or beginning birders to start keeping track of their sightings. You can download the list and print it out front-to-back to create a two-sided booklet format. The list includes a simplified coding system for seasonality and abundance. Click to download Minn ..read more

ANN’S WINDOW TO NATURE The land ethic simply enlarges the boundaries of the community to include soils, waters, plants, and animals, or collectively: the land. –Aldo Leopold Thirty-five years ago, after a major health scare, my perspective shifted. I became more focused on big picture stuff. You know… why are we here? What can I do to make a difference? What feeds my soul? I realized my heart was truly home when I was in nature. I wanted to share my enthusiasm for the natural world with young people, tomorrow’s land stewards. After receiving my teaching license, I became familiar with the hi ..read more

We Minnesotans are so fortunate to live in a state rich in natural resources, wildlife diversity, and breathtakingly beautiful landscapes. The prairies of the west, the pines of the north, and the hardwoods of the south provide ideal habitat for so many bird species. Many of our favorite birds overwinter in Minnesota, leaving our northern forests for better habitat conditions (readily available food) in the southern regions of the state. These birds include but are not limited to: Evening Grosbeaks, Northern Flickers, and Tufted Titmice. In fact, we are seeing an increase in these populations ..read more

Far from creepy, the delicate Brown Creeper sweetly spirals up tree trunks, in search of delicacies in the form of insects.Keep your eyes out for this winter visitor. Here’s more about this unassuming bird. Appearance Brown Creepers are so well camouflaged against the trunk of a tree that it is a special treat to spot them. They winter in the metro and along the southeastern edge of Minnesota. These tiny woodland birds are slender, white from chin to belly, sport buffy eyebrows and are streaked brown and buff from beak to tail allowing them to blend into the visual contours of the tree bark ..read more