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Holiday Hours:
Monday 10:00 am - 4:00 pm
Tuesday 10:00 am - 5:30 pm
Wednesday 10:00 am - 5:30 pm
Thursday 10:00 am - 7:00 pm
Friday 10:00 am - 5:30 pm
Saturday 9:30 am - 5:00 pm
Sunday 12 (Noon) - 4:00 pm
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Since 1997, we have produced an interesting and, some think,
informative newsletter we call birdnooz.
The most current issue is posted here on the site. In time, information
from previous issues will be incorporated in the questions section of
this page.
Click the newsletter images above to access the latest "birdnooz"!!! |
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What they are saying:
"The Birdman of Concord...In tough economic times, it's nice to know
you can still spread your wings and fly."
Glenn Rifkin - The Concord Journal
"The store has the character and personality of its owner. It all came
from the nugget of a great idea."
The Wall Street Journal On Line
"I can't believe (I) have a job this fantastic, this much fun."
The New York Times
"This store offers a wonderful collection of folk art bird houses and
feeders, with many of the unique designs crafted by award-winning
artisans from New England."
Boston Magazine
"This spring, as nesting season commences, put up one of the
hand-crafted birdhouses available at For the Birds. This Concord shop
offers a full range of basic houses, feeders, and seeds, but its
specialty is its collection of handmade and often whimsical folk-art
birdhouses. Owner Chris Ridley scours craft shows for artisans from
Nashville to New England whose work, from fanciful re-creations of
lighthouses to cozy log cabins, is as functional as it is pretty."
The Boston Globe
For the Birds owners Chris Ridley and Mary Sullivan were also featured
on the Suburban Journal segment of Channel 5's Chronicle.
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Heading East on Rt. 2:
Through the rotary at the Concord Prison, pass
Emerson Hospital on right. Get in left lane and take next left at stop
light on to Sudbury Road. Go one half mile. Take left after Concord Plaza into parking lot of Concord Crossing. Look for
our big red bird sign.
Heading West on Rt. 2:
Pass Rt. 128. Go 5 miles (three stop lights) to
intersection with Rt. 126. Take right (Walden Street). Go 500 yards;
bear left on to Thoreau Street. Go 3/4 mile to stop light at Sudbury
Road intersection (Dunkin Donuts on right, Starbucks on left). Take
left over tracks and immediate right into Concord Crossing. Look for
our big red bird sign.
At our bird store - at any bird store - there is really only one
question, no matter how many different ways it is asked:
"How do I keep those *@#$%*# squirrels off my bird feeder?!"
For the answer, we invite you to tour our Feeders and Accessories
pages for examples of remedies you might employ or click here for "A
Storeowner's Guide To Thwarting Squirrels".
The answers to other less incendiary questions follow.
1. Q. If I feed the birds in summer, won't they be tempted to stay
around and not migrate?
A. Birdwash! Photoperiod -- the changing of day-length -- not food
supply, determines when migration birds head south. Shorter days
trigger hormonal changes in migrants that compel them to flee the
scene. It's not choice. It's biological.
2. Q. If you start feeding the birds in the fall, don't you have to
continue all winter because they become dependant on handouts?
A. Not really. Birds are extremely mobile and visit a variety of food
sources everyday, often on a set schedule. If you go away for a week
or two in January, your birds will hardly suffer. They'll just visit
you neighbor's feeder more often and you may have a harder time
winning them back when you return.
3. Q. Don't the birds' feet freeze to the metal perches on tube
feeders?
A. No. No. A hundred times no. Birds' feet have no sweat glands. Their
feet are made of a hard horny material, similar to our fingernails.
The flow of blood to birds' feet is limited, so the temperature of
their feet stays cool. Even if a bird perches on a sub-zero perch, its
feet will not stick.
4. Q. Do Purple Martins live in the Sudbury Valley area?
A. Unfortunately, no, although the environment in this area is
quite compatible to them. They are found on the North Shore in the
Plum Island Newburyport area, on the South Shore and Cape, in the
Quabin Reservoir area and in the New Hampshire lake country.
5. Q. What do I do if I find a baby bird that has fallen from its
nest?
A. Gently, put it back. It is not true that the mother bird will
reject the baby because of human smell.
6. Q. A bird just flew into my window. What do I do?
A. Assuming that it is not in danger from predators (cats), leave it
be. Birds that are injured or temporarily stunned will go into a state
known as torpor, in which their metabolism dials down to barely
breathing to conserve energy and regroup. Birds utilize this same
capability on very cold nights. After a few minutes, or as many as
half an hour, the bird will get up, shake itself off and fly away.
7. Q. How do I attract hummingbirds to my yard?
A. Hummingbirds are attracted to flowers and bushes with a high
nectar-producing quotient. Perennials such as trumpet vine,
delphinium, bee balm and phlox are favorites. Enticing them with a
nectar feeder adjacent to a hanging basket of red or dark pink
petunias, fuchsia or impatiens will often suffice in late April or
early May.
8. Q. If I put up a thistle feeder to attract Goldfinches, will I have
thistle plants growing all over my yard?
A. No, because the seed sold in stores, which is euphemistically
called "thistle" is really niger seed. Niger is grown and harvested
in India and Ethiopia for its oil content in making of candles and
cooking oil. When it is exported, it is sterilized by requirement of
the federal government to prevent any foreign weed matter from
entering the country. No niger plants will grow in your backyard. We
promise.
9. Q. Do birds need to bath in winter?
A. They sure do. Birds need to clean their feathers year 'round. In
today's sooty world, a winter splash in a heated birdbath will help
keep feathers functioning properly, which also helps regulate a steady
body temperature. Since birds have little feeling in their feet and
legs (see Q. 3, above), they do not mind standing in cold water.
10. Q. What is suet?
A. Suet is the fat cut from around the kidney of the cow.
It is obtainable from grocery stores or in a rendered (boiled down)
form at wild bird stores and elsewhere. Suet provides much needed
energy and nutrition for woodpeckers, Nuthatches, chickadees and other
birds. Suet cakes come with such exotic "stir-ins" as peanut butter,
sunflower seeds, dried fruit and (yes) dehydrated insects. Beware of
suet cakes with fillers such as corn, oats and other grain products. |
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