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Welcome to The Birdhouse Banter — brought to you by Meika's Birdhouse.
Join host Bryn Griffiths and co-founders Ian Sprague and Janine Couture as we talk birds! Our team brings over 100 years of combined experience and a whole lot of passion for our feathered friends — whether they're soaring wild or perched right at home with you.
We are Alberta's trusted destination for bird lovers. From quality products and expert advice to supporting bird rescue right here in our community — Meika's Birdhouse has you covered.
Welcome to The Birdhouse Banter brought to you by Meika's Birdhouse, Alberta's trusted destination for bird lovers. Hey, everybody. Welcome to Birdhouse Banter. I'm Bryn. Ian's with us.
Bryn:Janine's with us. We're at Meika's Birdhouse. How's everybody doing today? Ian, how are doing?
Ian:I'm doing awesome.
Bryn:Exactly. Yep.
Ian:Ready to go.
Bryn:You guys are busy. And Janine, you're really busy because of what's going on next door. Right?
Janine:I am. And he let he let me down.
Bryn:Why? Okay. Explain explain yourself.
Janine:Because he fell. Yeah. Yeah. Yep.
Bryn:Well, it's alright. You're you look a little banged up, but you're doing fine.
Ian:I'm I'm I feel great. Yeah. I was test like I say, we put a new floor down in in the in the in the shelter and I was just testing to see how it how it absorbed blood and if it was a easy cleanup or not.
Janine:And and it cleaned up beautifully.
Ian:It held up beautifully.
Bryn:Yeah. So so let's talk about the new could we call it the new wing? Yeah. I I like, I just I just I'm not really sure what to call it, but, Janine, let's talk about it because it affects you more than anything. Right?
Ian:Yeah. Sure.
Bryn:Explain exactly what you're doing here.
Janine:Well, we moved the shelter from beside the Boston Pizza to the store that was beside us before from Love Boutique. So, yeah, they moved out, and we have taken over. We're invading.
Bryn:So by the time we get to the May, you're good. Right?
Janine:I think so. Yeah.
Bryn:Excellent. Okay.
Ian:Yeah. We're close.
Bryn:Well well, let's get to the chirp. Let's get right to stuff off the top. Today, we're talking about wild birds against or versus Yeah. Domestic birds. Where where do we wanna start with this one, Ian?
Ian:So I guess the reason why I think this is an interesting topic is because a lot of people, who are having parrots in their in their houses and that, you know, they wanna spend time with parrots, a lot of people think that these are domestic birds. And and just because they were hatched in Canada or or or or in in United States or by at a breeder's place does not make them a domestic bird. They are still very much a wild bird. So they are just as wild as the magpies you see flying around outside your window. They, they they're a 100% a wild animal.
Bryn:So does that leave an element of unpredictability?
Ian:It it it just makes, it just ramps up how important it is that that you are spending time with this animal and understanding what that animal's trying to speak to you, like, well, you know, so really
Janine:Give and take.
Ian:Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Be really patient with them. It's it's they're they're they're they're just still a wild animal.
Bryn:Hey, Gene. We we gotta talk about the fact that we're also talking about an animal that's been around for thousands of years and they're still doing things very much the way they might have done it thousands of years ago, I guess. Mhmm.
Janine:Yeah.
Bryn:Right?
Janine:Yeah.
Bryn:For the most part?
Janine:Yep. Exactly. They just like they were. Yeah. And the I don't even know what I'm saying.
Janine:Yeah. I know what
Ian:you're saying. But yeah. So I guess the trick is that if because we're people and we're gonna it's easier for us to relate to say a dog. Dogs have domesticated at the same kind of rate as people have.
Bryn:Right.
Ian:Right? So, like, it's true.
Bryn:It's true.
Ian:They when when when the common ancestor of a wolf and the dogs that we have now, we're still roaming around out there, you know, that animal, that creature, decided that it was really opportunistic and then, you know, there's people are leaving stuff laying around, we can eat that, and then it turned
Bryn:And all we gotta do is bark.
Ian:Yeah. And then all of a sudden, it ends up into this kind of relationship where where, you know, people and and and dogs are living together and then so but this this is like ten thousand years ago,
Janine:right?
Bryn:Yeah, or more.
Ian:Or better, I don't know the exact timeline. But that's the difference, right? So there's been structural changes in that animal and physiological changes in that animal that makes it domestic. Know, you'll see with a dog, when a have you ever seen a wolf stare at you? Well, no, thankfully.
