Phone Number (302) 653 -9345

F R I E N D S O F BOMBAY HOOK, INC. > R.D. 1, Box 147 . r!i^

1 9 b r i e i e Smyrna , Delaware 19977 A . 1 . . - , • b0lrua-S9lft i '^novffTfe . f r , v ̂r,;il<̂ -» bnr> •""=».':f' .

i ? r i ^ fc«B l 6 ^ p n t i F R i E N D S " N E W S L E T T E R 17 pr • a January 6, 1992 =. >; -

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Update on the A s s o c i a t i o n and the S a l e s Outlet » .m.c v : t

Membership i n t h e A s s o c i a t i o n has now reached 103 a c t i v e members. We wish t o thank a l l members, e s p e c i a l l y those :> who have renewed t h e i r memberships and t h o s e who have j o i n e d as l i f e t i m e members. I t i s our hope t h a t more members w i l l become a c t i v e l y i n v o l v e d i n t h e o r g a n i z a t i o n . Please c o n t a c t us i f you would c o n s i d e r s e r v i n g on t h e > •Board of D i r e c t o r s or i f you have s u g g e s t i o n s or c o n t r i — b u t i o n s t o t h e n e w s l e t t e r .

Sales d u r i n g t h e f a l l season were e x t r e m e l y i m p r e s s i v e . Not o n l y d i d s a l e s t r i p l e t h i s f a l l as compared t o l a s t f a l l , t h e y a l s o approached our annual s a l e s of $7,000 and were o n l y about $500 s h o r t of t h a t f i g u r e . A s p e c i a l thanks goes t o a l l v o l u n t e e r s and f r i e n d s t h a t have made our o u t l e t such a success.

X . ""X S e v e r a l new items have been added t o t h e o u t l e t i n v e n t o r y . " By p o p u l a r demand, we have added a s w e a t s h i r t t h a t f e a t u r e s t h e g r e a t b l u e heron t h a t appears on our T - s h i r t . We a l s o have t h e " F r i e n d s " s w e a t s h i r t and the duck stamp T - s h i r t . Many new m o b i l e s are now a v a i l a b l e : hummingbirds, s o n g b i r d s , brown p e l i c a n , snowy e g r e t , monarch b u t t e r f l y , orange s u l p h u r b u t t e r f l y , t i g e r s w a l l o w t a i l , and a l a r g e m o b i l e i n c l u d i n g a v a r i e t y o f b u t t e r f l i e s . New s e l e c t i o n s i n books i n c l u d e ' Walk When t h e Moon I s F u l l , 5 i l e n t S p r i n g , Sand County Almanac, B i r d Lover's J o u r n a l , N a t u r a l H i s t o r y of Trees, and Delaware's F i s h e s .

upcoming Bventa ^ ^ ^ ' - o s-t9do»n s p g s l s s e o f Xo&qxe S I D J I S I V

The v i s i t o r c e n t e r w i l l reopen on t h e weekends b e g i n n i n g t h e f i r s t weekend i n March. P r i o r t o t h e opening, an o r i e n t a ­t i o n meeting w i l l be h e l d f o r b o t h former and new v o l u n t e e r s , The s p e c i f i c d a t e and t i m e w i l l soon be s e t .

The F r i e n d s of Bombay Hook and r e f u g e v o l u n t e e r s a r e i n v i t e d t o a t o u r of t h e Delaware Museum of N a t u r a l H i s t o r y on Saturday, March 7, 1992, a t 2:00 p.m. Please meet a t Bombay Hook a t 12:00 noon i f you would l i k e t o c a r p o o l . To reach t h e museum, go n o r t h on Route 13. Take 141 N o r t h (toward '-' Newport) t h e n 52 N o r t h t o t h e museum which i s on t h e l e f t . ' The s t a f f - l e d t o u r w i l l l a s t a p p r o x i m a t e l y o n e - h a l f hour; we w i l l t h e n be on our own t o view t h e many w i l d l i f e and * n a t u r a l h i s t o r y e x h i b i t s . *• •

Each s p r i n g and f a l l . E n v i r o n m e n t a l E d u c a t i o n Workshops a r e conducted a t both Bombay Hook and Prime Hook N a t i o n a l Wild­l i f e Refuges. A l t h o u g h t h e workshops a r e a t t e n d e d p r i m a r i l y by t e a c h e r s and r e f u g e v o l u n t e e r s , anyone i n t e r e s t e d i n l e a r n i n g more about t h e e n v i r o n m e n t i n g e n e r a l and t h e Refuges i n p a r t i c u l a r i s i n v i t e d t o a t t e n d .

