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This feeder is easy to make and will attract all types of birds. Younger kids may need an adult’s help.
You’ll Need: a pine cone, peanut butter, bird seed and thin string or twine. Never use fishing line because it could harm the birds!
Directions: (1) tie a loop of string or twine lengthwise around your pine cone leaving enough to tie at the end; (2) using a spoon, spread peanut butter all over the pine cone; (3) roll the pine cone in bird seed- the peanut butter will make it stick; (4) tie the end of your string or twine to a tree branch and wait for the birds to come!
The Great Blue Heron (GBH) is a common, year around resident of the Wichita Falls area. Found throughout the United States, they are equally at home in fresh or salt water. The Great Blue eats primarily fish but will also eat amphibians, reptiles, invertebrates and other birds. They will also catch and eat rodents in fields, especially in the winter.
The GBH is our largest heron, an adult easily standing waist high. They nest in colonies in isolated areas. These rookeries may host several hundred birds in some areas, although none this size have been reported in this area. Adults may fly 2 or 3 miles between the nest and the area they hunt. Generally, they will lay 2 – 6 eggs, about 2/3 will fledge from the nest. Chicks fly after approximately 50 – 60 days and will stay with the parents for another 2 – 4 weeks after they begin flying. The oldest known GBH lived 23 years.
If you have never been in close quarters with these majestic birds, they are big, they are strong, and they are dangerous. Bird rehabbers take great care when working with these birds––they are quite capable of blinding a person. Generally, they are very able to protect themselves.