Beyond The Bird Feeder

Explores the behavior of birds in our yards, woods, and fields.

Carpenter offers practical tips and solutions to attracting and identifying birds. He offers suggestions for the best foods for the birds you want to see, and even tells you how to deter unwanted guests to feeding stations. You'll also learn how to properly store bird food, and how to prevent window strikes.

A child and beloved grandma bond over birds during the grandma’s final days. When Grandma gets sick and comes to stay at her grandchild’s house, she brings her bird feeder. Grandma loves birds. And the child loves the time they spend together, drawing bird pictures and “talking about interesting things.” Grandma’s health declines, however. She moves to the hospice, where the child hangs the bird feeder outside her window. There, though the grandma’s ability to interact diminishes over time, their love for each other never wavers. Simple and deep, this quiet book speaks with empathy about the loss of a treasured grandparent, and with hope about the tomorrows — and the birds — that always come.

Today, according to the US Fish and Wildlife Service, more than fifty million Americans feed birds around their homes, and over the last sixty years, billions of pounds of birdseed have filled millions of feeders in backyards everywhere. Feeding Wild Birds in America tells why and how a modest act of provision has become such a pervasive, popular, and often passionate aspect of people’s lives. Each chapter provides details on one or more bird-feeding development or trend including the “discovery” of seeds, the invention of different kinds of feeders, and the creation of new companies. Also woven into the book are the worlds of education, publishing, commerce, professional ornithology, and citizen science, all of which have embraced bird feeding at different times and from different perspectives. The authors take a decade-by-decade approach starting in the late nineteenth century, providing a historical overview in each chapter before covering topical developments (such as hummingbird feeding and birdbaths). On the one hand, they show that the story of bird feeding is one of entrepreneurial invention; on the other hand, they reveal how Americans, through a seemingly simple practice, have come to value the natural world.

The Backyard Bird Feeder's Bible "It happens to the best of us--it's the height of feeder season, the yard is filled with customers, and you realize the birdseed can is empty. I learned my solution at my mother's knee--ransack the kitchen for anything remotely edible! Stale bread, withered fruit, and peanut butter are all fine fill-in-the-gap foods." Pull up a chair next to the window looking out on your bird feeder and join author Sally Roth in an informative, inspirational, and often light-hearted look at the foods, feeders, and plants that invite birds to visit your feeding station. From fast foods and freezer treats to innovative ways of serving up leftovers, you'll find plenty of creative ideas for keeping your feeders filled when hungry birds are crowding the perches. Sally shares a lifetime's worth of bird-feeding experiences, including: - which foods attract which birds - helpful hints on choosing and maintaining feeders - the best bird-attracting frutis and flowers to plant - and much, much more! You'll learn about the birds that visit feeders, too: how to identify them, how they behave, and which feeder foods they like the best. What's more, you'll discover a wealth of tips for turning your landscape into a bird haven that will ring with birdsong all year long. On every page of The Backyard Birdfeeder's Bible, Sally Roth shows you how to make your bird-feeding efforts more satisfying, more successful, and definitely more fun. Put her knowledge to work in your yard and enjoy the endlessly fascinating beauty of wild birds. About the Author A lifelong naturalist and gardener, Sally Roth was born and raised in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania. After living for a brief time on the Oregon coast, she settled in New Harmony, Indiana, in 1992. Her previous books include Attracting Birds to Your Backyard, Natural Landscaping, and Taylor's Guide to Ornamental Grasses, and her articles have appeared in Organic Gardening and Fine Gardening as well as other gardening magazines. Sally also writes a weekly newspaper column about nature that appears in several Indiana newspapers. She frequently lectures and leads workshops on bird watching, natural history, gardening, and native plants.

"Discusses the history and scale of feeding wild birds. Outlines debates about the practice, highlighting key research findings and pointing out the issues that require further examination. Written in nontechnical language, thus making it accessible to the general public, birders, and academics"--