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Sometimes things amaze me. It was mid August, a time when there are loads of Goldfinch covering the feeders, hummingbirds feeding up for their southbound journey, and young birds learning the ropes from their parents, frogs and bumblebees in the garden, it’s always the best time to surround ones self in nature. This year in particular with all of the heat and humidity there are mushrooms growing everywhere in all shapes and sizes. I am certainly no mycologist but for the most part I know there are lots of poisonous mushrooms around and “don’t mess with the fungus if you don’t know what your doing.”

So on this fine, but humid morning I am watching nature happen, and then I see, WHAT! A squirrel has picked himself a big fat yard mushroom and has taken it up to a branch where he sits munching on it, as one would savor a freshly baked chocolate chip cookie. No No No! Do not eat the poison mushrooms!! I’m thinking dead squirrel in the yard with a poison mushroom for its last meal.

But then I thought, maybe I need to investigate this further. God is brilliant, right? He wouldn’t tell the squirrel to eat poison mushrooms. And the investigation began. I learned something new that day, and you should know it too.

You guessed it squirrels can eat poison mushrooms! This information was taken from the Mushroom Journal

“According to Dr. John Rippon an IMA member and world expert on fungal diseases, squirrels have an interesting

September 2018 , Volume 10, Issue 3

Newsfrom the bird store

Fall Seed Sale! October 1st -31st

adaptation that allows them to eat mushrooms containing deadly amanita-toxins without being affected. There are three important chemicals in the amanitas. Two will knock you right off, but are destroyed in cooking. The third one is the interesting one: it consists of the second amanitin, bound tightly to a glycoprotein molecule. When we digest the mushroom, the enzymes in our gut break the bond between the toxin and the glycoprotein, leaving the toxin free to enter our bloodstream, while the glycoprotein is excreted (a glycoprotein is a mucus molecule, in case you don’t

know). What the squirrels have done is line their gut with a toxin-compatible glycoprotein, so that as soon as it gets split from its original glycoprotein molecule, it gets rebound to the squirrel glycoprotein, and excreted along with it. Obviously, the squirrels don’t cook their food to destroy the first two molecules, but presumably those get bound in exactly the same way. Thus, squirrels and a few other animals (guinea pigs also, I believe) can eat mushrooms that are highly toxic to other animals with no ill effects.”

Just another interesting tidbit on a humid summer morning.

In My BackyardNancy’s Notes

We recently found a new birdbath top, that is made from fiber clay, which is 70% clay with 25% plastic and 5% fiber mixed in. They are lightweight, shatter resistant, and durable. These baths look amazing on a metal stand or as a ground bath. The best part, they look good in all seasons.

Tierra Garden Fiber Clay Bird Baths

New Product

DID YOU KNOWMourning Doves produce

as many as 6 clutches each year, more than

any other breeding bird found in North America.

Yes, I know it’s too late this season to do anything about those bees, but so many of you asked about the bees in the hummingbird feeders I thought I would give you some information for next year.

The “bees” that are bugging your hummingbird feeders are most likely Yellow Jackets.

In spring and early summer, yellow jackets are carnivores, feeding mostly on insects to provide protein to developing larvae in their colony. In doing so, they help keep garden pests, such as caterpillars, in check. As the season progresses, their population grows and their diet changes to include more sugars. As natural food sources become scarce, they turn to scavenging, and that’s when you’ll find them lurking around garbage cans and in your hummingbird feeders.

Here are some tips to keep them at bay.Choose red saucer feedersWith their long tongues, hummingbirds can reach the nectar—but insects can’t. Plus, while hummingbirds prefer the color red, bees are attracted to yellow. Wasps and bees are attracted to the color yellow but do not find red as appealing. Avoid feeders with yellow insect guards or flower accents to minimize the feeders’ attractiveness to insects. If your feeder comes with yellow accents, repaint the accents with red, non-toxic paint. On some feeders, these yellow parts can easily be removed without impacting how well the feeder works.

Keep the Feeder ShadedMost flying insects prefer to feed in full sunlight, so make nectar feeders less attractive by hanging them in a shadier spot. This will also keep the nectar cooler, slow fermentation, and minimize leaks.

Offer Substitute FeedersIf you hope to keep bees away from hummingbird feeders but still want them around for your flowers or garden, offer them a substitute feeder with a sweeter sugar water solution. Place the diversion feeder, preferably a yellow one, in an obvious, sunny location.

Periodically move the feedersJust moving feeders by 3 or 4 feet will help insects lose track of them. Birds will still find them easily, but insects often won’t.

Because you

AskedAbout those Bees in the

Hummingbird and Oriole Feeders

DID YOU KNOW A baby

porcupine is called

a porcupette

It’s hard to believe but this was our first newsletter 25 years ago! Back then our editor had to paste up copy for printing. Thankfully we still have the same editor (Thanks Sherry from Primary Concepts!) and for 25 years she has had free reign over designing the news around the articles. Thankfully technology has made that much easier.

I can still remember taking the “selfie”. I took the photo with a 35 mm camera on a tripod with black & white film out in the woods behind my house. Hard to believe I can get a better photo

now with my phone.

After all these years I think the message in the article is still relevant. “Relax, be patient, and enjoy your encounter with the wild and wonderful natural world.” 25 years later and I still enjoy writing the news. Hope you enjoy it as well.

