Better bling-bling brings more birds

VIC LEIPZIG AND LOU MURRAY

If you want to create a haven for wild birds in your yard, you need

the right stuff. Now it’s finally here.

Vic and I have been eagerly awaiting the opening of Jan Smith’s

Wild Birds Unlimited store at Newland Center at Beach and Adams near

Albertson’s grocery. Jan was set to open last weekend, but I couldn’t

wait any longer. I barged in on her a few days early.

Apparently the squirrels couldn’t wait either. When Jan wasn’t

watching, they scampered through an open back door to steal some of

the many varieties of birdseed stored in the back. Jan foiled them by

putting up a temporary half-door so the breeze could go through but

they couldn’t. Now the squirrels will have to wait for someone to buy

some of the specialized squirrel feeders with peanuts or ears of dry

corn that are meant for them.

My plan had been to merely look around. But when I saw the Wild

Birds Unlimited Advanced Pole System, I had to have one. This set of

metal components allows one to custom-build a pole system to hold

hanging seed feeders, platform seed feeders, hummingbird feeders,

birdhouses or any combination thereof. One type of base screws into

the ground with a four-prong stabilizer. A circular base mount is

more suitable for patios and decks. Pole risers come in a variety of

lengths.

Jan began to explain the other options to me. I could choose

single or double “shepherd’s crook” for hanging feeders. I could add

a decorative metal branch perch, or a variety of baffles to foil

squirrels or raccoons. I could mount a birdhouse or a platform feeder

on top. I could choose a finial topper decorated with a variety of

metal birds. By then I wasn’t listening, because I was building my

own system in my head.

Jan keeps a platform base so that customers can assemble their

system to make sure it has everything on it they want. While her two

staff people were unwrapping and pricing feeders, Jan and I built my

custom pole system. I wanted to add a couple of hummingbird feeders

to our front yard. An aggressive male Allen’s hummingbird jealously

guards the three feeders in our backyard. I thought that if I set up

a hummingbird feeding station in front, it would give the other

hummers a chance.

I was pleased to find a saucer-shaped hummingbird feeder with

snap-on lid. This model was formerly made by Aspect, but Wild Birds

Unlimited is now marketing it under its own brand name. It is, by

far, the easiest to clean hummingbird feeder available, guaranteed

not to leak or drip.

The final addition to my pole system was a branch holder. Birds

like to perch on a nearby branch to check out a feeder before landing

on the feeder itself. If the feeder is in the open, they have no

perch. They don’t feel safe, so they’re not as likely to visit. The

branch holder solves that problem. The bracket mounts to the pole and

holds a small branch at just the right angle.

I enlisted Vic’s help in screwing the pole into the ground. It

wasn’t a hard job, but I tore my right rotator cuff recently and

can’t do a lot of things I used to. I felt like a complete weenie

asking him for something that simple, but he was happy to help. I

stomped the pronged stabilizer base into the ground. We assembled the

system, added the hummingbird feeders and stood back to watch.

The base was incredibly stable, but the top section of the pole

system spun around in circles with the first breeze. Uh oh. That

didn’t look right. I called the Wild Birds Unlimited headquarters in

Indiana and talked with a nice guy named Brian. He said they don’t

usually send the stabilizers or clamps or whatever the heck it was he

called them to new stores unless they have a need for them. I told

him that with our daily ocean breezes, we have a need for them. Brian

said he’d send some of those whatchamacallits to Jan right away.

Our new pole system is working out great. To attract wildlife to

our yard, we offer seeds and sugar water, plus we provide ample cover

and water to attract a wider variety of birds and other wildlife. We

have found that all the activity from more the common birds at the

feeders attracts rarities.

We’ve had rose-breasted grosbeaks, black-headed grosbeaks,

Lincoln’s sparrows, Wilson’s warblers and even a vagrant northern

waterthrush in our yard. Last week, a California towhee splashed in

one of our birdbaths. Today, a lovely Cooper’s hawk sat in one of our

trees, waiting to swoop down on a hapless finch. In the 16 years that

we’ve lived in this house, we’ve seen more than 50 species of birds

from our yard, plus opossums, skunks, raccoons and even a gray fox.

If you aren’t feeding wild birds yet, go visit the new Wild Birds

Unlimited store at Beach and Adams. Jan will get you started. If

you’re already a feeding aficionado, you must go. You won’t believe

the wonderful array of new things that are available to entice even

more birds to your yard.

* VIC LEIPZIG and LOU MURRAY are Huntington Beach residents and

environmentalists. They can be reached at [email protected].