Welcome, Vancouver!
*** Members Only Night is Just Around the Corner! ***
Refer-a-Friend to the Daily Savings Club at DSC Night and Save!
DSC Night is Tomorrow! - Thursday, Nov 7th, at 6:00 PM
As a Daily Savings Club Member, we know you have a real joy and appreciation of the birds. Share that joy today and introduce a friend to the wonderful world of bird feeding!
One night only, when you bring a friend to sign up for a new DSC Membership, and they spend at least $50 in-store, you will receive a $25 Wild Birds Unlimited® gift card as a thank-you from us.* If they're new to feeding, a classic WBU feeder and bag of seed would be the perfect purchase to get them on track. And if they're a veteran bird feeder this is a great opportunity to try out some new seed blends, or venture out into suets and cylinders.
Whatever they are looking for, we can help them find. Winter is a tough time for the birds, so lets help build a bird feeding community that can help them thrive year-round! Remind yourself of the many benefits that being a DSC Member provides here: Daily Savings Club Details.
DSC Members get access to special events and promotions like those we have tomorrow night, you don't want to miss out!
Join us at 6:00pm on Thursday, November 7th for an exclusive shopping experience,
including deals and prizes that will set you up for the holidays.
Join us for an evening filled with:
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One-night-only deals that will get you ready for the holiday season!
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Show off your birding knowledge to win unique prizes,
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Hear from some amazing local artists and nature organizations about new ways to help the birds.
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Door Prizes
Save the songbird goodie bag
Bring a friend along with you, and have them sign up for a DSC Membership themselves. You'll get a special reward as a "Thanks!" from us! Tell them about the Daily Savings Club benefits outline here: Daily Savings Club Details.
*when they make a purchase of $50 or more at the Wild Birds Unlimited® Vancouver or North Vancouver store with our new Birds of a Feather Promotion. For DSC members only. Valid only at participating store(s) listed. One gift card per referral. Offer not valid on previous purchases or sale items. Offer valid in-store only.
Fall Brings Changes for Your Backyard Birds
As fall arrives, it brings a season of change for us. Summer vacations are over, the school year starts, and the air becomes crisper. At the same time, our backyard birds are going through even greater changes in their lives. They may change the foods they eat, their social arrangements, plumage and even where they live. Most of our backyard birds have been eating protein rich insects in summer and feeding them to their young. In fall, they may change to feeding on the ripening seeds and berries, partly because of the abundance but also because insects are becoming scarce as winter approaches.
As autumn deepens, the activity at your feeders will increase as jays, chickadees, titmice and nuthatches begin caching seeds for the winter by the hundreds. In a behavior called “scatter-hoarding”, each seed is individually hidden in a unique location. Common storage sites include under tree bark, dead leaves, knotholes, and even house siding and shingles.
Most birds also change their social behavior in fall. With breeding over, many abandon individual territories and paired relationships and roam more widely in flocks. Chickadees form small flocks of young and adults that roam over several breeding territories. They will also team up with White-breasted Nuthatches, titmice and Downy Woodpeckers to forage together in a group known as a foraging guild. They all benefit from the teamwork of multiple birds looking in different locations for food…many eyes makes the success rate increase.
In addition, backyard birds undergo a complete molt of their feathers each fall. For some, like cardinals, this is just a replacement of the same colors of feathers they had all year. While other birds change into different colors just for winter, as in the case with male goldfinches which replace their bright yellow feathers with a duller plumage that resembles their female counterparts.
Many birds move to new areas in fall. Sometimes it is just a shift to a nearby location with a better winter food supply, such as your bird feeders. Others, like bluebirds, will move from open areas where they had a nesting cavity to locations rich with berries. Then there are birds such as House Wrens, which leave northern areas and migrate south where they can continue to eat insects through winter.
Fall is a time of tremendous change in the bird world. Take some time this fall to look for and enjoy these changes as you watch your backyard birds at the feeders.
Project FeederWatch November 1 2024 - April 30 2025
What is Project FeederWatch?
For those unfamiliar with this initiative, it’s operated by The Cornell Lab and Birds Canada. Wild Birds Unlimited has officially sponsored PWF and the associated BirdSpotter Photo Contest since 2016. The program allows birders of all skill levels and backgrounds the chance to track birds that visit their backyards. This tracking information further contributes to advancing the understanding and protection of wild birds.
Why Are Programs Like FeederWatch Important?
PFW and other citizen science programs benefit societies, municipalities and local communities as a whole. The results of the research or observations gained through citizen science projects have been used to inform local policies, enhance formal and informal education initiatives, conserve natural resources and support environmental sustainability.
How Does This Tie Into Save the Song Birds?
Participating in citizen science projects like PFW helps researchers gain access to thousands of participant’s bird and bird behavior sightings that would have otherwise been too restrictive to collect. It helps scientists study timely data on bird population, migration, behaviors and more. Encouraging and promoting citizen science opportunities like PWF is a critical aspect of our Save the Song Birds commitment.
November Nature Happenings Calling all finch fans! Pine Siskin flocks start to make their arrival now through January.
learn moreJoin the Daily Savings Club Today! Our yearly-membership has many benefits for you and your birds. Click to learn more
learn moreWould you stake your life on your memory? Each fall, chickadees begin caching seeds by the thousands to ensure they will have something to eat during winter.
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