Ian:If a wolf if you look face to face with a wolf, you know that's
Bryn:a wild animal. Oh, yeah.
Ian:You know that's you're this is serious. Right? When a dog looks at you, you know, the the whole shape of their eye, there's more round. You know, their ears aren't pointed up. They're kinda, like, you know, a little floppy.
Ian:They're further apart. You know, it looks more like a baby wolf. Right? It it doesn't look like an adult animal, really. Right?
Ian:And so that's a domesticated version of of that wild ancestor. With parrots, and this is the kind of the point of what we're getting at, is with parrots is they're exactly the same. Like, you took, one of the birds from the shelter and say, okay, this bird is native to, I don't know, Peru.
Bryn:Okay. Sure.
Ian:We went to Peru, let that it bird would it would probably do okay. You know? You know, there's a whole bunch of reasons why you don't wanna do that, but, you know, it would probably work itself out pretty fine. Like, all the adaptations are there, you know, You know, other than that, it's it's learned behaviors would be a problem. But, yes.
Ian:So, you know, they are very much wild animals.
Bryn:So, Janine, if somebody walked in and said, well, I'm having a problem with my parrot is doing this. Mhmm. And then you've gotta tell that particular person, well, that's what they do because that's what they've always done. Right?
Janine:Mhmm. In in a lot of cases, yes. Like, especially the vocalizations and stuff. Right. But you can train them and you can earn their trust to reduce some certain behaviors.
Janine:You can some behaviors. You can like teach them to do something else to replace the bad behavior. So if they're screaming, teach them to ring a bell instead of screaming or teach them to forage instead of instead of screaming kind of thing. So, like, there are there are things you can do to reduce the wild, but Yeah. Essentially, you do you are living with a wild animal.
Bryn:Patience is required. Right? Mhmm. And the most of it.
Janine:Sense of humor.
Ian:And a sense of humor.
Bryn:Exactly. Exactly. But how many people actually come in and and say that they say, well, I'm struggling with this, and they just don't recognize that that just that's that particular breed of bird.
Ian:Yeah. And you know what? We get we get that kind of stuff on both sides. So for for for the for the the the companion bird side of the business and and the the outdoor wild birds side of the business. We have, a lot of people come in and say, jeez, you know, the birds are just making such a mess.
Ian:Uh-huh. Yeah. Exactly. That's my answer. Uh-huh.
Ian:Yeah. That's that's how it goes. You know? They don't have a knife and fork and a you know? Yes.
Ian:You know, they you know, they just eat and if it there's something behind that seed that they think that might be better, they pitch that one to the side and they eat. Right? And that's how it goes.
Bryn:I've always wondered what would happen if your parrot got outside of your home Mhmm. Whether or not that parrot is smart enough, and I'm pretty sure they are, to know that this is home, but I'm enjoying it out here. Is is that do people lose their pets Yes. Because of that?
Janine:All the time. Okay. Do not do not let your bird outside without a carrier or a harness. Okay. Because outside is very different.
Janine:You know? Little things can spook them.
Bryn:Right.
Janine:And a gust of wind can take them up and far far away.
Ian:Yeah. Live air as opposed to dead air. Right? So Yeah. Yeah.
Ian:Wind currents and things.
Janine:Yeah. Stagnant air inside inside a building, but outside, you get a gust of wind. It's different. Then they get up really high. They lose their perception.
Janine:You know, it's not they're very, very, very vulnerable.
Bryn:How how often do you get a story from somebody who said, lost my parrot outside, and it's been two weeks, and there's a good happy ending to that? Or is it generally not a good happy ending because we're still in Canada here?
Janine:Mhmm. It it depends. So we get a call about maybe once at least once a month more in the summer times about people who have lost their birds.
Bryn:Okay.
Janine:I would say a good sixty percent of them would are found within the the, like, the first twenty four to forty eight hours.
Bryn:Good.
Janine:And then after that, like, the the chances, the the percentages go down from there, but it does happen. I've had we've had that one African gray that was found.
Ian:Yeah. Like two months after the first. Really?
Bryn:Yeah. Now does that depend on the weather? There's gotta be other predators out there.
Ian:Absolutely. That's Yeah. Exactly
Janine:Water sources.
Bryn:Well, I'm glad there's a happy ending to that one.
