MAY 2013

Many of our customers, now that the breeding season is here, are commenting on how much they are enjoying the sights of birds building nests, watching the incubation process, and waiting to see those cute babies welcomed into the world. Goldfinches and cardinals are into their first brood of the season. I just saw my first walnut-sized quail chicks a few days ago. I've been putting out a variety of nesting materials for birds to use and it disappears quite quickly. After walking around my property, with a sharp eye out for well-camouflaged nests, I was able to locate several. Because I know what materials they are using, I was better able to locate nests. My hummers, especially, have used all the materials I set out for them and I'm seeing more babies than I have in previous years. Breeding season lasts well into the summer months here, so it's not too late to see some of this action in your yard. We're well stocked with a wide variety of nesting materials, too!I want to extend my thanks to those of you who responded to my announcement call regarding adoption of two of my parrots. Lelo (White-fronted Amazon) and Soho (Quaker or 'Monk' parakeet) have been adopted by a wonderful, experienced couple who have good bird raising experience. The birds have made an easy and complete adjustment into their new home and their text reports back to me say they are happy, eating well, and gaining new bird friends. I hope to visit them in the not too distant future. I decided to keep my 110 year old Blue-fronted Amazon, Sinbad. While he was bonded to Shani for many years and was really "her" bird, he now has begun an intimate relationship with me. I'm really pleased with the way this has developed and will keep him for as long as possible.

We have the final apron/potholder sets Shani traditionally made for our bird store customers. These will be the last of their kind. Come peruse the great selection of them while we still have them.

And, lastly, I want to thank all our customers who have been our best ambassadors as far as spreading the word about how much they enjoy our store and encouraging their out-of-the-area visitors who also feed birds to be sure to visit once they are in Tucson. We've noticed a significant increase in word-of-mouth testimonials that resulted in many Tucsonans first discovering our store in recent months. I really love hearing folks tell me that they've been to many other bird stores in other states and ours is the best one they've ever been to.

Some other feedback from customers have been:  

"You've so got so much inventory, I'm going to have to come another time or two before I feel that I've seen it all!"  

"You've got so many products I've never seen before or didn't even realize existed."

"Wow, I didn't know you can get species-specific feeders or houses, or feeders that won't allow doves and pigeons to use".   

It's definitely gratifying to hear such a wealth of remarks such as those as it's always been my aim to have the best bird store in the Southwest.

Happy Birding

Clarisa, Matt, Jon

'Eight Mearns' Quail Feathers'

No, these are not real feathers. No matter how long you look at them, or what angle of viewing, you’ll have a hard time convincing yourself that these are not real feathers.

They are, in reality, a masterpiece of digital capture by Elgin artist Matilda Essig. 100% of the viewers of this archival inkjet print insist that what they are seeing is actual feathers mounted on a board and framed! This image (24"x10") represents the new frontier in digital printmaking, and for bird lovers looking for artwork that will always thrill the viewer, this may be the Holy Grail! Sale is of print only. 

You may see Matilda's primary work on Native Grasses of the Apache Highlands at the upcoming 'Desert Grasslands' exhibition at Tucson Museum of Art, opening in January 2013.    $250.00 #27

'Eight Mearns' Quail Feathers'
digital capture, archival inkjet print on epson ultrasmooth fineart paper
24"x10", open edition, signed on verso
© Matilda Essig

April Birdwalk
21 April 2013
Santa Cruz River BirdWalk

We will be meeting at 6am in the Wild Bird Store parking lot on the 21st of April.  This trip is limited to 10 people.  We will be car pooling in 4 vehicles so I need 3 willing drivers who’s vehicles can hold 5 people (includes driver).  We will drop off 2 vehicles at Clark Crossing Road and drive to Santa Gertrutis Lane.  We will be birding through a great riparian corridor and mesquite Bosque, along two miles of the Anza Trail.

