Birds are such delicate animals that they must be handled carefully. Handfeeding is usually one of the best ways to interact with them. However, just the same, it should be done with care and there are some things that must be remembered and followed.

Birds, especially pet birds, have somehow learned that people are their greatest benefactors. Although they have the capacity to live on their own under nature’s nurture, years of interaction with human beings have taught them to accept people as good friends. Thus, it is normal that they, at some point, rely on people for food.

Handfeeding, however, cannot be done as if you really are providing care for a bird. Your very first consideration must be the frequency of feeding and the volume of food that you provide. This should be the case especially for baby birds which grow rapidly and have certain nutritional needs.

As a bird matures, his food capacity increases as well. You should regularly take note of the development of the bird to be able to identify properly what type of food and how much of it is most suitable. Handfeeding must be a product of both observation and personal judgment.

You must also take note of the unique features of a bird’s digestive system. The esophagus widens as well as the lower part of the neck. Such widening is referred to as crop and serves as food compartment.

If you are trying to handfeed a baby bird, you can easily see and evaluate its crop since the feathers are not yet thick. However, if your pet bird is quite mature, the best way to evaluate is to feel the crop’s contents by pressing it with your thumb and index finger. You should do this prior to feeding so that you know how much to foor to provide.

Baby birds should never be left with a totally empty crop. Normal emptying time is 4 hours. If you notice that 4 hours have passed and the crop still has contents, there might be some problem with the bird’s health.

Not only should you be concerned about the volume and frequency of feeding, you should also make sure that your hand is positioned properly. Wild birds are generally easier to feed because they reach for the food dropper without much encouragement. You can often feed them without holding them; but the case is not the same for other types where you have to use a towel to handle them carefully and position for feeding.

In general, handfeeding birds is really not a straight forward task. You have to take note of many factors that will benefit the animal.

They say that bird watching is one of the most fulfilling and relaxing hobby that you could literally enjoy almost anywhere, even in your own home. That is why there are now more and more stores which are selling bird houses, not just to be a decorative display for your outdoors or garden, it is also a great way which you could protect your feathered friends from the cruelty of the outside world.

On the other hand, there is also a great way in which you could provide shelter and protection to the birds but at the same time, help save the world by recycling some materials and that is through creating pop bottle bird house. Here are the instructions that you would need to create a one of a kind pop bottle bird house that would not only attract your feathered friends into your yard, but also help save the world through recycling.

What You Will Need

One of the main materials that you need in creating a pop bottle bird house is of course, a pop bottle. It would be very effective if the soda bottle that you would choose to use is a two liter bottle and it would greatly help and neater if you would remove all the labels and clean the bottle before you plan on using them. Do not forget that when making a pop bottle bird house, it is also important that you would let them be dry and free from dirt.

The next thing that you could do is to drill two small holes at the bottom of the bottle and remember that the bottom of it will be the top of the feeder of your pop bottle bird house. After you have drilled the two small holes, what you could do next is to thread through one hole into another and twist the ends of the wire to make a loop for hanging your feeder. When sealing the holes, you could use some duct tape or caulk so that rain and other outside elements could not get into your pop bottle bird house.

After which, what you could do next is to drill a 5/16” holes on the opposite sides of the bottle where you could insert an eight or nine inch by 5/16” dowels into the pairs of holes where birds could rest. Repeat this instructions until you get to create a series of perches. To make your pop bottle bird house more colorful and exciting, you could paint and draw on all the materials first before you do all the instructions in constructing your bird house.

Going on a birdwatching holiday? You are not alone. Bird enthusiasts number more than 50 million in America alone and a huge percentage of this crowd actively seek out birds in their territories to go on birdwatching trips.

There are hundreds of companies offering birdwatching holidays, some even go on over 25 birding tours per year. International birdwatching tour companies even take bird lovers to Mexico and Alaska and as far away as India, Africa, Brazil and Peru.

So what happens on birdwatching holidays? People pay good money to go on birding trips.

Choosing a birdwatching holiday. There are birdwatching companies who offer nothing else other than birding and there are also organizations that run tours that include lectures, such as those at universities, clubs and museums. Whichever you choose will depend on what type of holiday you prefer.

Ask a friend or family who has been to a birdwatching tour. If there is no one else, pick a known company to tour with. If you’re a newbie, it’s best to stick with a tried and tested group. Call them up or look up their sites on the internet to check their services.

Tour price. Depending on the location, tour prices can range from a few hundred to a few thousand dollars; and the same length and location can be offered at a lower price by another company. Some things that affect tour prices are group size and services.