Janine:But there are lots that that are not.
Bryn:Yeah, exactly. What's the number one thing we're gonna tell people here? What's the takeaway, the difference between obviously wild birds and domestic birds?
Ian:I guess the big takeaway is that it doesn't really matter how much you paid for this animal. You can show them the receipt, a parrot really doesn't care. A parrot is using its innate wild cues as much as it knows to get through its day. And whereas a domestic animal that has been living with humans for ten thousand years, really is quick to look at your face, understand what the situation is, and is really taking their cues off you, where a wild animal is taking cues off of you and the whole environment.
Bryn:It's often been said with dogs more than cats Yeah. That the training of the owner isn't the training of the dog, it's the training of the owner. Same thing with birds? Same sort of thing. Exactly.
Bryn:Exactly. Exactly the same. Yeah. Alright. Great.
Bryn:So if anybody has any questions on that particular situation, come and see you guys.
Ian:Absolutely. Sure. Absolutely.
Bryn:Time to check-in with Janine and find out what's happening at Mika's safe house. Hey, Janine. You've got this big move going on. This looks rather monstrous.
Janine:It's enormous. Yes.
Ian:It's a huge
Bryn:move. So how tough was this move? Because you you took me in to see the safe house when I was here the very first time, and I was blown away by the the impact, the size of it. So the shift from there over to here now as you're getting all set up Yeah. It looks pretty big to me.
Janine:It is. It's it's bigger. It's wider. It's more spacious. It's a little bit crowded right now because we're still Yeah.
Bryn:Under
Janine:renovations. We're actually revamping the two bird rooms at the birdhouse side as well in addition to everything else.
Bryn:So How important is the space factor?
Janine:It's huge. It's really nice to be able to move around and not feel so crowded. I'm able to separate the birds a little bit better and, yeah, it looks better. And the floors. Oh, love my floors.
Bryn:Yeah. Well, love my floors. Some people have examined them a little closer than they should have. Yeah. You
Janine:know Ian.
Bryn:But but there's that. The the other thing too is that do you have to and I never asked this about the other situation is whether or not you have to put curtains between bird breeds or anything or or do you have what have you had to do a little bit different here that maybe you didn't do on the initial birdhouse safe house?
Janine:Yeah. The the initial safe house, I did have I did have little dividers like fabric dividers between certain species and certain birds or whatever. But Right. Yeah. This one, you don't really have to have that yet.
Janine:And, yeah, it's it's getting better. It's a little bit cluttered right now, but, yeah. Once once we get it separated and organized Everything's Yeah. It won't it won't be so
Ian:Now that now that I'm back to work and everything Yes. After my after my Spill little excursion there Episode. You know, everything will start going away smoother. Right? Uh-huh.
Ian:Right. Right.
Janine:It's already going smooth.
Bryn:I got shocking news for you. Your demo is now changing things for you, so you're gonna have to go through a lot more of that.
Ian:Well, that's what I was saying the other day is that how can this be that you're you're you're managing without me? You know? It
Bryn:can be done. You know that. Right? That's what you're gonna find out here.
Ian:Yeah. Just found out that they're they'd do better without me, actually.
Bryn:Hey. The the other thing too, when you got more space, it's gotta feel a little better for the employees because you've got a little more working space. Right?
Janine:Yeah. Yeah. We can spread out and have a cage in the center to clean it as Yeah. You know, and yeah. It's great.
Bryn:So there's so there's that. We always talk about a bird story on this segment. So we're gonna talk about was it Yoshi?
Janine:Oh, Yoshi. Yes. He's a little green cheeked conure that was recently adopted. Yeah. He's he came to us from Fort McMurray.
Janine:He came from actually a really good home.
Bryn:Right.
Janine:Sadly, his owner did pass away, and we ended up getting the phone call. And I drove up to Fort McMurray and picked up him and three other birds. And, yeah, Yoshi was the last one here. The other ones have found their place and, yeah, he's been with us for a couple of years.
Ian:Yeah. Yeah. And just recently adopted. Great young family. They came, they spent a bunch of time with him.
Ian:It was like the perfect scenario for adopting a bird. So they came in, they spent some time, went away, thought about it for a bit, came back again, met the bird, you know, spent they did like, you know, three or four, maybe more.
Janine:At least.
Bryn:Maybe more.
