Our biweekly online show is a digest of what is happening in the Avian World. Our site gives you the opportunity to showcase your bird photography and discuss topics important to you. Our resident ornithologist Dr. David Bird will also answer any bird-related questions you have!
SEASON 4 EPISODES
- View the full episode here: Backyard Feeding: Ask Dr. Bird: The Stories: Winner's Circle: The last episode I was wearing a toque and freezing, two weeks later - I'm dressed for summer. I love warm fall weather! Because of the early frost and snow in many places in September, a lot of the berries on trees froze and are now fermenting. So that means it's drunken bird season! There have been reports from all over…
View the full episode here: Backyard Feeding: Ask Dr. Bird: EnviroMinute: The Stories: With fall weather coming, it's not a bad idea to think about adding a weatherguard to your feeders. We have only one model, the Squirrel Buster Plus that has a dedicated weatherguard, but you can either purchase a 3rd party one to hang over your feeder or if you're bored and like to DIY, aluminum pie and pizza trays are an excellent…
View the full episode here: Backyard Feeding: Ask Dr. Bird: The Headlines: Winner's Circle: Well a few nights of heavy frost and my garden is finished! We picked what we could and left the rest for the local wildlife to fatten up on for the winter. Just a reminder, migration is in full swing and if you have the chance to turn off any exterior lighting, it can really help birds from becoming disoriented while…
View the full episode here: Backyard Feeding: Ask Dr. Bird: EnviroMinute: The Stories: Well...it's that time of year to harvest, harvest, harvest! Not only are we harvesting all the yummy things we planted this summer, but I've also decided to harvest some local berries for our birds. I'll freeze them and then put them out later this winter when things are at their grimmest and greyest. At the same time, I'm checking my milkweed to…
View full episode here: Backyard Feeding: Ask Dr. Bird: The Stories: Winner's Circle: We spent the last week of August essentially off the grid. It was great to unplug for a little while even if it was a bit hectic running around after my youngest son who's hit a point where he never stops moving. Fall migration is in full swing, so just a reminder to keep your feeders full and stock them with as…
View the full episode here: Backyard Feeding: Ask Dr. Bird: EnviroMinute: The Stories: More on Hummers this episode! I discovered that filling my hummer feeders halfway still allows the Hummers to drink properly but cuts down on spillage which goes a long way in not attracting bees and wasps and prevents them from being able to reach the nectar. David talks about something that two people in very different areas witnessed, a lone Snow Goose…
Full episode here: Backyard Feeding: Ask Dr. Bird: The Stories with Special Guest Jesse Huth: Winner's Circle: Yes! I'm still talking about Hummers! It must have been an omen because since last episode, we have so many Hummingbirds in the backyard I've had to put up more feeders. Although between the vegetable garden and my flowers I can't imagine they are going hungry, but still... On Backyard Feeding my son Ciaran helps me give our…
Full episode here: Backyard Feeding: Ask Dr. Bird: EnviroMinute: The Headlines: This week we had to film in the studio. It was raining so hard... Since we haven't been seeing a lot of Hummingbirds this summer, I thought maybe if I spent a lot of time talking about them, they would visit my feeders a lot more. We've had quite a few calls from concerned bird lovers who haven't been seeing that many either. I…
View the full episode here: Backyard Feeding: Ask Dr. Bird: The Stories: Winner's Circle: It's that time of year again when we often come across baby birds on the ground. David talks about what we should do about it and how to identify a bird in trouble and one that's just learning how to fly. He also gives us info on what to do if you spot a strange bird in your backyard. Some great…
View the full episode here: Backyard Feeding: Ask Dr. Bird: EnviroMinute: The Stories: It seems with the world being a bit quieter, Chipmunks have been a bit busier. We're being bombarded with calls about chimpunks and how to manage them around your birdfeeders. I've certainly noticed quite a few more in our backyard this summer, particulary because they've been collecting sunflower seeds and hiding them in the garden. On Backyard Feeding this week I've got…
View the full episode here: Backyard Feeding: Ask Dr. Bird: The Stories: Winner's Circle: So this week I finally had the chance to try out my homemade suet 'against' Mark's high quality. Well...it's a learning process. I did get some nibbles but Mark's was by far the more popular of the two. I'm going to keep trying to see what I can do to improve it. Have any of you tried making your own suet…
View the full episode here: Backyard Feeding: Ask Dr. Bird: EnviroMinute: The Stories: And...POOF, Just like that it's full on summer. We've gone from shovelling snow to wearing sunblock in a really short period of time. That's ok though because spring is here so we'll be shooting more and more episodes outside. Every week, I get a few emails and messages about how to make your own suet, so on Backyard Feeding this week, I…