Target species include but are not limited to: Gray Hawk,   Black Vulture,   Western Kingbird,   Cassin’s Kingbird,   Northern Beardless-Tyrannulet,   Summer Tanager,   Lucy’s Warbler,   Bridled Titmouse,   Brown-crested Flycatcher,   Vermilion Flycatcher,   Northern Cardinal,   Black-headed Grosbeak,   Western Tanager,   Wilson’s Warbler.

The Waiver of Liability must be signed and the $10 cash payment must be payed prior to the trip date.  You can catch Matt Norris in the WBS on Tues, Wed, and Sun to get details and join. and remember that this trip is limited to 10 people so don’t wait!  You can reach Matt Norris at the store 520 322 9466, on his cell 520 869 2828, or via email Norbird84@gmail.com.  Thank you and happy birding.

Thank you and Good Birding.

Birding in Alaska Slideshow

We have added an article about our August trip to Alaska---Birding in Alaska with a slideshow.

Pinal Ways Magazine

We were recently featured in Pinal Ways. Click for link

Swan Slideshow

Here is a link to a very pretty PowerPoint slideshow of swans.

Depending on your browser some may not be able to open. It does work well in Firefox and Safari.

INSTRUCTIONS:

Zhangli Bu

Zhangli Bu is a Chinese national who is a junior at the U of A studying journalism. Her family resides in China and she intends to make a career in journalism. Like many 22 year olds, she enjoys mucic, traveling and reading. She approached me at the store asking for permission to make a video about our business and how the business evolved. This is the result of her effort

Webster Hummingbird Feeder

We are very pleased to announce we now have in stock the authentic reproduction of the first feeder designed by man to feed hummingbirds, the Webster feeder. Originally designed in 1928 for his disabled wife to enjoy watching hummingbirds, Mr. Webster had the feeder made to his specifications by the chemistry and physics glass blowing lab at M.I.T.

The Webster’s maintained glorious estates near Cambridge and a summer retreat on a New Hampshire lake and had a large staff of gardeners and landscape architects to maintain several acres of flower gardens at each location. They let the general public stroll the grounds at no charge after church each Sunday for a few hours. As they had some of the largest flower gardens in all of New England, they also attracted large numbers of Ruby-throated hummingbirds each season. Their properties became known as the best locations in that region to observe hummingbirds.

Naturally, when the visitors saw the first hummingbird feeder, and how successful it was even surrounded by acres of nectar producing flowers, they wanted one for themselves. Mr. Webster had several hundred of these feeders created and sold them for $10.00 each (a lot of money back then!). When Mrs. Webster died in 1948, he created 500 more feeders and donated them to the Audubon Society in January of that year. National Geographic magazine featured pictures of the first hummingbird feeder being used in the February issue. The public clamored for the hummingbird feeders and the Audubon Society sold out of them within the month. They disappeared off the market until The Wild Bird Store has reintroduced them more than half a century later.

We have a very talented local glass blower, John Mims, making these authentic reproductions for us and the birds really enjoy using them. They cost $37.50 and you’ll not only enjoy watching the hummers use them repeatedly, but, you’ll also own a piece of American birding history! Order Here

We are excited to announce that we are starting to shoot some simple informative birding videos that appear on YouTube and our website. You can subscribe (for free) to see them when new ones appear by going to The Wild Bird Store YouTube Channel. We hope to offer many topics and hopefully go on location to Tucson area birding hotspots.  Please submit your comments, questions or ideas.

Join us, won't you?

On October 11, 2011 I was invited to do an interview on “the Jolt”, AM 1330. The  show Ron Asta’s Tucson gave us a digital recording of the interview. The show runs about 36:36 minutes long. We didn’t get through all the talking points we wanted to so I’ve been asked to return for a second interview sometime in the near future. We’ll keep you posted. We did have a great conversation about the nectar eating bats that are unique to our area and a little about birding. The next conversation will focus more on the wonderful birds we experience here.

We present the program below.

Want to see a panorama of the Wild Bird Store? Click the image to zoom-in or to pan left or right.

