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| with Ed Pandolfino* |
| Birds of Spring | |
| Birds of Summer | |
| Birds of Fall | |
| Birds of Winter | |
Articles by Ed... August 13, 2005-- County birding: Even the lunatic fringe has a fringe (The Nevada Union) August 15, 2002-- Death is an important part of life (The Nevada Union) Ed in the news... 11/24/03 Flocking to fields... Rice farmers' flooded lands now a boon to shorebirds (sacbee.com) |
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Ed is featured in the March, 2003 issue of Audubon Magazine (that's him on the cover). Local Audubon Chapters: |
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| Is your backyard a certified Backyard Wildlife Habitat™? |
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| Binoculars
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| You can spend $80 to $1400 for a pair of binoculars,
depending on your budget and seriousness. I usually suggest that people
start out with a pair in the $100 to $120 range. I also suggest you buy
one with magnification power of around 8X (eight power). The extra magnification
of 10X is generally not worth what you lose in light and field of view.
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| Feeders & Food |
| Hanging feeder filled with black oil sunflower seeds
A hummingbird feeder filled with sugar water at a ratio of 4:1 or 5:1 water to sugar volume. Remember, no coloring required. You can attract Anna’s hummingbird year-round, black-chinned in spring and summer and Rufous hummingbirds during their spring and late summer/fall migrations.
A ground feeder with white millet, black oil sunflower seeds, cracked corn will attract many of the same species that come to a hanging feeder, plus many more ground dwellers including several different sparrows, two kinds of towhees, California quail, doves, dark-eyed juncos, etc. A suet feeder (use the big 4x4 inch cube with small mesh openings) can bring in different kinds of woodpeckers, nuthatches and many other feathered surprises. |
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Hanging Mesh Feeder |
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Thistle Feeder |
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 Suet Holder |
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| Other
Attractions |
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Crackle Glass Birdbath
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| Field Guide |
| If you want to identify the birds you attract, you will need a good field guide. I recommend the National Geographic Field Guide to the Birds of North America. Make sure you get the new edition (4th Edition). Western Birds by Roger Tory Peterson is also a good one. Avoid field guides that use photos. Birds of Northern California by David Fix and Andy Bezener is a new, local guide that is interesting. |
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| Two great books on bird behavior, breeding, feeding preferences and other interesting facts are: The Birder’s Handbook by Ehrlich, Dobkin & Wheye and Lives of North American Birds by Kenn Kaufman. |
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| Where to get equipment, books, feeders, etc. |
| There are several stores around, check under “Birds” in your local yellow pages. One is Wild Bird Center at 5339 Sunrise Blvd (near Madison Ave.). In the Arden area, try Wild Birds Unlimited at 2533 Fair Oaks Blvd in Loehmans Plaza. |
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| Gardening
for Birds- Books
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Here
is a list of books about gardening for birds and wildlife:
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| Some of the Birds you can attract to your Yard |
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| *Ed Pandolfino, formerly board vice president of San Francisco Bay Bird Observatory, is on the board of the Sierrra Foothills Audubon Society. He is also the sub-regional Placer County editor for North American Birds, and has written for Birdwatcher's Digest. He leads several yearly field trips for Sierra Foothills Audubon Society and has taught a Backyard Birding class at Sierra College. | ||
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Audubon Marketplace | |
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