Some of the best group tours are those with small sized groups because they are easier to organize, more quiet and they can interact more with the leader. They are also way more expensive so companies compromise with 6-10 or 8 – 16 participants. The larger group normally has two leaders.

Services can include airfares, transfers, food and lodging. The price will depend on what is included in the tour.

Location Make sure that you are well informed of the physical demands of the tours because some of them may be strenuous. Your outfit should conform to the demands of the surrounding, especially in summer, when the heat is intense. Bring hats, proper clothing, sunscreen and insect repellants.

Bring your tools. No birdwatching holiday is complete without binoculars or a telescope. Bring one with the proper magnification to let you enjoy the sights. Bring a camera, notebook and pen and maybe even a field guide to help you identify the birds. Other than these, bring your sense of wonder and enjoy the sights.

Bird watching is one of the most popular hobbies in the United States and Europe. People who indulge in birdwatching cover a wide spectrum; ranging from the casual park goers who feed pigeons, to environmentalists who view, photograph, and catalog various avian species.

If you’re serious about bird watching, and are taking it up as a fulltime hobby, there are a few things you’ll need to take with you on your trips. Depending on your personal tastes and your reasons for taking up bird watching, you may not neccesarily need all of the equipment presented here; however, it never hurts to be prepared.

Binoculars – any good set of binoculars will do for birdwatching, though if you’re planning to view nocturnal birds, make sure that the set you get also includes night vision capability. Since you’ll be outdoors for the most part, get a rugged set that can withstand most terrain and weather conditions.

Bird Guide – if you’re packing a palmtop, download a bird guide, or buy a small pocket guide at a bookstore. With a good guide, you’ll be able to identify the breed of bird you’re watching, as well as obtaining useful information like its feeding habits and behavior patterns. The best guides also have tips on popular parks and preserves you can visit.

Digital Camera – digital cameras are silent as opposed to classic shutter-types, which make them useful for birdwatching. Birds are extremely sensitive to noise, especially in the wilderness, so a digital camera won’t spook them. Be sure to choose a camera that has high resolution and a high frame capture rate, in case you get a shot of a bird on the wing. Also, get a digital camera with good zoom range, since you’ll most likely be viewing birds from a good distance away.

Note Pad and Pen – keeping a journal allows you to keep track of what kinds of birds you’ve spotted, when, where, and under what conditions. Besides being a diary of sorts, this can actually be especially handy if you come across a rare species of bird, or even one that is on an endangered species list so that you can report its presence and location to your local wildlife preserve.

General Outdoor Gear – this isn’t for the casual birdwatcher. For those who plan to actually take trips out into the wilderness however, pack a tent, sleeping bag, rations of food and water, and other camping essentials. Include safety and survivial gear like first aid kits and emergency flares.

Many people have learned to love birds.  If you are one of them or simply want to further understand these wonderful creatures, you may look into several bird databases available online.

Avibase is one type of these databases.  It is very extensive and tackles almost all types of birds in the world.  It boasts of around 2 million records of 10,000 species of birds.  It can even go into detail such as the subspecies.

Examples of information that you can gather from Avibase are taxonomy, synonyms in various languages of the world, and some information on how the birds are distributed in different locations.  These contents and many others were derived from more than 12 years of study.  This specific database is hosted by Bird Studies Canada which is the Canadian copartner of Birdlife International.

Birdlife has really been dedicated to provide more information about birds.  It has also developed the World Bird Database (WBDB) where data from research and studies are constantly added and/or updated.  It began in 1994 and has significantly expanded through the years. 

The World Bird Database makes information management easier and provides several other tools that are capable of analyzing and making scientific reports.  It really is dedicated to the expansion of knowledge about birds whether it is just about the species, bird areas, endemic birds, and many other topics. 

Generally, bird databases are very easy to use.  You just have to enter a bird name, in any language, and the database will be able to generate information about it.  In most cases, you can break down your search if you have further details on what you want to research.  Downloads are also possible. 

Moreover, some bird databases are not just sources of scientific and technical information but are also sources of information about advocacy work that has to do with the protection of birds.  So if you want to join a worthy cause for the protection of birds but do not know where to go, you might want to consult one or more of these databases. 

On the other hand, if you have some observations to share about birds, some bird databases have links that welcome these as well.  You can help various bird societies in their research and studies with your valuable observations.

The presence of all these information tools further proves how valuable birds are.  Undoubtedly, they deserve attention and proper care.  The dissemination of proper information will certainly benefit them.