Holiday Hours
With the holidays now racing towards us at seemingly impossible speed, we would like to take a moment to discuss our hours for the coming weeks before we blink and it is January. Our holiday hours are as follows:
Thanksgiving Day: Closed
Christmas Eve: 10:00-2:00
Christmas Day: Closed
New Year’s Eve: 10:00-5:30
New Year’s Day: Closed
Wild Turkey
Photo credit: Eli Haislip
Cedar Waxings
One of the most striking birds that we encounter in Tennessee has got to be the Cedar Waxwing. If you have never done yourself the favor of an up close look through your binoculars, (remember, if you’re not using binoculars, you’re not truly birding!) then you are doing yourself a disservice. An up close look reveals a striking black mask, traced by a fine line of white that outlines the mask from behind the eye to the beak. A tan body fading to a gray tail tipped in yellow, tan fading to yellow on the belly, and tan wings fading to light gray, then to slate with bright red accents on the wings finish off this vibrant species.
While these beautiful birds are in fact a year round resident to Middle Tennessee, we do receive reports with greater frequency in the late fall and winter months. Why? Because as we like to remind folks, “We are south!” Some Cedar Waxwings will spend summer months as far north as Canada, so for these birds, we are far enough south to be in their winter range. Also, with every plant that produces fruits or berries having already produced its harvest for the year, there is ample food supply to keep these birds fed through the winter months. If you have Holly, Hackberry, Privet, or Honeysuckle anywhere in your yard, look for these birds in flocks of anywhere between five to over fifty in and around these plants eating the berries they produce.
Unfortunately for us, these are not seed eating birds and would not visit a seed or suet feeder. It is possible, however, to see them flocking in numbers to water on a chilly morning. If you have a de-icer, this increases your chances of attracting these and other birds to your water source all year long! Even if you don’t have any of these things in your yard, there is still a good chance of seeing them as they are quite common this time of year and with a little practice can be spotted with ease. Some things to look for are any type of berry producing plant. If you hear or see a flurry of activity in one of the aforementioned bushes or trees, have your binoculars ready to investigate as it is entirely possible that it is a hungry flock of Cedar Waxwings. Case in point; one of our longtime friends and shopping center neighbors often complained to us about never seeing Cedar Waxwings. We continually assured her that they were around, but still no luck. Finally one day while carrying out a customer’s seed, I heard the unmistakable high pitched “bzeee bzeee bzeee” whistle that so often gives them away. After offloading the seed, I rushed back inside to grab a pair of binoculars and hurried down to our friend’s shop. Together we made our way to the parking lot where we could get a clear view of the holly tree by the road, where we saw literally dozens of cedar waxwings consuming the berries. This story serves to show that you do not always need to be in the textbook location to find the interesting bird.
Cedar Waxwing Feeding on Privet Berries
Photo credit: Eli Haislip
Red Parasol Feeders 25%
With highs next week projected in the 40s, late November may seem like an odd time to have a special on hummingbird feeders. However, with Christmas fewer than 30 days away, now is the ideal time to get the hummingbird lover in your life one of these beautiful red hummingbird feeders! Take an additional 25% off of any red Parasol feeder while supplies last through Saturday, November 30th.
A Feast for Your Birds
Did you know that in addition to our straight seed options, we also sell blends custom mixed to our specifications? Of our six custom blends, our Woodland Blend is by far the best seller. Comprised of 80% black-oil sunflower, along with out-of-shell peanuts, white-stripe sunflower, and out-of-shell sunflower, it has something for everybody. During the winter months, the out-of-shell sunflower can sometimes attract birds not ordinarily seen on seed feeders such as Carolina Wrens, Pine Warblers or even Eastern Bluebirds! Year round though, this blend routinely attracts Northern Cardinals, Carolina Chickadees, Tufted Titmice, White-Breasted Nuthatch, House Finch, American Goldfinch, Blue Jays, Downey Woodpeckers, and Red-Bellied Woodpeckers, depending of course on your specific habitat. With bags available in 8 Lbs. ($15), 20 Lbs. ($32), and 40 Lbs. ($55), we have a size that will work for anybody!
Does this sound appealing, but you don’t want the mess associated with seeds in the shell? Ask us about our No-Mess options!