Ian:If not more. And
Janine:little training sessions with them too. They had their little sticks and their little
Ian:Wow. They did really well, like, really well. So it was a it was a it a it was a simple adoption for us. You know, everything kinda went really smoothly and and Mhmm. Yeah.
Ian:No. They did good.
Bryn:And the follow-up on that, everything is okay?
Janine:Yeah. We get updates on a on a parrot group that we're part of from. And
Bryn:yeah. How does that how does that make you guys feel when you get that good stuff?
Ian:Oh, Oh, good stuff. You wanna keep doing it.
Janine:Yes. Yes. You know? That's the rush we need.
Ian:Yeah. Exactly. That's the payoff. Right?
Bryn:Yeah. One other thing I wanna talk about because you just brought it up and and that is if somebody is okay. I'm in my mid sixties.
Ian:Mhmm.
Bryn:So doesn't make any sense to me to, to adopt or or, you know, basically purchase for a new family member
Ian:Mhmm.
Bryn:In the house, a bird that's gonna outlast me. Mhmm. Is that fair to say? Because you you mentioned that the Yoshi's original owner passed away, and I'm guessing you hear that a lot. That's not just a one off story.
Janine:Yeah. We do. And it was it was actually sudden. Like, he was a really young guy.
Ian:Yeah. He was young. He was he was my age.
Janine:No. He was younger than you. He was younger
Bryn:than you. Nice try, though, Ian.
Janine:Yeah. Uh-huh. But no. So like it was really unexpected. So but yeah.
Janine:No. Even so, like even, you know, an older person that wants to have a bird, I'd say go for it, but just don't get a baby one. There's plenty of older birds Yeah. In the shelter or anywhere like that that need homes too. So
Bryn:yeah. So when it comes to to adopting, there's a process. Right?
Ian:Mhmm.
Bryn:And it's you you wanna make sure that the the right birds going to the right owner. Is that correct? Mhmm.
Ian:Yeah. And and and and really, the bird can dictate a lot of this. Okay.
Bryn:So
Ian:if if if you have a connection with that bird, that bird might not necessarily have a connection with you. Right. Right? So it's important, I I feel anyhow, that that and I'm sure Janine's on board with this, spend some time, take your time, and see how it goes. Like make sure that bird's responding to you.
Ian:And it might not happen the first visit, but you might wanna come back in a couple of days, try again. Jeanine, can
Bryn:you can you tell immediately, Jeanine, if there's a connection or is it take a little while?
Janine:I can. And, you know, sometimes it's interesting because birds are interesting. They sometimes the first day, it's perfect, and then they come back the next day, and then they're like,
Bryn:no. Yeah. So what happens there?
Janine:Could be
Ian:a lot of things.
Janine:Yeah. It it could be just the bird was having a good day one day and then a bad day the next day, or it could be that the person didn't listen to the body language or something. So, yeah, like it just yeah. It's just one of those things. So sometimes it goes good the first time and goes and continues to go good.
Janine:Some excuse me.
Bryn:That's alright. Oh, there's nothing to sneeze at.
Ian:Yeah. Yeah.
Bryn:Or cough at.
Ian:But but but like Janine said, if if you if the first time you came in, if you pushed a little too hard too fast, you know, and every bird's a different individual, so they all have different tolerances to that.
Bryn:Yeah. So so what do you think the is it about a three, four, five time visit thing before you can start to feel any sense, or is there no rule to it?
Janine:That's act like, I would prefer people come in at least at least three times.
Bryn:Okay.
Janine:At least. It's tough when you do adoptions and people meet them for five minutes, and then, you know, they want the bird that that day that Yeah. You know, the next day kind of thing. And it's like
Bryn:Yeah.
Janine:You just don't know yet. You just don't know. Like, just you have to come in and meet a little bit more. They kinda like just Yeah. Sometimes adopting a child, you know?
Janine:Like, you can't just take you can't just take one off the street. I mean, I guess some people can, but like you also have to have a connection with it too.
Ian:Yeah. But and and but and the other side of that is sometimes it's like a lightning strike, you know, that they meet, you know, the bird is head over heels, the owner's head over heels. I still think he should come back a couple times just to just to just to
Bryn:To be sure. Yeah.
Janine:It doesn't hurt.
Ian:Just to just to make a 100 sure.
