In the series opener, Don shows viewers how to attract Cardinals—one of America's most popular birds—with specialty birdseed and the right landscaping. Next, the Stokes offer a fascinating glimpse at the world of ducks, revealing why some are "divers" while others are "dabblers." Lillian and Don also visit Lois and Leon White, a Florida couple who've turned their property into an avian paradise filled with blue Indigo Buntings and multi-colored Painted Buntings. Lillian then demonstrates how to properly clean out birdhouses to prepare them for winter. The program closes with a look at Roseate Spoonbills as they come in to roost at sunset.
How-To: Attracting Cardinals
To attract cardinals, plant dense berry producing shrubs for food and nesting cover. Offer sunflower, their favorite at hopper or tube feeders, or low trays. Cardinals also like safflower, and mixed seed. Try mixing safflower half and half with sunflower at first, to get the cardinals used to the safflower seed. Another advantage of safflower is that squirrels and grackles do not usually eat it.
People and Birds: Buntings
Some Indigo and Painted Buntings winter in Florida, although most winter in Mexico and Central America. During breeding they nest in shrubs at roadsides or woodland edges. Attract them to feeders with millet or seed mixes.
Time Out To Watch: Roseate Spoonbills
Roseate Spoonbills are large, pink, wading birds that live in Florida and along the Gulf Coast. They feed by sweeping their partially opened spoon-shaped bills back and forth in the water, and then snapping them shut when they feel prey. Spoonbills nest on rookery islands with other herons.