Nancy

At a historical theme park in France, they have an interesting cleaning crew. Six rooks, which are a part of the crow family, have been trained to pick up cigarette butts and other waste at the theme park in the western Vendée region of France.

The rooks are part of the falconry show at the park, and a falconer taught the birds to collect the debris, and then drop it into a small box. The box has two holes, one for trash and one for food. When the bird brings a piece of trash and drops it in the box it gets rewarded with a piece of food. The birds have learned where to place the trash and where to get the food.

The rooks at the Puy du Fou Park are being used to educate people about littering, while putting on a show. “The idea is more to educate the human beings to show them that, if you leave the paper in the nature, then you will see the birds cleaning the nature,” Park president Nicolas de Villiers explained.

Crows are one of my favorite birds. Crows are intelligent and in my opinion quite beautiful and they are known for picking up things unnatural in the environment and bringing it back to their nest.

The Feathered Cleaners It’s All in a Days Work

Years of News!

www.thebirdstoreandmore.com September 2018 , Volume 10, Issue 3

The Seed Saver Cards were a big hit last year. It was our first year trying this format and we received a very positive response from all of you. So once again Seed Saver Cards will be on sale during the month of October.

From October 1st through the 31st you will be able to purchase a SEED SAVER CARD in any denomination that you choose. The SEED SAVER CARD will be good for all SEED purchases through out the year regardless of the bag size. All seed purchased with the SEED SAVER CARD will receive 15% off up to the value of your card. The SEED SAVER CARD will not be valid with any other offers, promotions, discounts, or bucks.

It’s That Time of Year Again!

If you are planning to pick up a large number of bags please check with us first to make sure they are available.

What the seed card does for you: • You don’t have to store your seed; it will be fresh when you want it.

• You are not limited to certain size bags – Some of you like your seed in smaller bags and had not participated in the sale in the past.

• All seed is available for purchase on your seed card, not just specific types.

• You can purchase it when you need it, and don’t have to buy large quantities.

FalL Seed Sale

The rules:• You must purchase your card between October 1st -31st. This is the only time that a SEED SAVER CARD will be available for purchase. The SEED SAVER CARDS will be available for use the same day as purchased.

• You will have to purchase your card here. We don’t have the cards available on our web store.

• You must present your card prior to your purchase so that we can apply your discount.

• The SEED SAVER CARD cannot be combined with any other offers, promotions, discounts or bucks and will not earn bucks. • The SEED SAVER CARD can be used on any size bag of seed.

• The SEED SAVER CARD gives you a discounted price off of the regular retail price. If prices go up or down the discount will be off of that price.

Loons are one of the few birds that have solid bones. Most birds’ bones are hollow, making them very lightweight, which makes it easier for birds to fly. In contrast, Loons and other diving birds have bones that are dense and filled with marrow. This causes the bones to be much heavier.

The Loon needs to have heavy bones in order to stay submerged to hunt for food. Think of a diver who wears a weight belt to stay submerged, well those heavy bones are the weight belts of the loon world.

Loons are expert anglers and on the surface we only see loons disappear with a dive and reappear with a fish in their bill to be swallowed headfirst. Viewing them from underwater is a whole different story, their fishing pursuits underwater are some-thing to behold. Loons shoot through the water like a torpedo, propelled by powerful thrusts of feet located near the rear of their body. When their quarry changes direction, loons can execute an abrupt flip-turn that would make Olympic swimmers jealous: they extend one foot laterally as a pivot brake and kick with the opposite foot to turn 180 degrees in a fraction of a second.

Loons spend a lot of time in shallow waters looking for fish, and then diving suddenly without making a ripple on the water. They can quickly blow air out of their lungs and flatten their feathers to expel air within their plumage, so they can dive quickly and swim fast underwater. Once below the surface, the loon’s heart slows down to conserve oxygen. While we sometimes see a loon surfacing with a fish a loon usually swallows most of its prey underwater.

Loons are agile swimmers, but they move pretty fast in the air, too. Migrating loons have been clocked flying at speeds of more than 70 mph. They need a long runway to take off they need anywhere from 30 yards up to a quarter-mile (depending on the wind) for flapping their wings and running across the top of the water in order to gain enough speed for lift-off.

Loons are pretty impressive for a bird with heavy bones.

Common Loon A heavyweight Bird

4 Cedar Street, (Route 20, Cedar Street Intersection)

Sturbridge, MA 01566www.thebirdstoreandmore.com

Phone: (508)-347-BIRDMailing Address: P.O. Box 736, Fiskdale, MA 01518

PRSRT STDU.S. POSTAGE

PAIDPERMIT NO. 65

SOUTHBRIDGE, MA

Bird Store Hours:10:00am-6:00pm Monday - Saturday11:00am-5:00pm Sunday

Have you seen the

There’s a whole lot of whimsy going on in the Secret Garden. If you haven’t looked lately take a stroll through and enjoy the view. There are birdbaths and garden statuary available to decorate your landscape.

The whimsical shed is close to being finished and currently houses some of our birdbaths. When the shed is finished it will also house the Largest Cuckoo Clock in New England!

The Secret Garden has been Bill’s vision in progress and it keeps getting better every day.

Fall Seed Sale! October 1st -31st

Secret Garden

FalL Seed Sale It’s That Time of Year Again!

www.thebirdstoreandmore.com September 2018 , Volume 10, Issue 3