Medway, Massachusetts
We can show you how to turn your yard into a birdfeeding habitat that brings song, color and life to your home.

Greetings from the Medway Wild Birds Unlimited® Nature Shop!  

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preparing you for the best backyard birdfeeding experience possible. At Wild Birds Unlimited®, our Certified Birdfeeding Specialists™ are trained to show you how to turn your yard into a birdfeeding habitat that not only brings song, color and life to your home, but also benefits the wild birds and the environment in your area.

WBU isn’t just about selling birdfeeders and birdseed. We pride ourselves on being able to give you the most accurate information and knowledge about your local birds.

Home of the Best Birdfood in TownBased on more than 25 years of research and experience, our products have been designed to be the highest quality birdfeeders and birdfeeding equipment on the market today. We’re so confident about our designs that many of our products carry a lifetime guarantee.

We’re not only proud of our feeders though. We also have the freshest birdseed in town, and we can prove it. Our exclusive regional blends aren’t just fresh; they’re specially formulated from 100% edible seed that the birds in your backyard will love.

It is our goal for you to have the best possible experience from your birdfeeding hobby. Backyard birdfeeding is the most relaxing, fulfilling, educational and exciting hobby that anyone, young or old, can enjoy.

At Wild Birds Unlimited, we aren’t just a birdseed store. We are Your Backyard Birdfeeding Specialist®, here to help bring you, your family and nature together. 

Helping Birds through Snow & ColdWinter feeding

Just as we rely on coats, hats and mittens to keep us warm in the face of winter's icy grip, birds employ a number of methods to survive the adversity of winter. And you can help!

Food is the most essential element, providing birds with the energy, stamina and nutrition they need. To stay warm, birds will expend energy very quickly, some losing up to 10% of their body weight on extremely cold nights.  Normally, birds that come to feeders obtain only about 20% of their daily calories from food offered in feeders; the rest come from natural food sources. In contrast, during periods of cold weather, your birds may use your feeders to load up on calories as a means of survival.  An ample supply of high-calorie foods such as black oil sunflower, insects and suet is crucial to a bird’s survival.

We can play a vital role, as feeding the birds becomes more important when extremely cold conditions occur. At these times, a supply of food can mean the difference between life and death for a bird.

Birds continue to need a source of water for drinking to maintain their metabolism during dry, cold weather. Clean feathers help birds stay warm, and a bird bath iWinter Heated Bird Baths often the only way for some birds to drink and keep their feathers in top condition when it’s cold. It's surprising, but you will often see flocks of Robins, Starlings and Sparrows taking a cold bath on a winter afternoon.

Most birds adjust their feathers to create air pockets, which help them keep warm. The soft, fluffy down feathers are puffed up with air to create a warm blanket around the bird. The body feathers lie on top of each other, overlapping like shingles on a roof. Small interlocking barbules, or “hairs,” zip their feathers together to create an airtight windbreaker. Also, most birds preen their feathers with the oil produced by a gland on their backs near their tails to create a waterpoof rain coat. Research has shown that a chickadee with well-maintained feathers can create a 70° (F) layer of insulation between the outside air and its skin.

Birds need a place to escape the elements. Planting evergreens, installing roosting and nesting boxes in your backyard can give birds a wWinter Roosting Owlarm, dry place to stay overnight. Temporary brush piles in discreet corners of your yard help too. Shelter is also necessary for protection against natural predators, such as birds of prey and cats.

Staying warm is not all about food. While birds are equipped to withstand most winter weather, survival can be made easier by providing food, a heated, open source of water and protection from the elements with natural plant cover or a roosting box.

Stop by the store today and let us show you which high-energy foods will help your birds brave the snow and cold!

Attracting Birds To A New Feeder

Finch FeederWhat's the best way to attract birds to a new feeder? There isn't a perfect answer for this question, but it's one we get a lot! There are times when you put up a new bird feeder and birds come to it within minutes. And, other times it can take months for the birds to come. You may notice the birds fly by a feeder and stop in mid-air as if to say "whoa, new feeder alert, turn back!"

Give the birds time to find the feeder and get used to its presence in your yard. Make sure the birds can see the feeder, as they find their food by sight. Try putting some seed on the ground or near the feeder. Above all, be patient!

 

Clean Your Feeders Before Refilling!

Feeder BrushGenerally, all you need is warm water and some sort of feeder brush that will allow you to scrub the inside. Rinse and dry thoroughly before you refill. If the feeder has any mold in it, or you have noticed sick birds around the feeder, consider cleaning the feeder with a solution of 1 part bleach to 10 parts water. Rinse thoroughly and dry. Check out our line of Wild Birds Unlimited BirdCare brushes.