Bryn:Hey. One last thing on this one. Also, you have to recognize that you're bringing the bird into your environment, so you gotta make sure that is this the place I'm living in, is this gonna be Mhmm. Worthy of Yoshi or any other For sure.
Janine:Yeah. Bird like bigger the bird, the bigger the space you need. Yeah. And, yeah, like, a lot goes into it. Yeah.
Janine:And you can't a lot of a lot of times, people have scents in their house like Glade plug ins or Febreze, like you have to alternate your lifestyle a little bit, even deodorants that spray or perfumes or hair sprays and stuff.
Ian:It might be lifestyle change.
Bryn:Yeah. That's what
Janine:I mean.
Bryn:Yeah. Exactly. The adopt, don't shop thing. Very, very important we pass that along. Right?
Ian:Mhmm. Absolutely.
Janine:Yeah. It's there's a lot of birds out there that need homes right now, and we get calls every single day. So adopt, don't shop. Let let's let the shelter empty out a little bit.
Ian:Yeah. Well, and and and Yeah. That there's there's a deeper end of that too is that, you know, for every bird that comes from an unknown place, like, you know, PetSmart gets it from a from a breeding facility and all that other kind of stuff. Right. Those those birds, you know, there could be birds that are smuggled in from from other places.
Ian:And, you know, and I don't I don't wanna put any of the big the big pet stores on, you know, in trouble or anything like that. They don't know.
Bryn:Right. Exactly.
Ian:You know, they they're not doing anything illegal, but it's, you know, it it it feeds that that whole kind of bird smuggling, you know, wildlife trade kind of thing.
Bryn:That goes on with all sorts of animals. Right? So
Ian:so it's
Bryn:not just birds. You're right. Totally right. So when somebody walks in, somebody walks into the safe house as I did, and I went, wow. Overwhelmed by it.
Bryn:It's a powerful experience, but it also makes me realize there's plenty of wonderful characters and family members just waiting for people. Mhmm. 100%.
Ian:Absolutely. 100%. Yeah.
Bryn:So Yep. Alright. Great. Well, I'm happy to hear Yoshi's doing good. Mhmm.
Bryn:So that's great. So there's Yoshi's story today on the safe house. When we come back, it's time for the seed as we start to get ready for you're never gonna believe it. We're summer's coming.
Ian:Yeah.
Bryn:But it hasn't come well. You know? Spring was just well, we don't even have to go there. It's now time for the seed and time to wrap things up. Alright.
Bryn:Well, finally, spring is here, and summer is really quick coming, I hope. Yeah. Fingers are crossed for that, the way things have gone here in the Edmonton area anyway. I've started to get my yard already for, the visitations of many, many different types of birds. What do we wanna say?
Bryn:Obviously, you wanna get your yard ready to go and set it up for success, Ian.
Ian:Absolutely. So, you know, it it it it it's coming. It's coming fast. So, you know, the lot of birds are going to nest right now, so you you don't wanna be doing too much heavy pruning or anything like that in your yard right now. You wanna kinda see how everything is laying out.
Ian:If you don't have any trees in your, know, a bunch of bush or anything like that in your yard, what I what I'd be looking at is is getting a a a fairly large feeder and putting it kinda center in your yard, you know, away from birdhouses, say, but fairly centered, you know, and it's gonna take a bit because they they need to feel safe, they need to feel secure, and and then once you have that central feeding station going on, then you can look at putting, you know, smaller feeders maybe around the peripheral. You know, if you have any
Janine:Satellite feeders. Satellite feeders.
Bryn:There you go. Absolutely.
Ian:But, you know, just around the edges, you know, where, you know, where maybe there's some trees or some shrubbery or something like that where they can they can start, you know, building that trust.
Bryn:Well, when I first put my feeder up in the backyard, it was relatively close to the back deck, but there was still some distance. I I call it a healthy distance.
Janine:Yeah.
Bryn:But I made that mistake. I trimmed it back a little bit too much in that area because I wanted to see the birds. Yeah. And they don't necessarily wanna see you initially. Yeah.
Bryn:But luckily, they've all figured out that I'm a guy who will bring some peanuts out once in a while or some bird seed out for the feeder. So, it seems to be working well for me, but I don't know. I I don't think I was really thinking that much ahead as to what I need to do to make sure that I have visitors all summer long.
Ian:Yeah, for sure. And and that's that's that even plays into the pet bird side. Just like Janine used to always say, awesome lives in my pockets. Right? So Yeah.
