Fall arrivals continue to trickle in. I have a swarm of white-crowned sparrows in my yard right now, and several yellow-rumped warblers. I have yet to see any dark-eyed juncos this fall, but I suspect they will show up this week, especially with the forecasted change in weather.
This is the time of year when white-proso millet consumption increases. Both white-crowned sparrows and dark-eyed juncos are ground feeders, and their seed of choice is millet. If you are feeding a seed blend in your elevated seed feeders, you might consider broadcasting some millet down onto the ground in your feeding area to appeal to ground-feeding birds.
Another consideration with fall weather settling into place is to put up a suet feeder or two. Yellow-rumped warblers and ruby-crowned kinglets—two more winter visitors—absolutely love suet. Suet is rich in fat and protein, which helps wild birds get through the cold winter nights.
This is also the time of year to start watching the level of activity at your hummingbird feeders. The only hummingbird species that is still present is the Anna’s hummingbird. By now, all of the black-chinned, rufous, broad-tailed and any other stray species should be long gone.
We receive a lot of questions every year from customers wanting to know when they should take down their hummingbird feeders. The general rule of thumb is this: if you are continuing to see hummingbirds at your feeder, leave your feeder up. However, if more than a week or two has passed, and you have not seen any hummingbird activity, then it is probably safe to take the feeder down.
A small number of our customers have Anna’s hummingbirds that winter over. If you fit into this category, you will want to bring in your feeder in at night (after feeding time) once we start experiencing freezing temperatures. Put it out each morning, just as it starts getting light.
I am happy to announce, as part of our 21st anniversary celebration next week, we will be offering two special free guided bird walks. The Naturalist Manager for Swarovski North America, Clay Taylor, will be in Prescott, and will be guiding both field trips. For more information, and to sign up for either (or both) bird walks, please call the store at 928-433-5900.
The first bird walk will be on Friday, October 25th, from 3-5 p.m., at the south shore of Willow Lake. Clay will be demonstrating how to use the world’s first smart binocular, the AX Visio. This unique binocular was introduced earlier this year at the consumer electronics show in Las Vegas, and has the ability to identify birds. It also doubles as a camera!
Then on Saturday the 26th, from 8-10 a.m., we will be hosting a second free field trip with Clay, at Watson Lake. The emphasis of this bird walk is to learn about digiscoping—digital photography using a spotting scope as your lens.
Next week, as part of our anniversary celebration, we will have a different special every day of the week. For more information on the daily specials, come by the store, or visit our website, www.thelookoutaz.com.
The culmination of our anniversary celebration will be a free lunch from 11-2 on Saturday, October 26th. At noon, we will announce the winners of this year’s wild bird photography contest. The last day to vote is Wednesday, October 23rd.
I am excited to announce that I will be guiding a small group of serious birders to Cuba in March 2025. If you are interested in going on the trip, please reach out, and I can share the details with you.
I look forward to seeing you next week during our week-long anniversary event. Until then, Happy Birding!
Eric Moore is the owner of The Lookout, in Prescott, where you will find a Hallmark Gold Crown Store, wild bird products, and Swarovski and Vortex optics. Eric has been an avid birder for over 55 years. Eric can be contacted at eric@thelookoutaz.com.