View full episode here: Backyard Feeding: Ask Dr. Bird: Brome Bird ID Challenge Winner and Stories: Winner's Circle: BBN 4-11 Keep Brown-Headed Cowbirds Off Your Feeders A lot of people are complaining about Grackles, Starlings and Brown-headed Cowbirds invading their feeders and keeping other songbirds away. On backyard feeding David will explain why it's so important to try and discourage Cowbirds from using your feeders and I show you a couple of tricks on how…
View full episode here: Backyard Feeding: Ask Dr. Bird: EnviroMinute: The Stories with the Brome Bird ID Challenge: It’s such a difficult time of year for everything, winter jacket in the morning, t-shirt in the afternoon, a cup of cocoa by the fire in the evening while watching the snow - that being said, spring is very much on its way up here. We are working in the backyard, trying to find ways to keep…
View Full Episode here: Backyard Feeding: Ask Dr. Bird: The Stories: Winner's Circle: I hope everyone is keeping busy and not getting too bored. We can't seem to find enough hours in the day, between work and homeschooling, and getting the backyard ready for spring. But this weekend I found enough time to try out a project I've wanted to start for awhile. I often get messages from people letting me know they've…
Full episode here: Backyard Feeding: Ask Dr. Bird: EnviroMinute: The Stories: These are definitely interesting times we're living in - with so much additional stress and uncertainty in our lives, it's a great time to take a few minutes a day and watch the birds if you can. More and more studies are coming out showing the benefits of birdwatching on mental health, and these days, we need all the help we can get! If…
View the full episode here: Backyard Feeding: Ask Dr. Bird: The Headlines: Winner's Circle: You know how I'm always asking you to participate in the Great Backyard Bird Count, the Christmas Bird Count, or all the other Citizen Science initiatives? Well it's to help with projects like this! eBird has just released 500 interactive maps that show where and when different species of birds are at any time of year. They've put these maps together…
View the full episode here: Backyard Feeding: EnviroMinute: Ask Dr. Bird: The Stories: Amazing results from the GBBC this year with record numbers of participants from all over the world. Head over to gbbc.birdcount.org to see the detailed results. It's that time of year again where I want to remind everyone to keep their feeders clean. It's a lot more difficult in the winter here, but I still bring them in every 3 weeks or…
View the full episode here: Backyard Feeding: Ask Dr. Bird: The Stories: Winner's Circle: Hello Everyone! What an incredible photo contest this month. We've had the most submissions ever and the colours are just spectacular! I hope you all participated in the Great Backyard Bird Count and logged your findings. I was doing that and also participating in Project FeederWatch so I've been busy counting all weekend. I just wanted to remind you and let…
We usually manage to fit this in on a regular episode but last episode was too soon and next episode will be too late so here we go! Don't forget to participate in the Great Backyard Bird Count which is this weekend from the 14th to the 17th of February. You can count for all 4 days or just 1 if that's all you have time for. Just count birds for 15 minutes a day…
View the full episode here: Backyard Feeding: EnviroMinute: Ask Dr. Bird: The Headlines: I'm not sure how many of you may have heard about the weather bomb that hit Saint John's Newfoundland a couple of weeks ago, but the snow accumulation was so fast that most people weren't able to leave their houses. It seems like these crazy weather systems are becoming more common every season. Backyard Feeding this week is just a reminder to…
View the full episode here: Backyard Feeding/Ask Dr. Bird: The Headlines: Winner's Circle: Brrrr....Winter is back with a vengeance. It's been really cold this week and I've been filling my feeders daily to keep the birds happy. So to continue my talks about what and what not to feed birds, this episode is all about mealworms and how dried mealworms can be used in various Squirrel Buster bird feeders. Dr. Bird also answers a question…
View the full episode here: Backyard Feeding: EnviroMinute: Ask Dr. Bird: The Stories: Welcome back from the holidays! I hope everyone had a great Christmas and New Year celebration. We had a wonderful time here, even though the weather has been so mild, we've done as much biking and walking as we have sledding and skating. Which is one of the things I talk about on Backyard Feeding this episode. We've had a few people…
SEASON 3 EPISODES
View the full episode here: Backyard Feeding: Ask Dr. Bird: The Headlines: Winner's Circle: It's so much fun that this episode is being released on Christmas Eve. We've had a bit of a thaw here, so I'm not sure we're going to have a white Christmas this year but the important thing is that we are surrounded by family and friends. On Backyard Feeding I talk about our annual Christmas tree tradition where we go…
