Mar 15

Not the Least Bit Blue

By John Schaust American Crow, Birds, Bluebirds, New Products, Northern Cardinal Leave a Comment »

You could say I have been blue for almost 20 years!

When I purchased my home in the early 90’s, I did so in large part because of its great bird and wildlife viewing opportunities. My older suburban neighborhood is heavily wooded and features a small lake and numerous creeks. This great mix of habitats has brought me countless wildlife encounters, ranging from Bald Eagles to American Beavers and Spring Peepers to Flying Squirrels!

But my woodland setting has also denied me one of my favorite things in life – bluebirds.

At least, up until this winter!

Yes, the magic of planting a few native deciduous holly bushes (Ilex verticillata) combined with providing mealworms and Jim’s Birdacious® Bark Butter® Bits finally did the trick and brought them into my backyard!

The brilliant red berries of this “Winterberry Holly” seem to be irresistible to bluebirds and they certainly worked to initially attract them to my yard. But it only took a few days for the four bluebirds to pick the bushes clean. What kept them coming back day after day was their discovery of the mealworms and Bark Butter Bits that I had put out for them.

You can bet, as the drab and dreary days of late winter slowly passed, our lives were constantly brightened by these radiant bluebirds coming to the feeders just a few feet outside our family room window!

It would be hard to find anything as dazzling as a bluebird standing on a fence post in the early morning sun. Its brilliant blue plumage might even be said to rival the sky itself.

Too bad it’s just one big illusion!

It’s true! bluebirds aren’t really blue … they just look like they are!

Most bird colorations are due to pigments deposited in their feathers. A Northern Cardinal is red because of the red pigment called carotenoids. Crows are black because their feathers contain a dark pigment called melanin.

In contrast, bluebirds do not have a single molecule of blue pigment in any of their feathers. So where does that brilliant blue color come from?

The answer is that the color is not produced by a pigment, but by the structure of the feather. The top transparent layer of each bluebird feather is filled with miniscule pockets of air. When sunlight strikes these pockets, all of the other visible wavelengths of light are absorbed. Only blue escapes and is scattered in all directions.

So while the bluebird’s blue color may technically be an illusion…it is no longer an illusion to have them in my backyard and I am enjoying every single visit they make to my feeders!

After almost 20 years, their arrival has finally signaled the end to my case of the bluebird “blues!”

Now…if I can just get them to use the nest box down by the creek…

Dec 15

Sharing the Joy

By John Schaust New Products, WBU Business Leave a Comment »

I am trying not to panic this year!

The clock is ticking, Christmas is looming larger on the horizon, and I am trying hard to keep all of the hype and craziness from deterring my true joy for the Holiday Season.

It is such a special time of year; a time to gather together and share the blessings of life with those who are closest to us.

I am touched every year by the many customers who visit our stores because they want to share their passion for nature and birds with their family and friends. They understand that the gift of nature continues to bring joy to the recipient’s life long after the luster of other gifts has faded.

So with that in mind, and in an honest attempt to help avoid the dreaded last minute gift buying panic, I give you my three favorite bird feeding gift recommendations for this year:

How much fun is a Snowman Seed Cylinder! It adds a perfect holiday touch to any yard and is an entertaining gift for any nature lover on your list. I had the opportunity to test this product in my own yard during its development and I can tell you that the birds love it! Simply slide the Snowman Seed Cylinder onto our WBU Seed Cylinder Feeders.

And speaking of fun…hang a WBU Peanut Wreath Bird Feeder in your favorite tree and watch the peanut-loving birds, such as jays and woodpeckers go crazy for it. It, too, adds a holiday motif to your yard, while providing non-stop entertainment as the birds labor to remove the peanuts.

Last, but not least, I would recommend our most versatile feeder – the Dinner Bell. This feeder can be used with almost every type of bird food, so it has the greatest potential to draw in the widest variety of birds. From fruit to mealworms, seed blends to cylinders, this feeder will continue to entice birds for a long time after the holiday season has come and gone.

I truly hope these suggestions make it easier to share your joy for birds and nature with the ones you love. Here’s wishing you a less stressful and a more joyful Holiday Season!

Oct 12

A Little “Bit” of Heaven

By Brian Cunningham American Robin, Hairy Woodpecker, New Products, WBU Business 2 Comments »

You may have heard me talk how Jim’s Birdacious® Bark Butter ™ attracts more birds than any other single bird food product. One blog post included some information on a winter finch irruption. Of course, I absolutely love the variety of birds and the kinds of feeding activity it has created in my yard. Well, now there is an even cooler product. And it’s not just my humble opinion.

Jim’s Birdacious® Bark Butter Bits® are totally awesome! “This is my new favorite food. If I was going to feed only one food in my yard, it would be Bark Butter Bits”, says my colleague Andrea, who is the New Product Development Manager.

We have had so much fun developing and testing this new bird food. We used the original Bark Butter recipe and created small nuggets. They are bite-sized morsels with a moist texture and consistency that the birds just can’t resist.

You can offer them alone in a feeder or mix them with other foods. I have offered Bark Butter Bits in my TreatTray® and Dinner Bell™ where the birds have loved them. I have had the regular suspects like Carolina Chickadees, White-breasted Nuthatches, Downy and Red-bellied Woodpeckers and Tufted Titmice. However, the really cool birds that are eating them are the American Goldfinches and Carolina Wrens.

Andrea has had Robins coming to eat the Bark Butter Bits. She said, “To me, that was pretty exciting! Not only did they come, they kept coming.” Beyond that, “All sorts of birds are lining up to eat it. Literally taking turns. I’d go broke if that’s all I’d feed.”

What bird food creates a little bit of heaven in your yard?

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