February: National Bird-Feeding Month

Today marks the beginning of National Bird-Feeding Month, sponsored by National Bird-Feeding Society. This year's theme: "Hatching Out - An Introduction to the Wild Bird Feeding Hobby."

The website offers different resources -- such as information about foods, feeders, feeding accessories, and habitats -- and a poster for the event. Can you I.D. the bird in the poster?

Who can you introduce to birdfeeding this month?

Recall on Scotts suet products

From Business First of Columbus:

The Marysville-based lawn and garden giant’s Scotts Co. LLC subsidiary this week launched a voluntary recall of five varieties of suet wild bird food products over concerns that they might contain peanut meal bought from Lynchburg, Va.-based Peanut Corp. of America’s Blakely, Ga., plant. Peanut Corp.’s products have become the center of a federal probe into a salmonella outbreak that has involved scores of illnesses and several deaths, including two in Ohio.

Peanut Corp. originally only recalled peanut butter and paste but recently expanded efforts to include all peanut products made in Blakely since Jan. 1, 2007, Scotts said. The company said salmonella not only can affect animals but can pose a risk to humans who handle products tainted with it. No illnesses have been reported and products from the Blakely facility are no longer being used, Scotts said.

Affected products include items manufactured between Dec. 27, 2008, and Jan. 17, 2009:
Morning Song Nutty Safari Suet, 11 oz.
Morning Song Woodpecker Suet 3 pack, 1.78 lbs.
Royal Wing Raisin Suet, 11.75 oz.
Morning Melodies Variety Suet (3 count)
Morning Song Variety 15-pack suet, multi-pack with 15 suets and feeder

Scotts said customers should throw away the products and can request replacements or refunds at 1-866-512-8876 or scottswildbirdfood.com.

Birdfeeding study seeks birders

A survey organized by the Wild Bird Feeding Industry Research Foundation wants more input from birdwatchers who stock feeders at their apartments and houses. Project Wildbird will run through December 2008 and involves an online survey of backyard birdfeeding experiences that typically takes 15 minutes to complete.

With the data, the foundation plans to make recommendations about the food and feeders most likely to attract desired species. Hundreds of participants from 46 states and six Canadian provinces have submitted data so far.

Please spread the word!


WildBird is not affiliated with the foundation.

Stop feeding the birds!

So says the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife:

OLYMPIA, Wash. - After reports of sick or dead birds at backyard feeders in Washington, the state Department of Fish and Wildlife has recommended that people temporarily discontinue bird feeding or take extra steps to keep their feeders clean.

Veterinarian Kristin Mansfield advised for people to stop backyard bird feeding for at least a few weeks, if not for the remainder of the summer, to encourage birds to disperse and forage naturally.

She says laboratory analysis of bird carcasses has confirmed salmonellosis, a common and usually fatal bird disease caused by the salmonella bacteria.