Gilligallou's Blog

In tandem with this year’s annual finch forecast, we thought it would be timely to touch on a few helpful hints and tips that can prepare your yard for a possible visit from a finch or two. There is definitely a lot that goes into our chances of spotting house finches, purple finches, redpolls and the like. Let’s break down this year’s potential as well as what you can do to increase your chances of spotting these wonderful birds of winter.

 Keeping your feeders filled and ensuring that our birds have reliable water sources are key during this pivotal season as they require more energy and resources than any other time of the year. With this in mind, we wanted to touch on a number of unique factors that our birds use to determine that it is time to get that much needed preparation underway in order to be successful during this season.

With a little over a week until the official start to the fall season, it is a wonderful time of year to get outdoors, clean up the yard and keep those feeders filled. When it comes to fall and winter birding, there is perhaps one species that gets more attention than most (heck, it’s in our logo!) and that bird is the Northern Cardinal.

In addition to their calming song, these birds are often the topic of conversation either online or in our store. Given their unmistakable plumage during the summer months, birders of all walks of life will immediately notice their disappearance and come looking to us for the answers. It is here in which the answer to today’s question lies and what truly dictates just about everything this little bird does: food.