STORE HOURS:Monday through Friday 10am - 6pm Sat 10am - 5pm ~ Sun 12pm - 4pm

Closed Sundays July 1st - Labor DayClosed Major Holidays

Established1995

Celebrating 18 Years

Thank you for being our valued customer. We are grateful for the pleasure of serving you and

meeting your backyard birding needs!Jim, Carol, Ryan & Gary

Spring Bird Feeding:How to Attract More Birds

What is the best food to use this time of year? A premium mix such as Lyric Supreme or our all-around favorite, Orchestra Fruit & Nut is great year-round. White Millet is a favorite food of many of the birds who feed on the ground, but some people prefer not to have it in their mix. If that is the case two great options are Lyric Chickadee mix or a blend of sunflower in the shell and out of the shell (we call this our #2 blend). One benefit of using the #2 mix is that much of the seed has no shell so it makes less mess and all the birds can eat it, even ones that can't open shells. Peanut halves are a favorite of many birds such as chickadees, titmice and woodpeckers and the Chickadee mix is loaded with them plus it has suflower both in and out of the shell.

Attracting Hummingbirds & Baltimore Orioles: By the time you receive this newsletter Hum-mingbirds & Orioles will be returning so it is time to put up those feeders! Place them in areas where the birds are likely to see them if they are passing by. Humming-birds readily come up close to the house so a feeder off of a deck or even a windowwill work. Since we have had such a cool spring, we may find Orioles will come to the orange halves a bit more readily than in the past couple of years. Cut the orange in half like a grapefruit and place it on one of the fruit feeders we offer or in a tray feeder (you may need to slice the bottom of the orange to make it sit flat). After a few days the orange dries out and you need to replace it. Grape Jelly is also a favorite food of orioles and Gary Catbirds, offering this will often keep them coming all the way through Labor Day!

Saturday, April 27th First Bird Walk of the Season

(see details on last page)AND

"Welcome Back" Day for Hummingbirds & Orioles!

We will have songbird friendly coffee and some tasty treats after our birdwalk - when

we open at 10:00am. There will be a drawing for a gift basket full of items to attract hummingbirds & orioles,

plus some specials through-out the day!

Male Baltimore Oriole at Fruit Feeder

Want Bird Walk and other activity information?Sign up for our e-mail list at

www.fatrobin.comor at the counter the next time you stop in

We are also on Facebook!

$12.99/Case ofSeed or Nutty Treat Suet

With Coupon

The Fat Robin 203-248-7068Expires 05/31/2013 WITH COUPON

Limit 2 cases per customer (a case = 12 suets)

Nyjer ("thistle") Seed99 cents/lb

With Coupon

The Fat Robin 203-248-7068Expires 05/31/2013 WITH COUPON

Bird Profile:Rose-breasted Grosbeak

If a male Rose-breasted Grosbeak shows up at your feeder this spring, it will be a sight you won't soon forget! Hopefully he will oblige you by showing you his brilliant red "V" shaped marking on his breast along with his crisp black and white tuxedo outfit. His mate is not quite as flamboyant, she is brown and white with a prominent white eyebrow, like a large female Purple Finch. These birds are "neo-tropical" migrants just like orioles and hummingbirds. They nest in CT in secondary forest areas so they are here until fall, but some people see them for only a short time during migration. They love black oil sunflower, safflower and even split peanuts. They can perch on a tube feeder like the male to the right, but they are more at home when there is more perching space. The best feeder would be a tube with a tray, a wooden feeder with a large perching area or our favorite, the "Big Tube" from Aspects with the curved perches and easy clean-out.

FYI: Semi-Annual Optics Sale! Saturday May 4th - Sunday May 12

Ask "The Know it Owl"

How can I attract more birds to my yard in addition to my feeders?1) Add a water feature, all birds need water to survive. Moving water is the most at-tractive but if this is not an option, try to change the water frequently to get the best results. We have a variety of options for offering moving water including recirculating pumps, drippers that don't use electricity, and the battery operated "water wiggler".2) Add natural plantings for birds to use as cover and/or nest sites (most native plants don't require as much maintenance and are better suited to our area).3) Don't use pesticides. If you want to attract birds who eat insects (and even seed-eating birds often feed insects to their young), don't use things that kill the bugs in your yard. Also, many birds eat the seeds from "weeds" and many butterflies use "weeds" as both nectar and places to lay their eggs, a pristine lawn offers few foods.

Go to www.beyondpesticides.org for details about alternatives to pesticides

Male Rose-breasted Grosbeak

FemaleRose-

breasted Grosbeak

RAPTORS!Unique guide shows

hawks like you see them in nature, not on a blank

background. $29.95

ADD PERCHING SPACE!Attract more birds by giving them a place to land while waiting for a perch. The new "Squiggle Hook"!

$13.99

RUSTED BIRD SILHOUETTES!Many bird designs available both with or with-out stands. The pileated at far left is approxi-mately 15" tall and sells for $29.95, the owls are approximately 10" tall and sell for $14.95 or a few dollars more for one on a stand that

Jim makes for them.

Newest Field Guide!

Brand New Stokes Guide to Birds of E. No. America!

(Includes about 50 of

Jim's photos)$19.99

A GRAND ESTATE!For the Birds of Course

A gorgeous copper topped bird house,over 30" tall. Comes with a bracket to go over a 4x4 post (pole not included)

Very elegant! $399

HUMMINGBIRD & ORIOLE FEEDERS

With copper accents, easy to clean and pretty too.What's not to like?

Hanging or Window

Hummingbird Feeders.

These are so much fun! $14.95

and up.

NEW STUFF!

STD PRESORTUS POSTAGE PAIDNEW HAVEN, CT

PERMIT #415

Spring OPTICS SALESaturday May 4th - Sunday May 12th

Our semi-annual sale featuring our lowest prices of the year!**For our mailing list customers the sale is now through May 12th**

This is a great time to learn what the numbers mean and what kind of binocular to choose for your needs. Compact binoculars are not the best

for birdwatching but work great for concerts and hiking. Big binoculars might be great for boating but who wants to carry them around all day?

Spring Bird WalksSaturdays: April 27 through June 1st

This will be our eighteenth year of leading spring birdwalks! We hope you can join us as we seek out birds that are migrating through our area toward points north as well as some that are here to stay to nest. Some may only spend a day or two while winging north and spring is the best time to try to see them. We meet at

the store between 7:30 - 7:40am, and leave promptly at 7:45. Our first walk will be at Brooksvale Park, oth-ers are there or at East Rock Park. Cost is still only $2 per person, binocular rentals are available. Our first walk should have Eastern Bluebirds, Tree Swallows and hopefully some of the earlier migrants such as Palm Warbler and Louisiana Waterthrush, later walks may have Indigo Buntings, Scarlet Tanagers and other war-blers. We return to the store by 10am. Beginners are welcome and encouraged to join us, children need to

be accompanied by an adult and need to be relatively quiet so we don't scare off the birds. The walks are not very strenuous but we often have to deal with wet grass and some muddy areas so please wear appropriate

shoes. We will post to the e-mail list and facebook if we need to cancel due to weather.**Saturday April 27th please join us after the bird walk for coffee and our annual

"Welcome Back" day for Hummingbirds & Orioles "**