Feed the Birds Day.
February 3
This day is celebrated when the winter is coldest, and the winter snow has set in to encourage feeding of birds outside. In these colder winter months, the birds are in need of energy, and food is scarce as cold weather progresses.
There are a few methods to feed birds, which is not too overwhelming. One is feeding them from your hands, another is to plant suitable trees and shrubbery and finally set out a do it yourself feeder designed in a multitude of fashions, or store bought. How to choose the right kind of bird feeder is an important consideration for the types of birds in your habitat.
How do you know what are the types of birds in your particular neck of the woods? Checking out Habisask (Hunting, Angling and Biodiversity Information of Saskatchewan) is an online species mapping application showing historical data. Another resource is Saskatchewan E-bird, the E-bird hotspots map or check out common migratory patterns, and dates for typical observation times for species in your area.
If you set out a feeder in the winter months, it is imperative to check it regularly. The birds’ very survival rely on this source of food once they get used to it being there.
A very simple, and spontaneous bird feeder is to strew along the top of horizontal tree branches fruit, suet, wheat, corn, sunflowers, sand, grit or store bought bird food for wild birds.
Richard St. Barbe Baker founded the “Men of the Trees” international foundation which is now known as the International Tree Foundation has three tenets for followers;
- protect the native forest
- plant ten native trees each year
- take care of trees everywhere
For those choosing to follow in the footsteps of Richard St. Barbe Baker, and plant trees, select for “Feed the Birds Day” those plants which will best supply the seeds and nutrients the local birds need. The Land Manager’s Guide to Grassland Birds of Saskatchewan provides a template of birds and what types of food they require.
Another very important task to investigate is to search out anything in the wetlands or urban regional park which harm the bird’s environment. The landscape and the native flora can be harmed by chemicals spilled, oils, or any other wastes which don’t belong in a wetland and riparian forest ecosystem. By removing harmful contaminant, those birds feeding naturally in their native spaces are protected by your conservation efforts.
So, step up, and do your part during Feed the Birds Day this Februrary 3! Attached are some links so this task is not overwhelming, but is enjoyable, and quite rewarding. Feed the birds not only today, but everyday, and get to know your feathered friends.
He that planteth a tree is a Servant of God
He provideth a Kindness, for many generations
and faces he hath not seen shall bless him.
Who so walketh in solitude, And inhabiteth the wood,Choosing light, wave, rock and bird.
Before the money-loving herd.
Unto that forester- shall pass,
From these companions, power and grace.~ Ralph Waldo Emerson
. “According to ancient mythology, trees were the first living things on earth. This is borne out by scientific reasoning which shows that it is through them that the air we breathe can give life to humanity. Through countless ages trees have been drawing carbonic acid gas from the atmosphere, absorbing and incorporating the carbon, assimilating it; then when they die, bequeathing to soil their carboniferous remains. The consequence has been that eventually the atmospheric oxygen was left sufficiently pure for the requirements of birds and mammals which have replaced the flying reptiles and monstrous amphibians that were able to endure the heavy air of primeval swamps and jungles.”~Richard St. Barbe Baker
For directions as to how to drive to “George Genereux” Urban Regional Park
For directions on how to drive to Richard St. Barbe Baker Afforestation Area
For more information:
Richard St. Barbe Baker Afforestation Area is located in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Canada north of Cedar Villa Road, within city limits, in the furthest south west area of the city. 52° 06′ 106° 45′
Addresses:
Part SE 23-36-6 – Afforestation Area – 241 Township Road 362-A
Part SW 23-36-6 – SW Off-Leash Recreation Area (Richard St. Barbe Baker Afforestation Area ) – 355 Township Road 362-A
S ½ 22-36-6 Richard St. Barbe Baker Afforestation Area (West of SW OLRA) – 467 Township Road 362-A
NE 21-36-6 “George Genereux” Afforestation Area – 133 Range Road 3063
Wikimapia Map: type in Richard St. Barbe Baker Afforestation Area
Google Maps South West Off Leash area location pin at parking lot
Web page: https://stbarbebaker.wordpress.com
Where is the Richard St. Barbe Baker Afforestation Area? with map
Where is the George Genereux Urban Regional Park (Afforestation Area)? with map
Facebook Group Page: Users of the George Genereux Urban Regional Park
Facebook group page : Users of the St Barbe Baker Afforestation Area
Please help protect / enhance /commemorate your afforestation areas, please contact the Friends of the Saskatoon Afforestation Areas Inc. (e-mail)
Support the afforestation areas with your donation or membership ($20.00/year). Please donate by paypal using the e-mail friendsafforestation AT gmail.com, or by using e-transfers Please and thank you! Your donation and membership is greatly appreciated. Members e-mail your contact information to be kept up to date!
| Payment Options |
| Membership : $20.00 CAD – year Membership with donation : $20.00 CAD – monthly Membership with donation : $50.00 CAD Membership with donation : $100.00 CAD |
1./ Learn.
