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tribunb december 5 i990 p3 birds will appreciate backyard feeders with the overtures of winter all around us the focus of an increasing number of people becomes centered on their backyard bird feeder here from the warmth and comfort of their own homes they can watch and enjoy a very important part of a birds daily life mainly its eating behavior when these observations are increased to include a dozen or more different bird species the interest grows according ly im not sure when this bird-feed- tog pastime started but ironically my first columns on birds written in the early 1960s coincided with the dou bling of the price of sunflower seed in our area within the next two years today the introduction of the smaller black sunflower seed with its higher oil content actually gives you and the birds the best value theres no doubt that the wintering birds originally sought out natural sources of nourishment to carry them through the rigors of this cold weather season trees and shrubs like native mountain ash and juniper for their v winter persistent berries soft maple and conifers for their keys and cones and the various grasses andweed- heads for their seeds in rural areas these are still the main food source of outdoors art briggsjude many kinds of winter birds as wit nessed by the annual flocks of snow buntings or the wandering waxwings that rarely come close to feeding shelves while special planting for birds will bring added avian rewards many of the seedeaters and bug borers can be readily attracted by offering them a dependable daily food source this can be accomplished as easily as scat tering seed on the ground in a shel- tered place like under the boughs of an evergreen tree or beneath a picnic table matter of fact this practice will be much appreciated by the ground- feeding tree sparrows cardinals mourning doves grouse and pheas ants for the largest number of seed eaters however some sort of seed shelf or hopper feeder is your best bet to entice woodpeckers and nuthatches simply hang suet in a mesh bag from the nearest tree or fashion a feeder to hold peanuts in the shell using half inch mesh chicken wire these feeders dont have to be fancy but they do have to be kept full once you get the birds coming to them many stores sell commercial bird feeders or you can easily build your own of course the number one seed on the menu for backyard bird visitors is sunflower seed striped or black we believe that the black seed is more appealing to many of the smaller win tering finches and siskins than the larger striped kernels the facts that the grosbeaks and blue jays have no preference and that there are more seeds per bag make us favor the black sunflower seed we do not buy the bags of readymixed bird seed because they often contain seeds that are very rarely eaten instead along with the sunflower seed we give them cracked com a good heat source that all the different bird species relish we also keep a distiefink feeder filled with niger seed but it is not as popu lar with the birds as our other seed feeders now that you have your feeder full and ready the next question is where do you put it its best to choose a location thats not only clearly visible from a convenient window but has some protection from the prevailing winds place the feeder on a pipe or hang it from a tree branch out of the reach of dogs cats squirrels and rac coons a length of 20 pound test monofil fishing line makes a good hanging support that prevents squir rels from gaining access for persis tent squirrels try suspending your feeder between two trees on a stout wire on which some six inch sections of abs pipe have been loosely threaded if a pipe or post is used as a mount keep it at a reasonable height for refilling and attach an inverted cone to stop predators from climbing as with any endeavor of this nature it often takes time to build up your backyard feathered clientele howev er if you are patient and persistent you will soon get a preview of what makes feeding the wild birds such a fascinating winter hobby then one day just when you think you can identify all of your backyard birds a new or rare species arrives at that time you wont have to be told whether your efforts were all worth it youll know immediately plwtoartbriggsjude the evening grosbeaks are colorful winter visitors to bird feeding stations goodwood news dance coming dec 15 last wednesday was bingo night at the goodwood hall a nice crowd but we could do with more people the next bingo is tomorrow wed night at 7 pm john hirlbert is coming along after a few trips to the hospital we wish him a speedy recovery elva dymis is also coming along just fine after her operation thursday night was the big annu al united church anniversary turkey supper at the goodwood hall people came from all over for this reunion of sorts the new united church minister was there and he helped serve at the tables the goodwood seniors are in need of more people to join in their funsign up if you havent the couples club is also experiencing small crowds of late come out and join the funremember the christ mas dance on dec 15 with a real christmas dinner phone marlene bell for tickets at 6403985 by eureka iillfllllft illiiilillb ive prepared forthe gst j d enterprises central vacuum systems intercoms 4162848504 8527404 7057656405 have you now is the time to register are you ready for the pro posed gst if not now is the time to register and prepare registration applies to anyone involved in a commercial enter prise this includes fishing farming professional services and many activities carried out by nonprofit organizations revenue canada is ready to assist you with information on how to register and the benefits of doing so what the gst means to your operation simplified accounting options and administrative procedures rebates of the federal sales tax how to recover gst on business purchases gst return and filing options contact us today phone 9731000 outside toronto call 18004611082 telecommunications device for the hearing impaired 1 800 4655770 or drop by the revenue canada excise office nearest you monday to friday 900 am to 500 pm canadas gst its good business to prepare now i nannicanada ravanu canada oouanaaalacdm cuttoraamenb canada