Annies tips

"DON'T LET YOUR
FEEDERS GET
FUNKY."

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We will add to it as we go along.
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please let her know. Include your name if you like.

In the spring,
make sure your bird
houses are cleaned out!

HELP THE BIRDS BUILD THEIR NESTS!
Leave bits of string, small strips of cloth, dog
hair, cat hair, or even your own hair, in a little basket. So the birds can find it.
(Note: If you use any kind of flea dip for your animals don't use that hair.)

If you supply fresh water
more birds will come.

Ant Problems?
Ruth Elkins of Nashville Tennessee writes:
Quick fix to keep ants off your Hummingbird feeders, wrap packing tape or scotch tape around the pole holding your feeder. Wrap so sticky side is out. It makes a barrier.

Neat design for Feeding Station		Tammie Writes: My husband built me a new bird feeding station in the backyard this week. The main post is made from 8 foot tall 3" black abs tubing. He put a T about 4½ feet up and built a 2 foot wide platform out to the left. At the top, he put a wooden cap and I have 2 feeders (so far) hanging from the top of the post. It's all a huge hit with the birds: grackles, goldfinches, siskins, chickadees, nuthatches .... and the best part of all, I'm sure you've already guessed: the squirrels and chipmunks are relegated to the ground only. All trees are too far for them to jump from and they cannot climb 3" plastic tubing. So far, so good! Tammie In Ontario, Canada, North of Lake Superior

	Featured in Sept. Edition (Link)

It has been so hot this summer...Please make sure that your little beauties have ample water to drink and bathe in. They will love you for it! Annie Fannie

Easy to make Funnel
Just cut the bottom out of a wide mouth, quart size, plastic juice bottle. And viola' you have a great little seed scoop. Hold your hand over the mouth of the bottle, to scoop, then let it drain into your feeder. Less mess . Sue Martin, CA.

Homemade Treat

Mix one part vegetable shortening, one part peanut butter, three parts yellow cornmeal, one part flour and one part finely cracked corn or bird seed. Mix well. If it's sticky add more flour/cornmeal. Spread on pine cones, bark, suet logs or pack it in suet baskets. Keep remaining mixture in the refrigerator.

Quick Pine Cone Treat

First find a pine cone, any size will do.
Cover it well with crunchy peanut butter.
Roll peanut butter covered pine cone in your bird seed mix, then hang it with string in your nearest tree, or place in a feeder, etc. The birds and woodpeckers will absolutely love it!
Good recipe for the winter months:
If you have access to many smaller pine cones
A great activity for the kids (supervised of course) Make several to hang in bush or small tree that you can view from your window.
You will have a beautiful little tree for Christmas that is filled with different birds. Your own live Christmas ornaments!

Dear Annie,
I just wanted to let you know that you share an uncanny resemblance to a dear lady that I know...;) Also, just a bird tip. During these upcoming months when the snow and ice hit, we all end up with broken tree branches in our yards. Sometimes they are quite large and we have to pull out the chain saws to cut them up. Instead of burning all of that cut up wood, take a nice 4-5 inch wide log, maybe about 7 or 8 inches long and start a hole in one side of it. It doesn't have to be big, just a dent. Then hang that piece of log on a tree in view of a window. In the spring a lot of woodpeckers will check it out for a potential nesting site. They will hollow out the required space, and you just gave them a head start! Its also very fun to watch them in their home building ventures.
Also with another piece of log you can drill out some holes all over the wood about 1 inch by one inch and fill with peanut butter... the birds will love you for it, the squirrels too!
Enjoy your birds!
~Melody Owens in VA