A t w o - p a r t workshop w i l l be conducted from 9 : 0 0 a.m. t o 4 : 0 0 p.m. a t Bombay Hook on S a t u r d a y , A p r i l 4, and a t P o r t Mahon on Saturday, A p r i l 1 1 . T h i s i s a good o p p o r t u n i t y t o l e a r n about t h e p l a n t s and a n i m a l s of Bombay Hook and . ^ M of t h e beach a r e a . 3 0

^w e;•^s^d bfiE i i< Bisdm-^m t l ^ f ^ ' t - aw^ns i - ' evsn -.dw The Prime Hook workshop w i l l be h e l d on Saturday, A p r i l 25, from 9 : 3 0 a.m. t o 4 : 0 0 p.m. w i t h t h e beach s t u d y t a k i n g p l a c e a t S l a u g h t e r Beach. For those who have never v i s i t e d Prime Hook, t h i s workshop i s a good i n t r o d u c t i o n t o an i n t e r e s t i n g a r e a .

For a d d i t i o n a l i n f o r m a t i o n on any of t h e s e events or t o ^-o r e g i s t e r t o p a r t i c i p a t e , c a l l M arian Johnson-Pohlman a t '̂̂ (302) 653-6872 r j . 50 -^eiiia Ini-nns ^uc • b^noBOsqqB oaXe Y-'̂ ^

, , . Li-lBoqe A . r s i n p i i d S i i J l o dionc 0 0 5 5 CnodB B i r d s o i Bombay Hook B&snor f s

By the end of December, Canada Geese peaked a t 1 0 , 0 0 0 and ducks peaked a t 2 0 , 5 8 2 . The most abundant ducks a r e b l a c k , m a l l a r d , green-winged t e a l , and p i n t a i l . Species p r e s e n t i n s m a l l e r numbers i n c l u d e s h o v e l e r , g a d w a l l , and hooded merganser. Almost two dozen t u n d r a swans have f r e q u e n t l y been s i g h t e d on t h e r e f u g e . A p p r o x i m a t e l y 40,000 snow geese have been u s i n g t h e r e f u g e . Through s u c c e s s f u l management p r a c t i c e s , some of t h e 7 5 , 0 0 0 snows have been d i s p e r s e d t o o t h e r areas of t h e Delmarva P e n i n s u l a i n o r d e r t o decrease damage t o t h e f r a g i l e s a l t w a l t e r marsh of t h e , j r r r e f u g e . ~ ~

V i s i t o r s expect t o see l a r g e numbers of w a t e r f o w l when t h e y come t o Bombay Hook; however, Bombay Hook i s a l s o known f o r i t s many unexpected s i g h t i n g s . F o l l o w i n g a r e some unusual or i n t e r e s t i n g b i r d s i g h t i n g s t h a t o c c u r r e d t h i s f a l l , ^ g ^ j *

October: r u s t y b l a c k b i r d , p e r e g r i n e f a l c o n , osprey, w h i t e -rumped s a n d p i p e r , B a i r d ' s s a n d p i p e r , Ross' goose, L i n c o l n sparrow, r u f f , l a p l a n d l o n g s p u r , water p i p i t , Hudsonian .godwit, and marbled g o d w i t .

63 November: snow b u n t i n g , g o l d e n p l o v e r , b r a n t , Hudsonian g o d w i t , marbled g o d w i t , Ross' goose, goshawk, golden e a g l e , and l a p l a n d longspur..,,. n o ^ i u m s d J c - r^q i^.>K n a n j t 3 : 5 o q w 3 i ^

December: white-rumped s a n d p i p e r , w h i s t l i n g ( t u n d r a ) swan, l o n g -earred owl, Ross' goose, and goshawk-xn ^ l o J a i - d t b i u . t i > i i