Ian:You know, they they know that you're bringing food and all that kind of stuff. You're you're a normal part. And like, these birds are smart. Like we always sort of end up treating them kind of like they're objects, but you know, these are thinking, teaching critters, know, they're teaching their young, they're teaching all that kind of stuff. And if you're a positive part of that environment, you can go out and fill your feeder and all that kind of stuff.
Ian:They'll just give you a little bit of time to do that, and they'll get right back at it. You know, they they're not bothered by you.
Bryn:I've also discovered a little whistle when I do the feed. Like, I've got I actually have a little whistle attached to to something goes around my neck. So when I go out and do the feed, I just give it a couple little blows, and they are there really fast. They figured me out. They got me trained.
Ian:Right? Absolutely. Absolutely. Well, we know awesome lives in your pockets. Right?
Bryn:Absolutely. Yeah. So placement, obviously, a location for me, all it's all part of the fun is watching the activity at the bird feeder. Absolutely. But as for the satellite feeders Yeah.
Bryn:You don't have to have a big big place. There's all sorts of like, looking around the the store here today, there's all sorts of different size of feeders. Right?
Ian:No. Absolutely.
Janine:I like the little satellite ones because then you can attract different types of birds. Like, the big birds can go to your big feeder right in the center of your thing, but of your yard or whatever. But the little guys, you can put little seeds in there and get little chickadees on the left side of your yard and Yeah. Woodpeckers and the suet feeders on the right side of your yard. You know?
Janine:So it's cool.
Bryn:I gotta bring up. We had a we've had a bat that is appearing, but do you guys have those there's I know some places got bat houses.
Ian:Yeah. There's bat houses here. Yeah.
Bryn:To me, we don't have a mosquito problem in our backyard. I'm I'm wondering if Thanks. That's We do refer to our bat as Bruce Wayne.
Ian:Yeah. There you That's his nickname.
Bryn:So we say, is Bruce here today? We take a peek up. Oh, there
Ian:he is.
Bryn:Yeah. So, but they can they cohabitate together? Do they kinda just note mix because of one's out at night and one's during the day, that kind of thing? Well, there's that.
Ian:And and it's it's It's that's nature. The bats have been here. The birds have been here. They they
Bryn:Oh,
Ian:yeah. Had that that worked out long before us.
Bryn:Exactly. So what kind of feeder would I be looking for? If I was gonna start right from scratch, and we're gonna have a lot of people tuning in on this one. Yeah. So what would you look for?
Bryn:If I was coming in here for the very first time and I wanted to find a a a feeder that I thought might be great one. I can see one already that I I love. Yeah. But would you go to something big or would you start small?
Ian:You know, I guess the first question I'd ask you is how what what's your yard like? Is your yard you know, is it a postage stamp? Like, is it clear cut? Do you only have a, like, a fruit tree and a and a shrub? Or like, you know, it or is it fairly Mature.
Ian:Trees? Yeah. Yeah. Those are the questions I'd ask first. If you have a fairly large yard and a fairly open area, I would say, well, let's get a a fairly decent sized, hopper feeder.
Ian:Right. And and get that as your as your main feeder in your yard. Okay. You know? And and and, you know, that that can take a many, you know, million different shapes and sizes of that.
Ian:And then once you go from there, then then it you know, depending what's there, we would look that satellite feeder small. Janine likes the clinger only.
Bryn:Mhmm.
Ian:You know? So there's a What what was that? It's called clinger only. Okay.
Janine:You The clingers.
Ian:Yeah. So So
Janine:The birds
Bryn:grabbing on.
Ian:Yep. Yep. They're grabbing on. They they they don't really have a perch.
Bryn:Okay.
Ian:Right? Yeah. And and so they're they're, they they have a actually, some of them have a little baffle, so the bigger birds can't feed on
Bryn:them. Okay.
Ian:Right? But and and and you those are your small feeders that you put around the periphery, and and and, you know, your small chickadees, your your your house finches, and stuff like that. I'll can all all do well off of those.
Bryn:They're definitely it's, I feel like I'm, in some ways, an air traffic controller. Yeah. Because, in the morning to me, every morning I get up breakfast, I and especially in the summer, love to have it out there in the deck and just watch the birds. But it's big bird time first thing in the morning. That's what we find at our place.
