Birds and Squirrels

I received this message from “Defenders of Wildlife” and wanted to share it with others out there who also want to help wildlife.

Will Your Representative Help Sea Otters?

Once on the brink of extinction, California’s sea otters have been slowly recovering over the last seventy years. But recently, sea otter populations have stagnated, prompting concern among conservationists and scientists.

Biologists need to be able to study causes of sea otter deaths in order to help save these beloved animals — and the Southern Sea Otter Recovery and Research Act will provide vital funding to do just that.

Please ask your Representative to help sea otter recovery by cosponsoring the Southern Sea Otter Recovery and Research Act (H.R. 556). http://action.defenders.org/seaotterrecovery

Would you build your house using toxic materials that could harm you and your family? No? Then you should take just as much care when building a birdhouse. Some building materials, such as plastic and wood, can be coated with toxic chemicals that can compromise human and animal health. Natural wood birdhouses are the best option for a bird shelter.

Make sure that the wood you use hasn’t been treated with any harsh chemicals or additives. Also choose the paint with care, specifically the paint you use on the inside of the bird house. Buy paint that is non-toxic and does not contain lead. In addition to making sure the materials used in building your bird house are safe for birds, you also want to ensure their bird seed is safe. Try to use an all-natural bird seed that hasn’t been treated with chemicals. Birds need good nutrition too.

Children can be nature lovers even at a very young age.  If their parents exhibit great, obvious and constant concern for the environment, youngsters will soon be following their ways.  One auspicious approach to get kids interested in nature would be to let them roam in the garden.  Explore your patch with your child while pointing out and naming the various creatures and plants you see. Teach him or her dos and don’ts when dealing with living things. You can tell your child for example that it is not okay to pick flowers but it is good to pull out the weeds.
 
Little children love little birds.  To attract robins, sparrows, wrens and other wild birds to your garden or backyard, make sure you have a regular supply of wild bird seed.  Kids will enjoy feeding these tiny winged creatures with bird food that is a combination of sunflowers, canary seed, oatmeal, wheat, and small mixed seeds.