F E E D I N G WILD B I R D S

One of the f a s t e s t g r o wing hobbies i n t h e U n i t e d S t a t e s i s b i r d w a t c h i n g and b i r d f e e d i n g . Over 6 5 m i l l i o n Americans have become i n v o l v e d i n t h i s i n t e r e s t i n g and e d u c a t i o n a l ' ' p a s t t i m e . For t h o s e who a r e j u s t d e v e l o p i n g an i n t e r e s t ''^^^^o

i n t h e i r backyard b i r d s , t h e r e a r e s e v e r a l q u e s t i o n s t o be >i c o n s i d e r e d b e f o r e u n d e r t a k i n g a sometimes c o s t l y b i r d f e e d i n g q p r o j e c t . s

What foods wi 11 a t t r a c t t h e g r e a t e s t var i e t y of b i r d s ? 1 e u o i i e V

There a r e many k i n d s of seeds on t h e market t o a t t r a c t b i r d s X o m One can buy mixed seeds or s p e c i f i c seeds a t a v a r i e t y of ona s t o r e s : s u p e r m a r k e t s , d i s c o u n t s t o r e s , farm s u p p l y s t o r e s , - d fcna pet s t o r e s , e t c . A l t h o u g h i t may be cheaper t o buy b i r d feed i a t a d i s c o u n t s t o r e or more c o n v e n i e n t t o buy i t a t t h e supermarket, a b e t t e r q u a l i t y and a b e t t e r v a l u e can u s u a l l y - ! o . i be found a t s t o r e s which s e l l p e t and l i v e s t o c k feed»;.'U4 3 p 6 d

'in&rz Mixed seeds a r e n o r m a l l y l e s s e x p e n s i v e per pound t h a n a r e iss.g s i n g l e seeds such as s u n f l o w e r ; however, many of t h e types of seed i n c l u d e d i n such mixes a r e not r e a d i l y consumed by many b i r d s and a r e t h e r e f o r e wasted. A b e t t e r v a l u e i s o b t a i n e d loIA by p u r c h a s i n g seeds t h a t a r e known f a v o r i t e s of t h e types of •= i/. b i r d s you would l i k e t o a t t r a c t . •> od

A u n i v e r s a l f a v o r i t e i s s u n f l o w e r seed. There I s some debate i over which t y p e of s u n f l o w e r seed i s t h e most a t t r a c t i v e : b l a c k o i l , b l a c k s t r i p e d , or g r e y s t r i p e d . One way t o s o l v e ^J'-' t h e problem i s t o buy bags of blended s u n f l o w e r seeds. B i r d s c which feed on s u n f l o w e r seed i n c l u d e c a r d i n a l s , c h i c k a d e e s , t i t m i c e , woodpeckers, f i n c h e s , n u t h a t c h e s , sparrows, and ned j a y s . 0

Another f a v o r e d seed i s w h i t e proso m i l l e t . I f you e n j o y n i b - 6 o w a t c h i n g doves, j u n c o s , towhees, w h i t e - t h r o a t e d sparrows, ' a i b and song sparrows, t h i s i s an i m p o r t a n t seed t o o f f e r . The itieit d i s a d v a n t a g e t o t h i s seed i s t h a t i t i s a l s o a t t r a c t i v e t o l e s s d e s i r a b l e b i r d s such as c o w b i r d s , b l a c k b i r d s , and house'dr P sparrows. j c l b

Two o t h e r s p e c i a l t y seeds a r e s a f f l o w e r ( w h i c h i s eaten by c a r d i n a l s and mourning doves) and n i g e r ( w h i c h i s p r e f e r r e d by f i n c h e s ) .

Suet i s a n o t h e r t y p e of food which i s r e l i s h e d by t h r a s h e r s , woodpeckers, c r e e p e r s , wrens, c h i c k a d e e s , and, u n f o r t u n a t e l y , i ' ^ s t a r l i n g s . One way t o d i s c o u r a g e t h e s t a r l i n g s i s t o p l a c e ^ X t h e suet i n a feeder which hangs away from t h e s u p p o r t of a '̂' "* t r e e t r u n k or l i m b and a l l o w s o n l y c l i n g i n g types of b i r d s t o feed from i t . Raw suet can be used d u r i n g c o l d weather, but rendered s u e t must be used once t h e weather t u r n s warm. You can purchase ready-made s u e t cakes or make your own by

b o i l i n g down t h e f a t and add i n g a v a r i e t y of i n g r e d i e n t s such as c o r n meal, peanut b u t t e r , b i r d seed, and r a i s i n s .