GOLDFINCHES IN SOUTHEAST ARIZONA

Photo by Richard at SearchNet Media

Southeastern Arizona birders have experienced a phenomenal increase in the numbers of goldfinches that can be attracted to our backyard birding stations.

Twenty years ago and more, it took us months to attract our first goldfinches. Patience, we reminded ourselves as we did our customers, is the number one rule for birders.

The preferred food for the intended species and the right feeder to deliver that food is number two. Understanding these principles will always reward us and the birds.

Nyjer seed, unlike true thistle, is the preferred choice of seed for all the goldfinch species. Most other species in our area will reject Nyjer for almost any other seed that is easily available and accessible. Almost any design of thistle feeder filled with Nyjer seed will attract mostly goldfinches. The feeder models that have food ports under the perches are species specific to goldfinches.

BIRDS, WATER AND SUMMER HEAT

Cooper's Hawk by Richard at SearchNetMedia

In our desert heat, we are stating the obvious - birds need clean reliable water sources all year round, but no more than when the temperature soars. As we write this, the projected heat for this afternoon is 113°F, and likely to remain in the triple digits for the rest of the week. As the drought deepens in southern Arizona, natural water sources continue to dry up. Our record setting fire season has taken its toll on the wildlife. Birds pant and hold their wings out from their bodies in an attempt to keep cool. Supplying a water source for the birds is of great assistance to them and the necessity of clean fresh water cannot be underestimated.

Of course, you want to do this in a way that does no harm - no drowning, no disease transmission, no increase in predation, no harm what-so-ever. Here's what you need to know about bird baths and other water features to help the birds, without harming them.

HOW TO INCREASE BACKYARD DIVERSITY

Photo by Richard at SearchNet Media

With more species of birds than almost any other region in the country, Southeastern Arizona's biodiversity offers backyard birders one of the best opportunities to attract a wide variety of birds.

The combined number of year-round resident and migrating birds that one can see in the cycle of a year's time is greater than most other regions throughout the continent. However, if you don't devote some time on a regular basis to observing, you may miss some of the migrants which only pass through our area and remain only for a relatively short time.

Southeastern Arizona is also an excellent place to notice quite a few rare and exotic species that migrate through or use our area in spring and summer as their traditional breeding territory.

With relatively little effort and expense, you can easily double and triple the number of species attracted to your feeding stations.

INTRODUCING A NEW CARDINAL FEEDER

We have become the exclusive authorized dealers in Arizona for a new species-specific cardinal feeder that serves as a less expensive version of the cedar wood model we pioneered about twenty years ago.

This model is constructed of tough polycarbonate material, can be hung or pole mounted, and is manufactured in Montreal, Canada by the Wild Bird Conservation Center. We have received our first shipment and we expect it to sell for around $60. While it was created for a cold, wet northern climate in that it is weather proof (keeps rain and snow out), it works perfectly well in our region as well. (Keeping seeds dry in Arizona isn’t too much of a concern). 

So, for customers who wish for a more economical way to give cardinals, pyrrhuloxia and grosbeaks what they want most (our cardinal mix and a little exclusivity) this is the feeder you’ve been waiting for!

BASIC BINOCULAR KNOWLEDGE

Birders, whether the backyard or in-the-field- variety, need only two essential items as the basic tools for learning about bird identification and behavior - a good field guide and reliable binoculars. The Wild Bird Store carries the best field guide for our area. It is the new Birds of Southeastern Arizona by Richard Taylor and has established itself as our best selling identification guide since its publication late last year. With just these two things, you can teach yourself all you want to know about the birds of our specific region, or anywhere for that matter.

The Wild Bird Store offers a comprehensive selection of Vortex Binoculars

For almost twenty years we have offered our customers the opportunity of reducing costs on each and every purchase they make. The cost of annual dues is $16.00 ($1.25 per month). Discounts begin on the day a membership is activated and expires one full year from the last day of the month the membership begins.