Bryn:Yeah. And then the little ones find their way, and then it just seems like everybody's on a certain schedule. Is that kind of the norm?
Ian:Absolutely. It it might not be, you know, the sequence might be different.
Bryn:Well, guys are pretty regular. It shocks me actually.
Ian:Yeah. Yeah. They'll have their they'll have their rhythm to it, know, with us with us, it's the nuthatches. First thing in the morning, nuthatches. Okay.
Ian:That's all you hear.
Bryn:Right.
Ian:And then, you know, a couple of magpies might show up, a blue jay, you know.
Bryn:We got big clothes too in
Ian:our area. Oh, yeah. Yeah. For sure. And they'll they'll they'll take their turns, you know, I think I think the little birds, and this is this is a theory, so there's no science here, kids.
Bryn:Okay. Alright.
Ian:But but it it seems to me, but the little birds are watching the big guys.
Janine:Mhmm. I feel like that too.
Ian:And vice versa. Really?
Bryn:K.
Ian:So the big guys are are are are, you know, oh, jeez. I found a bunch of food right here. You know, these little guys are like, what's that what's that crow doing?
Bryn:Gotcha.
Ian:Hey. Look at that. Oh, he's found food. Good. Is it safe?
Ian:Did he did he eat out of there and come out alive? Good chance I can too. Right? So
Bryn:The the other one I gotta ask about is what about stuff on the ground? Like, some birds are a lot messier. Mhmm. Right? So there's always gonna be some seed on the ground.
Bryn:Some people worry about is that gonna sprout stuff, but there's all. We'll get into that Yeah. Seed talk a little bit later on.
Ian:But
Bryn:I like with the the, like, the the peanuts, for example Yeah. I'd like to put a few on the ground because I think that it's good to have them move around your yard, not just always look at the feeder. Do you think that's a good idea, Janine?
Janine:I think it's interesting to have them forage for their food too. So, yes, if you if you hide some peanuts around your yard, it's really interesting to watch that.
Ian:Yeah. Absolutely.
Janine:Yeah. Absolutely. Okay.
Bryn:So if somebody wants to know more about how to get started, you guys have got it all here. So Yeah. I and I know you guys love to get people to walk in and not just, you know, purchase, but also to it's a great place for conversation. Absolutely. You guys have had some customers come in while we've been recording this podcast today, and and the conversation is I think it's great stuff.
Bryn:So you're encouraging that, obviously.
Ian:Oh, that's what we want. We because like like we always say every time, we can't be outside all the time.
Bryn:Okay. Fun facts. Have we got some fun facts for this very first edition?
Ian:Okay. The very first fun fact I would say is the longest migration out of all the birds that that come through Alberta. Right. The longest migration is the Arctic tern. The Arctic tern will migrate from from from from from the Arctic.
Ian:Right. Right. And it goes all the way to the Antarctic. You're kidding. Yeah.
Ian:All in all in the season and then back.
Bryn:So how could somebody tell if that was that particular bird? Is there any way? Do they have a certain call?
Ian:Well, they they they when when you're gonna see them, they're they're very different than than say gulls.
Bryn:Okay.
Ian:Know, we see lots of gulls, but these guys are, you know, they they they look similar, but but also very different. So you'd you'd have to refer to your bird guide and all that kind stuff. It's very possible to see them.
Bryn:How long would they hang around? Do we know? Are they frequent flyers?
Ian:Yeah. Well, they're they're they're moving through. Like, they have a long way to go. Yes. So, you know, you'll but they it's you can see them in the dean time, really.
Bryn:Gives you something to Google. Whatever. So once again, what's that bird?
Ian:Arctic tern.
Bryn:Perfect. So that's it. That's episode three, Birdhouse Banter. It's, Ian and Janine with me, Bryn Griffiths. It's been a lot of fun.
Bryn:What do we learn here today? This is I've I've learned a ton. Hey. Thanks for joining us today. If you're a bird brain like me and you don't wanna miss our next podcast, then check us out on any of your favorite Ear Candy sites like Apple, Spotify, Google.
Bryn:There's lots of them out there. Make sure you tell your friends and make sure you follow or subscribe to our podcast. That way when a new one drops, you'll get the new one right to your home perch. And, also, if you're not as the crow flies and you can't drop into our location, check us out online at mika'sbirdhouse.com. That's it for the Birdhouse Banter.
Bryn:Have yourself a great day. Let's get chirping.