I n a d d i t i o n t o u s i n g these s t a n d a r d types of b i r d f o o d , y o u _̂ can experiment w i t h many of t h e foods t h a t you have i n your ^ [ ^ k i t c h e n . S t a l e ( b u t not molded) baked goods such as bread, ^ ^̂'*; p i e c r u s t , and c o o k i e s a r e r e a d i l y consumed by s e v e r a l . ' sp e c i e s of b i r d s . I t i s e n j o y a b l e t o watch a sparrow a t t e m p t t o c a r r y away a p i e c e of bread as l a r g e as i t s e l f .

V a r i o u s f r u i t s a r e a p p r e c i a t e d by many b i r d s p e c i e s i n c l u d i n g - ^ m o c k i n g b i r d s , o r i o l e s , t h r a s h e r s , c a r d i n a l s , j a y s , t h r u s h e s , and woodpeckers. T r y handing o u t chunks of a p p l e s , oranges, and bananas. Some b i r d s a l s o e a t gra p e s , r a i s i n s , and c r a n -^ e ^ ^ i e s . ^ ^ ^ .

' ' ^ - ' • ̂ - - . . . . . . . . . ' k t i 6 Cooked l e f t o v e r s can a l s o be saved f r o m g o i n g i n t o t h e gar-^^^ bage i f t h e y a r e plac e d o u t s i d e f o r t h e b i r d s . Among t h e '" many items t h a t b i r d w a t c h e r s have observed b i r d s e a t i n g a r e pa s t a , r i c e , baked and f r i e d p o t a t o e s , baked sweet p o t a t o e s , j j . . cheese, and t h e remnants of meat l e f t on t h e t u r k e y c a r c a s s , ' f ^ Along w i t h f o o d , f r e s h , c l e a n water i s necessary f o r b i r d s a t a l l times of t h e yea r . O f t e n more b i r d s can be a t t r a c t e d t o a dependable source of water t h a n t o expen s i v e f e e d e r s . |^

What t y p e of feeder w i l l be most e f f e c t i v e ? f-'cvfc^ -irL fi ' ' ~ • •' l e v "

The t y p e o f feeder t h a t you use w i l l depend upon t h e t y p e s ^^^^f^j of food t h a t you wish t o o f f e r t o your b i r d s of c h o i c e . ' No m a t t e r what t y p e of feeder you d e c i d e upon, i t i s impor­t a n t t o p i c k a feeder t h a t w i l l be d u r a b l e and easy to c l e a n . C l e a n l i n e s s i s a major c o n s i d e r a t i on c o n t a m i n a t e d seed w i l l j^.i-spread d i s e a s e i f i t i s not p r o p e r l y d i s p o s e d o f . A f t e r d i s ­c a r d i n g bad seed, t h e feeder i t s e l f s h o u l d be cl e a n e d and d i s i n f e c t e d . I f a feeder has deep c o r n e r s or o t h e r h a r d - t o -reach p l a c e s , i t w i l l be d i f f i c u l t t o keep i t c l e a n .

b 6 " i b Tube f e e d e r s a r e a v a i l a b l e w i t h f e e d i n g p o r t s designed t o dispense s u n f l o w e r seeds, n i g e r seeds, and mixed seeds. I f you choose t h i s t y p e of f e e d e r , check on t h e ease of t a k i n g i t a p a r t f o r c l e a n i n g . House-type f e e d e r s a r e good f o r ,̂»r. mixed seeds, s u n f l o w e r seeds, and peanuts. These, t o o , ,,..,jf . . ,g„ s h o u l d have removable tops so t h a t t h e y can be cleaned as [ 3 - d needed. ^ P l a t f o r m f e e d e r s w i t h a screen b o t t o m a r e i d e a l f o r o f f e r i n g a l l t y p es of fo o d , and t h e y a r e v i s i t e d by most s p e c i e s of b i r d s . Suet can be served i n w i r e b a s k e t s or mesh bags.*., _ Mesh bags a r e a l s o a v a i l a b l e now f o r u s i n g w i t h n i g e r seeds. ^

V, , • ' O ^ .iVtZt/w >^ciiV'' l o d I'AOw :-i;<i Q - y o u S 2 u -^d :t2um J e u e b;>5eL