Welcome to WildlifeNW the home page for Wild Birds Unlimited Gig Harbor, Puyallup, and University Place.
About
We are Wild Birds Unlimited in Gig Harbor, Puyallup, and University Place Washington. We love the great Pacific Northwest and our amazing local communities. We also love to bring people and nature together. With our Wild Birds Unlimited locations we have the great joy of helping to bring nature to our local communities.
Blogs
Fall Migration has begun!
Just as soon as we think we are just getting into one season (summer) we are already heading into another! Migration has already begun, male Rufous hummingbirds for example began their long journey south of the boarder more than a month ago! (they have no part in the raising of the fledglings that they have left behind…. 🤪)
Other infrequent visitors might be appearing in your yard now as they are heading south as well. For us, the Evening Grosbeaks are back (yay!). They won’t stay long, but I hope they enjoy the good quality food and places to rest that they have access to in our back yard…(we very specifically leave branches and dense brush areas for birds to roost in and hide from predators). I’ve also left some of the wild blackberries for various berry eating birds and my Merlin app has been picking up Cedar Waxwings and a variety of warblers which is super fun.
It might not seem like the time to worry about food sources, after all in theory there should be an abundance of food sources now; however in the PNW, we’ve been experiencing back to back dry summers for a number of years (and even fire in some areas) which has reduced the availability of food sources. Additionally after a cold & wet spring in which only the moss seemed to thrive, we may not have high quality natural food sources available for these weary travelers. Continuing to offer high quality food helps the migrating flocks to maintain strength and helps those who have not yet begun their travels to build high quality feathers. Don’t forget, most all birds molt after the stress of breeding season, and it takes a lot of energy to grow new feathers this is why it’s so impactful to continue to offer high quality foods throughout the year.
Another thing that helps is turning off extra lights as the flocks migrate south, this helps them better find their way and helps to prevent distraction as they make the long journeys. Here’s a link to a great article from the Audubon society with more details: Lights-Out Program.
Ok…key take always:
- Provide high fat & high protein foods & fresh water.
- Provide safe areas for birds to roost in away from predators & weather.
- Turn off unnecessary outdoor lights to help birds migrate.
- Enjoy the fall visitors in your yard!
Migration
Fall Migration has begun! Just as soon as we think we are just getting into one season (summer) we are already heading into another! Migration has already begun, male Rufous hummingbirds for example began their long journey south of the boarder at least a month ago! (they have no part in the raising of the …
LBB’s aka…Little Brown Birds
Spring is a season of change and new visitors. We see old favorites returning, maybe a new visitor to the yard that we’ve been hoping of seeing, and then we see something that isn’t in any of the books….a LBB. LBB’s are the little brown jobs that defy identification in our favorite bird book. They …
I found a baby bird, what do I do?
Spring is the time that we find all kinds of new additions to our yards. Migrating seasonal visitors that you wait for each spring (hello Rufous Hummingbirds … I love it when I first hear the male in the year each year). Some are unusual and unexpected visitors to you yard – we have had …
Contact
Please let us know how we can better serve you. We want to ensure that you have the best birding experience. Wildlife and birding questions can be sent to askwbu@wildlifenw.com and we will be happy to assist.
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