Feeding the wild birds is a great deal for every party involved. The birds get a lot out of it, as they’re especially peckish after some strange apes started replacing their feeding grounds with corn fields. You get to watch brilliant flickers of color darting around your yard and trees, and listen to their satisfied chirps and squawks after they’ve finished ravaging your bird feeder. Your cat enjoys the spectacle of the birds as well, because he likes to imagine killing them.
The wild birds may eat for free, but they still have standards. Understanding their sophisticated palates may be a little tricky at first, but the people of Eden Prairie have Jon Pletcher to turn to for help. As the owner of Wild Birds Unlimited in the Tower Square shopping mall, he offers all the experience and seed you need to bring the birds to your yard.
“You would be amazed by the species of birds you can attract in Eden Prairie,” said Jon. “Everyone knows about sparrows, chickadees, and cardinals. But summer in Minnesota can also bring brilliant orange Baltimore orioles, pastel bluebirds, and the always cautious rose-breasted grosbeaks. We also have pileated woodpeckers, great big things that look like dinosaurs. People are always excited to see a pileated woodpecker – unless it’s on their house, of course.
“Many people are also surprised to see ruby-throated hummingbirds. They’re spectacular birds, and they don’t ask for anything fancy: just nectar made of four parts water and one part sugar and a simple, colorful feeder. You don’t even need to use red dye, which isn’t good for hummingbirds anyway. They also love potted flowers, especially ones with long, tubular petals like bee balm. They’ll love you too if you wear a Hawaiian shirt or a red hat, but no one is sweet enough to hold their attention for very long.
“Wild birds like to visit a yard that offers a few things. Food is first. Many people don’t realize how much wild bird habitat has been eaten up by farmland and cities, so feeding them helps to replace a small part of what the birds have lost. Shelter is second. Native trees and shrubs are always best for wild birds, because they provide habitat the birds have evolved to live in, and attract insects they have evolved to eat. A water source is third. That will keep birds in your yard longer, and a heated birdbath is like a magnet for them in the winter.
“Anyone can start birdwatching from their kitchen with a single bird feeder. Many affordably priced feeders will attract a huge variety of birds, but other specialized ones can bring even more species to your yard. Finch feeders have a mesh or nylon tube with very small holes, and can be filled with thistle and sunflower chips to attract beautiful goldfinches. Suet feeders are designed with props for woodpeckers to rest their tails on, just like when they would cling to a tree. Suet, especially with insects, can attract other birds as well, especially migrating ones who appreciate a high calorie boost during their journey.
“Sunflower seed is the universal bird food. It’s what makes up the large part of most seed blends, and a lot of people prefer to use it exclusively. With peanuts mixed into your blend you invite woodpeckers and nuthatches. Blue Jays are great fans of peanuts in the shell, and will even sort through them before choosing the heaviest prize to take off with. Millet is great for ground feeding birds like juncos and mourning doves. If millet is in your blend, the birds that land on your feeder will do you the favor of spreading it on the ground for you. Safflower seed has a very hard shell. It’s preferred by birds with stronger beaks like grosbeaks, cardinals and chickadees, while ‘nuisance’ birds like blackbirds, starlings and grackles can’t crack it.
“One thing many new enthusiasts might overlook is the quality of their birdseed. Much of what is sold at hardware and discount stores is loaded with fillers like milo and wheat. Wild birds simply ignore filler, leaving it to rot in the feeder or scattering it on the ground where it can sprout into weeds.
“At Wild Birds Unlimited we stock pure seed blends that wild birds appreciate every part of, and which come in fresh every week instead of sitting around in a warehouse for months or years. Our best seller is our No-Mess blend, which contains shelled sunflower seed, shelled peanuts, and hulled millet that won’t sprout weeds or let birds leave layers of husks on the ground. We also carry live mealworms, the favorite food of bluebirds. Other birds will eat them as well – they are worms, after all.
“I really enjoy helping people get started. Soon after they leave my store with their first feeder and bag of seed, they’ll come back all excited about their first cardinal or oriole. I also enjoy helping people troubleshoot. The most common problem by far are squirrels and raccoons, and even deer are known to stick their tongues into low-hanging feeders. We offer baffles that keep squirrels from finding a free lunch in your yard, cages that make feeders inaccessible to paws, and hot pepper laced foods which are repulsive to most mammals but innocuous to birds.
“Best of all, I love getting Wild Birds Unlimited involved with the community. We’ve donated a lot of product to help places show off their wild birds including the Eden Prairie Outdoor Center and Minnesota Landscape Arboretum. You can see my own personal feeders on public display at the Preserve Association’s common grounds off Anderson Lakes Parkway.
“I’ve also welcomed many local experts to give free talks at the store. In February we had a local chapter of Wild Ones in to speak about the benefits of native plants, and we were just about to have a representative from the Henderson Hummingbird Hurrah give a talk in April before the quarantine postponed their visit.
“I look forward to life returning to normal so I can continue serving Eden Prairie like before. Fortunately, Wild Birds Unlimited still provides for all of Eden Prairie’s birding needs with storefront pickup and free shipping on orders over $75. We have everything in stock that we normally would, and are standing by to drop a bag of the good stuff in your trunk!”
Wild Birds Unlimited is Eden Prairie’s locally owned source for high quality food, feeders, poles, baffles, birdhouses, birdbaths, and much more. By the time this article goes to print, Jon hopes to have reopened his store to the public. You may visit there at 582 Prairie Center Drive #220 and order online at mywbu.com/edenprairie.