2./ Experience
3./ Do Something: ***
You Tube Video Richard St. Barbe Baker Afforestation Area
You Tube Video Richard St Barbe Baker presented by Paul Hanley
You Tube Video Richard St Barbe Baker Afforestation Area and West Swale wetlands
You Tube Video Richard St. Barbe Baker Afforestation Area – Saskatoon’s best kept secret.
Our task must be to free ourselves … by widening our circle of compassion to embrace all living creatures and the whole of nature and its beauty.~Albert Einstein
“This generation may either be the last to exist in any semblance of a civilised world or that it will be the first to have the vision, the bearing and the greatness to say, ‘I will have nothing to do with this destruction of life, I will play no part in this devastation of the land, I am determined to live and work for peaceful construction for I am morally responsible for the world of today and the generations of tomorrow.’” ~ Richard St Barbe Baker
BIBLIOGRAPHY:
Alger, Bonnie. Feed the Birds Day. Treehugger.
Banks, Shelley. Regina Backyard Birds: Finches, Sparrows, Siskins. Prairie Nature. April 2015.
Bird Feeding. Hinterland Who’s Who. HWW. Environment and Climate Change Canada & Canadian Wildlife Federation
Bird Watching in Saskatchewan Whatbird
Bradbury, Kate. Garden Birds and Feed the Birds Day. Wildlife Blog Gardener’s World.
Briere, Karen. Feeding Program helps birds endure tough winter. March 1994. Western Producer.
Bumstead, Pat. Its Feed the Birds Day Birds Calgary.
Byron, Greg. What should you put out to feed birds during the winter? Bird Canada. Jan 16, 2013
DIY Bird Feed. Living Naturally with Kids. Rainy Day Mum.
Feed the Birds Day Holiday Insights
Feed the Birds Day Video on The Guardian.
Feed the Birds Day. Gardeners Network.
Feeding Birds in Winter. Prairie Birder. November 9, 2012.
Flowers, Frankie. How to Attract Birds to your Garden in Winter. HOme and Garden. Canadian Living. 2017 TVA Group
How to Help Birds in Winter. How to Attract a Greater Variety of Foods. Wild Birds Unlimited. Saskatoon, SK.
How to choose the right kind of bird feeder. Cornell Lab of Ornithology. April 2009
Inviting Birds to your Garden. Landscapes Saskatchewan.
Land Manager’s Guide to Grassland Birds of Saskatchewan. [with Key Identification Features, Species Range Maps, Identification Charts, and Bird Diet] Saskatchewan Watershed Authority. formerly Saskatchewan Wetland Conservation Corporation. ISBN 1-896-793-29-0. Regina. Saskatchewan.
Nature Counts. A Partner of Avian Knowledge Network. Bird Studies Canada.
Porter, Diane. Bird Feeding in the Winter Birdwatching.com
The RSPB Feed the Birds Day The Royal Society for the Protection of Birds.
RSPB Feed the Birds Day. The Royal Society for the Protection of Birds.
Saskatchewan Breeding Bird Atlas. Saskatchewan Conservation Data Centre.
Saskatchewan Breeding Bird Atlas. Bird Studies Canada, Saskatoon, SK
Saunders, Nick. Feeding the Wildlife at Pike Lake Saskatchewan Birds and Nature. November 2008
>Your Winter Backyard Bird Guide Nature Conservancy of Canada.
Richard St. Barbe Baker Afforestation Area. George Genereux Urban Regional Park. 
Lovely pictures! Who took them?
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There’s a lot of great information in this post, my hat is off to you for doing so much research on the subject!
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sciencesprings appreciates your support.
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A great post! Mostly we’re feeding sparrows, but we do have one really odd bird that hangs out with them: a red-wing blackbird of sorts. Never seen a bird like this before, so, a mutation maybe? I don’t know why he’s chosen to stay instead of going south for the winter, but he’s often at our feeder together with the sparrows. (NW from Outlook)
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That is such a neat story. Perhaps it could even be a juvenile. That is so intriguing. I heard that sparrows which migrate from England south, have been staying in England over the winter season, and their bills are adapting to the feed in bird feeders. I guess staying instead of migrating is a new adaptation for survival of the fittest with the advent of bird feeders being put out by humans. Feeding birds in the winter time is great fun! Do you do the back yard and Christmas challenges?
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No, I don’t. Never heard of them before.
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He’s still with us — I saw him today. He’s slowly losing his blackness; same wing patch, but more brown marbling showing now. His winter plumage, I guess. I wish some birder would come along and identify him.
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That is fantastic. That is so neat to see him through the seasons. Try taking a picture of him on the app iNaturalist, it is amazing what folks on that program will identify.
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