View full episode here: Backyard feeding: EnviroMinute: Ask Dr. Bird: The Headlines: Last episode I talked about certain human foods that are very bad for birds, so this episode I thought I'd share some of the human foods that you CAN give birds. I thought it would be a great activity to make some of them into Christmas treats that we can hang outside. If you have children or grandchildren this is a great way…
Watch the full episode here: Backyard Feeding: Ask Dr. Bird: The Headlines: Winner's Circle: Hello Everyone! I hope you are all getting ready for an amazing Thanksgiving coming up this weekend. We've already had ours up here in Canada, so we're slowly getting ready for Christmas. On Backyard Feeding this episode I talk about what you REALLY shouldn't feed birds. I'm amazed at what some people have fed their birds and in some cases, you…
View the full episode here: Backyard Feeding: EnviroMinute: Ask Dr. Bird: The Stories: Winter is here! It arrived very suddenly this past weekend. I'd hoped to get more yardwork done before the snow came, but hopefully we'll get one more stretch of really warm weather before winter sets in for good. But...with the beginning of winter comes one of my favourite birdwatching intitiatives: Project FeederWatch. On Backyard Feeding this week I talk about how you…
Full episode here: Backyard Feeding: Ask Dr. Bird: Headlines: Winner's Circle: The days are quickly getting colder and colder so I have to move quickly to get the backyard ready for winter. I don't know if you remember a few years ago, I ended up having to shovel like mad to make a path to my feeders. Not this year - I finally made the time to move my pole system closer to the house.…
Full episode here: Backyard Feeding: EnviroMinute: Ask Dr. Bird: The Headlines: Well, we lucked out here and had spectacular weather for Canadian Thanksgiving. The leaf colors are incredible this year and while I was getting our backyard ready for winter, I thought I'd continue talking about different types of food for different seasons. This episode it's peanuts, which are often overlooked but are a great mess-free feeding solution. The other great thing about peanuts is…
View the full episode here: Backyard Feeding: Ask Dr. Bird: The Headlines: Winner's Circle: I think everyone is a bit shocked with the report of North America losing 3 billion of its birds over the last 50 years. There are a lot of ways to interpret the data, but it doesn't really matter because we should all be taking steps to help bring bird populations back to what they were. Incidentally, by doing so, you'll…
Full episode here: Backyard Feeding: EnviroMinute: Ask Dr. Bird: The Headlines: It's finally here! Yesterday was the official launch of the new Squirrel Buster Suet. Head over to bromebirdcare.com to check it out. I was working on some How-To videos while recording Backyard Feeding this episode and we have some great input from David about the advantages of feeding suet to your birds. On Ask Dr. Bird, David answers a question about bald Jays and…
Full Episode: Backyard Feeding: Ask Dr. Bird: The Headlines: Winner's Circle: It seems to me that summer just began, but things are already starting to cool down. I didn't see a lot of Hummers at my feeders over the summer, but they are starting to come back, which means sadly they are getting ready for migration. So Backyard Feeding this week is a suggestion to put up a few more feeders if you have the…
View the full episode here: Backyard Feeding/Envirominute: Ask Dr. Bird: The Headlines: So this week we combine Backyard Feeding and EnviroMinute to encourage you to have a look around your house and see if anything can be re-purposed for garden use. I have some old steel wheels that are being used as a planter, and old cast-iron bathtub that we use as an herb garden, and most recently an old pan that I'm using as…
View the full episode here: Backyard Feeding: Ask Dr. Bird: The Headlines: Winner's Circle: So we had a surprise visit from Dr. Bird this week and got to chat with him about what's happening with the state of birds. It's always a lot of fun talking to him. On his segment Ask Dr. Bird he answers a question about why you may be seeing fewer birds at your feeders over the summer time. Some great…
Full Episode: Backyard Feeding: EnviroMinute: Ask. Dr. Bird: Headlines: Summer is in full swing here, going from hot to hotter. Humans aren't the only ones who can get a bit disoriented with the heat, birds can too, so on Backyard Feeding and on Ask Dr. Bird this week we talk about window reflections and what to do about them. Birdlife International has just announced that 5 million people worldwide are members of their Birdsafe Window…
View the full episode here: Backyard Feeding: Ask Dr. Bird: The Headlines: Winner's Circle: So we've gone from freezing to melting! Last week was one of intense heatwaves here in Quebec and most of Eastern Canada. We had a bit of rain, a bit of sun and boom! Bug city! Which of course is great for the birds. And on Backyard Feeding I'd like to give you a reminder. If you are in an area…
View the full episode here: Backyard Feeding: EnviroMinute: Ask Dr. Bird: The Headlines: So summer is finally here...still kind of chilly, but the birds don't seem to mind. And when the summer heat eventually gets here, the birds will need a place to bathe. So Backyard Feeding this week is a reminder to wash your birdbaths. Let them soak for 15 minutes in a 10:1 water/bleach solution. Keeping them clean can really help to prevent…
