(Description: Two men standing outdoors with bird seed bags, feeding station components on a table.)
[David:] Hey everybody! Naturalist, David Mizejewski with the National Wildlife Federation back with Jim Carpenter from Wild Birds unlimited and today we’re going to be talking about setting up a bird feeding station.
(Description: Cheerful music plays and “Save the Song Birds” appears on top of screen with the National Wildlife Federation logo at bottom left center, and Wild Birds Unlimited logo at bottom right center. “Certify Your Yard” appears center screen. All fades, then Food, Water, Cover, Places to Raise Young, and Sustainable Practices icons appear, with “Certify Your Yard” at top center of screen then fades. The Food icon is front and center then fades. Music continues quietly. We go back to seeing the two men who begin to put a feeding station together.)
[David:] So, let’s get right to it. We’ve got this great pole here.
[Jim:] Right.
[David:] Tell me why it’s important to feed birds. I know you kick off your book, “The Joy of Bird Feeding” with a whole section on feeding, so why is that important?
[Jim:] Well, there’s a lot of reasons to feed the birds. Some are just to help birds and wildlife in general and some of it just comes from the personal joy of feeding the birds because every time you walk by a window and look outside,
(Description: A variety of birds are seen feeding from different feeders)
[Jim:] something different is happening every minute of the day, every day of the year.
[David:] Yeah, actually, I think for me, personally, I want to make sure that I’m helping the birds, right? We know there are some scary numbers out there, about the decline of birds all across North America and creating a wildlife habitat garden and getting it certified is one way that everybody can make a difference. And putting out a feeding station like this is not only going to help the birds, but it’s going to help give people a great opportunity to see birds up close and personal in one specific spot in their yard and I think that’s kind of awesome.
[Jim:] Well, at Wild Birds Unlimited, we’re happy to be working with National Wildlife Federation because, it’s kind of like, if you’ve gone to the work of creating a wildlife habitat, why not be rewarded?
(Description: The NWF Certified sign appears then butterflies are shown on a plant, then flower, a rabbit, birds on feeders, a woman holding seed with a bird landing on her hand and feeding, then back to the men.)
[David:] That’s right, yeah!
[Jim:] And it’s certified that you’ve done a great job.
[David:] Well, one of the things we say at National Wildlife Federation is that wildlife habitat gardens are for wildlife, but they’re also for people.
[Jim:] Absolutely.
[David:] And again, I think that a feeding station is a great kind of “people spot” in the wildlife habitat garden because it’s going to attract birds to the same spot every single day for you to see and enjoy. You’ve got all sorts of different feeders up here. I really like this hopper feeder, but you know, I did spill some seed when I was filling it, so I’m actually really curious about that tube over there, because it looks like it’s just a solid block of seed right?.
[Jim:] That’s right.
(Description: Wild Birds Unlimited Seed Cylinder is shown.)
[Jim:] For the same amount of food that goes into both of these feeders, this probably lasts about six or seven times longer, because the birds have to grab each little seed off and you get to watch them longer because they’re sitting there and grabbing it off.
[David:] And less mess, right?
[Jim:] So, there’s less mess, it’s very convenient and yeah, you could even go into it takes less trucking and shipping to move it across country and so it’s more sustainable.
[David:] Right! And one of the things about your seed mix is
(Description: A variety of Wild Birds Unlimited seed blends are shown.)
[David:] that they’re custom blends and you’re only using seeds that the birds actually like to eat. There’s no filler in there.
[Jim:] Right. There’s no filler.
[David:] I mean, and check this out:
(Description: David reaches in the bag and shows the seeds up close.)
[David:] I mean, I want to eat that.
[Jim:] I would eat that too. That one has sunflower seeds, tree nuts, fruit pieces and so the birds you bring in…the greater the diversity of foods, the greater the diversity of birds.
[David:] Right, and do you know what? That actually really underscores a really important point here: that birds naturally find foods out in the environment from the native plants that are out there, so the seeds, the nuts, the berries that the plants are naturally producing, that’s the natural way to feed birds and also the insects that the plants support.
(Description: Bluebird is shown with a bug in its beak, then back to the men.)
[David:] But again, a feeding station like this can really supplement that and again, bring the birds right to one particular spot in your yard where you can see and enjoy them AND when you provide those natural forms of food and supplement with feeders, that is one of the four habitat components that all wildlife need: they’re food, water, cover, places to raise young. If you provide those four things AND you commit to maintaining your yard in a natural, sustainable way, and by the way, buying seed blends that don’t waste, and feeders that are made out of recycled materials can help you do that. Those are the five things that you need to do if you want to get Certified Wildlife Habitat status from the National Wildlife Federation for your own yard or garden space.
[Jim:] So, you go into a Wild Birds Unlimited store,
(Description: Wild Birds Unlimited associates showing customers feeders appears on screen.)
[Jim:] and our Certified Birdfeeding Specialists can help you figure out what best to do in your yard.
[David:] And so, if you want to find out more information on how you can participate, go to the links below, and you’ll find out everything you need to know.
(Description: Web address appears at bottom of screen that reads, “www.wbu.com/certify-your-yard” then a woodpecker on a suet feeder appears, and the Wild Birds Unlimited logo appears.)
