| Bird Feeders for Learning
& Fun
|
Living
in harmony with nature doesn’t mean you have to start
swinging from vines and live in a tree house. It starts
with increasing your awareness of the natural world around
you. This is easily done from your own backyard or balcony.
Here, at the Blue Star Centre in Trinidad, we have hung
very simple bird feeders and use leftover bread and scraps
of fruit to attract these beautiful feathered friends. Twelve
species of birds have been seen using our feeders so far!
The feeders are a simple box design (4 wooden sides) with
a wire mesh bottom (made of 1/4 inch hardware cloth) to
prevent standing water and for easy cleaning. You can make
your own or purchase a ready-made bird feeder. Other bird
feeders include those catering to hummingbirds and other
nectar drinking species.
|
A Bare-eyed Thrush (a relative of the American robin) visits
a home-made bird feeder
at the Blue Star Centre in Trinidad. |
|
| |
• Bird watching
is a popular pastime that introduces you to the types
of birds that live in or visit your area. |
| How
can bird feeders increase my awareness of nature? |
• Bird feeders make
bird watching easy by bringing the birds to you and it
doesn’t require expensive binoculars. |
| |
• An inexpensive
field guide can be used to help you identify the types
of birds you see and give you lots of additional information
such as preferred food and habitat, male vs. female coloration,
nesting and migration patterns, etc. |
Bananaquits visit a nectar feeder
|
With time and a little attention, you will start to get to
know the individual birds visiting your feeder. Mated pairs,
rival males chasing each other, babies brought by a parent,
young birds changing to adult plumage, etc. …And guess
what? You’re a budding ornithologist specializing in
animal behavior (fancy terms to say you have learned a lot
by studying the birds at your bird feeder).
|
White-necked Jacobin feeding at the Asa Wright Nature Centre
in Trinidad |
|