View the full episode here: Backyard Feeding: Ask Dr. Bird: The Headlines: Winner’s Circle: We’ve moved the studio outside into my ‘wild’ backyard because it looks like summer is finally ‘almost’ here. Backyard Feeding this week is just a reminder about keeping an 18” (47cm) clearance around your Brome feeders to make sure they stay truly squirrel-proof. Dr. Bird discusses Eastern Screech Owl egg-laying habits as we follow up with Dennis Stroud and his family…
Full episode here: Backyard Feeding: EnviroMinute: Ask Dr. Bird: The Headlines: So the weather is finally nice enough to move the show back outside again. We've had an incredible number of birds come through our backyard over the past couple of weeks including more varieties of warblers than I've ever seen. We've got a Scarlet Tanager that's been accomodating enough to pose for a few pictures. Indigo Buntings, Baltimore Orioles, and many more, it's been…
Full episode here: Backyard Feeding: Ask Dr. Bird: The Headlines: Winner's Circle: Spring is here! I'm thrilled with the amount of wildlife, particularly birds, I see in my backyard. Every year I find more and more species enjoying my unkempt gardens and backyard. Backyard Feeding this episode is about exactly that. We had so many brushpiles around the property that my parents were having the hardest time not cleaning them up. But you have to…
Full episode here: Backyard Feeding: EnviroMinute: Ask Dr. Bird: The Headlines: Hummer season is here! Well, almost. David gives us a rundown on these incredible little creatures including which species we are likely to see across Canada and the Northern US. If you have nestboxes up, now is the time to make sure you have the right tenant. Dennis Stroud had Starlings in his Eastern Screech Owl box for years, but this year he decided…
View full episode here: Backyard Feeding: Ask Dr. Bird: The Headlines: Winner's Circle With spring well on its way here, I had the pleasure of giving a couple of workshops about Eastern Bluebirds to some elementary school kids. The kids have a plan to put up 100 nest boxes, so Backyard Feeding this episode is a recap of the workshops and a few things to remember when putting up Bluebird boxes. Dr. Bird shares some…
Full Episode Here: Backyard Feeding: EnviroMinute: Ask Dr. Bird: The Headlines: Well, we've seen the first Robins on the ground despite the fact that we are still getting snow. I spent 10 minutes clearing off the car this morning which was very unpleasant for a spring day. I've prepared a special treat for all my early arrivals who won't use a hanging feeder just in case they can't find enough to eat. Check out Backyard…
Full episode here: Backyard Feeding: Ask Dr. Bird: The Headlines: Winner's Circle: With the weather so totally unpredictable this time of year, it's nice to have something to do indoors when bird feeding/watching just isn't practical. Wingspan is a new board game designed by Elizabeth Hargrave with tons of information from eBird. The goal of the game is to attract as many birds as possible to your backyard aviary and each bird can do something…
Full episode here: Backyard Feeding: EnviroMinute: Ask Dr. Bird: The Headlines: Hello everyone, I'm back! Maternity leave was fantastic, but I'm happy to be back on the show again. David is doing backyard feeding this week with information about putting up nest boxes if you live in the south. He also answers a question all the way from Australia about the hybridization of Rainbow and Scaly-Breasted Lorikeets. Envirominute this week is about doing the least…
Full episode here: Backyard Feeding: Ask Dr. Bird: Headlines: Winner's Circle: Welcome back to another edition of Brome Bird News! This is my last episode voice hosting - Tatsiana is back at work this week so she'll be back to hosting the show next episode. But even though she's not here, I've tried to find some fun and interesting stories. A cautionary tale about sharing that you have a rare bird in your backyard -…
View the full episode here: Backyard Feeding: Ask Dr. Bird: EnviroMinute: The Headlines: Hello Everyone! So we're mixing it up a bit for the next couple of episodes. Rugge Thomson will be hosting the show for this and the next episode while Tatsiana is on maternity leave with her new bundle of joy! She'll be back soon though so please go easy on him! He is the one who films and edits the show,…
View the full episode here: Backyard Feeding: Ask Dr. Bird: The Headlines: Winner's Circle: Brrrrrrrr! We've been hit by a real cold-snap snow storm here in the North East. We haven't been able to get outside to shoot, so Backyard Feeding is an indoor one this episode. Robert Dinwoodie found a European Goldfinch at his feeder hanging around with his regular American Goldfinches. No one has any idea how it got to this side of…
Full episode here: Backyard Feeding: EnviroMinute: Ask Dr. Bird: The Headlines: Happy New Year, Everyone! We've decided that since it's a new year, we'll start a new season of BBN, so welcome to episode 1 of season 3! We had a quiet holiday here, and unfortunately we lost all our snow right after Christmas which made it a bit challenging for winter activities. It looks like we'll be getting it all back this week though…