And remember, never add fresh seed on top of old seed

Sharing The Joy of Winter Bird Feeding

Chickadee

 The delight of seeing so many active and energetic birds at your feeders, and knowing that you are having a positive impact on the quality of their lives, makes feeding the birds a real joy during this time of the year.

That joy is available to everyone. By providing just a few simple things, such as nutritious foods, clean water and ample shelter, the birds in your yard will quickly become a valuable asset. Not a cash asset, but an entertainment asset that rewards you with many priceless hours of happiness and fulfillment.

Winter is a great time to watch the different types of birds at your feeders. Woodpeckers are busy eating mouthfuls of suet. Juncos hurriedly scour the ground for millet. Finches squabble at the finch feeder. Jays raucously steal peanuts and nuthatches industriously horde sunflower seeds.

Bird feeding is a fun and educational hobby, and this is the season to share it with everyone.

Stop by the store this month and share a bit of the holidays with us.

We have the best seed, feeders, nature gifts and advice, and we can help you introduce this wonderful hobby to your neighbors, friends and family.

As we celebrate this special season, we invite you to bring nature home for the holidays and thank you for continuing to support our store, nature and wildlife.

We wish you and your family a wonderful and healthy holiday season.

 

Male Downy Woodpecker with JuvenileFathers Find Their Role
for Raising Young Birds

This month, your yard will become home to a new generation of birds.

But as you're watching fledglings chase their parents, beg for food and learn the necessary skills to survive their new world, look for the presence, or absence, of father birds.

Adult male birds' roles in raising their young differ greatly from one species to another.

For example, male hummingbirds do nothing to help raise the young, their only contribution is to mate with the female.

Chickadee and nuthatch males feed their mates while they are incubating and brooding, but both adults feed the young.

The Bird Father of the Year Award goes to the Downy Woodpecker. Though they share daytime nest duties with their female counterparts, only males incubate and brood at night and roost in the nest until their offspring fledge.

Downy males will also help feed the young after they leave the nest and assist in leading them to food sources such as backyard bird feeders.

Help your birds with high-protein foods like mealworms, peanuts, Jim's Birdacious® Bark Butter® and suet.

These energy-packed foods will entice your birds and their young back to your yard. The young birds will learn the location of your bird food and begin to make return trips on their own.

 

Fun Facts About Squirrels

  • Fox Squirrel Adult Squirrels can consume about one and a half pounds of seeds and nuts each week, which is roughly the equivalent of their own body weight.
  • Squirrels’ favorite natural foods are hickory nuts, pecans, black walnuts, and acorns. Their favorite feeder food is black oil sunflower seeds, their least favorite feeder food is Nyjer® (thistle) seed.
  • A 19-inch-long gray squirrel has a seven-foot-long digestive track that enables it to utilize a wide variety of foods including tree fruits, insects, bird eggs and mushrooms.
  • Squirrels must drink water at least twice per day.
  • A squirrel’s scalpel-sharp incisors grow about six inches per year. As with all the other members of the rodent family, squirrels must constantly gnaw on hard materials to keep them worn down and to sharpen them.
  • In an hour’s time, a squirrel can collect and bury 25 nuts. Unable to remember each nut’s location, they find them again by using a highly developed sense of smell.
  • During a harsh winter a squirrel may loose up to 25% of its body weight.
  • Most squirrels are active in the winter only around mid-day, during the remainder of the year they are early risers with a peak activity period during the two hours after sunrise and again during the mid-afternoon.
  • The name “squirrel” originates from the Greek words for shade and tail.
  • Squirrels will have a litter of three to four young around early January and again in early August. The average life expectancy of these youngsters in the wild is approximately one year, although some captive squirrels have lived up to 15 years.
  • Squirrels may den in the ground, tree cavities, and in nests they construct that are called dreys.  Summer dreys are located in tree branches and consist of twigs and leaves. Winter dreys are waterproof and have a lining of bark, lichen, moss, fur and leaves.
  • Squirrels can jump up to six feet vertically and eight feet between trees or structures. Placing feeders and baffles outside of their jumping range will help to deter them.
  • The Gray Squirrel uses its tail as a shield when fighting, as a blanket in cold weather, and, sometimes, as an umbrella during rain storms.
  • The Gray Squirrel weighs only ½ an ounce at birth and reaches its adult size six months later.
  • The Gray Squirrel stocks its winter pantry by burying up to 10,000 nuts each fall. It also feeds on grapes, fungi, grasses, larval and adult insects, and amphibians.
  • The Fox Squirrel sweats through its paws. During hot weather, it will actually leave damp tracks on a dry surface.