[NatureNS] Questions

From: "Andy Dean" <aadean@ns.sympatico.ca>
To: <naturens@chebucto.ns.ca>
References: <BAY114-W32A5B6730F666EF9640098B5270@phx.gbl> <47B6F50B.90106@chebucto.ns.ca> <000e01c870b8$3e729850$a7478a18@oldcoot3>
Date: Sat, 16 Feb 2008 14:19:20 -0400
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We just top your total woodpeckers Margie.....we have ten assorted hairy =
and downy  :) and two pileated just down the street in a stand of mixed =
woods.

Andy & Lelia Dean
86 Baden Powell Drive
Kentville, NS. Canada. B4N 5P5
Tel: [902] 678-6243

aadean@ns.sympatico.ca
  ----- Original Message -----=20
  From: Margaret E.Millard=20
  To: naturens@chebucto.ns.ca=20
  Sent: Saturday, February 16, 2008 12:23 PM
  Subject: Re: [NatureNS] Questions


  I wonder from time to time where the seed comes from and how it is =
grown.=20
  Some years it is all full of bugs which I took as a good sign that at =
least=20
  it wasn't full of pesticide and kept it outside after a moth =
infestation.
  I checked with my supplier at the time and he said he was assured the =
seeds=20
  plants were healthy and untreated.
  Lately the seed isn't full of bugs and the black oil seed looks near =
to=20
  perfect. I asked at Shur Gain how it was grown and they said they =
would=20
  check into it. It is coming from Ontario, but I heard there was a seed =

  failure there and it was coming to the distributors there from =
Manitoba and=20
  Sask. With the price of it one would think it is part of the bio fuel=20
  crop.....I went to Shur- Gain  this past week, and forgot to ask what =
they=20
  found out. We have currently two black oil feeders out, made from 1.89 =
L=20
  juice bottles and they are being cleaned and refilled every third to =
fourth=20
  day. It is non stop chickadees there, and woodpeckers, at times to. If =
the=20
  starlings could figure how to get the seed from them, we would be =
eaten out=20
  of house and home!!
  Back to counting. Currently I have 9 Downy and Hairy woodpeckers out =
there.=20
  You should hear them!! It is a convention!!  (so nice to hear)
  http://margmillard.ca
  ----- Original Message -----=20
  From: "Eleanor Lindsay" <az678@chebucto.ns.ca>
  To: <naturens@chebucto.ns.ca>
  Sent: Saturday, February 16, 2008 10:36 AM
  Subject: Re: [NatureNS] Questions


  > James Hirtle wrote:
  >> Hi all:
  >>  I recieved this recently and was wondering if anyone has any =
knowledge=20
  >> on this issue.  If indeed there is any truth to the following, I =
myself=20
  >> would find it somewhat disturbing.  I would like to send an answer =
to the=20
  >> individual, but I have no first hand knowledge in regards to the =
topic.
  >>  James R. Hirtle
  >> Dublin Shore
  >>  I am writing about sunflower seeds which I feed birds at my =
property on
  >> Hidden Lake in the Labelle/Chelsea area.
  >>
  >> In October my wife and I took a trip across Canada by train. On the
  >> outskirts of Winnipeg we saw large fields packed with sunflower =
plants=20
  >> that
  >> were brown and withered looking. I felt this to be somewhat odd=20
  >> considering
  >> that the weather was still quite summer like and that I had seen=20
  >> sunflower
  >> plants in Maniban gardens that still seemed robustly upright and=20
  >> appealing
  >> to the sun.
  >>
  >> Whe I arrived at my older son's place in Kelowna BC I happened to =
ask him
  >> whether he knew about the sunflower crops around Winnipeg. He had =
spent
  >> some time in Winnipeg and his girlfriend comes from a town out side =
of=20
  >> that
  >> city. My son said that he was told that the sunflower plants are =
sprayed
  >> with Round Up to facilitate the harvesting of the plants and the=20
  >> gathering
  >> of their seeds.
  >>
  >> In January of this year I purchased an 18 kg bag of sunflower seeds =
at
  >> Costco in Halifax. On the bag was printed the name of the company,=20
  >> Keystone
  >> Grain Limited (they have a website) that distribute the seed and I=20
  >> noticed
  >> it was in Winnipeg. I looked on the bag for more infornmation and =
was
  >> surprised to see no mention that the seed wasn't for human =
consumption.=20
  >> So
  >> I wrote them an e-mail to find out if the seed was fit for humans. =
I have
  >> had no reply.
  >>
  >> I was wondering whether you, because of your area of expertise, =
would=20
  >> have
  >> any knowledge if in fact this is a method used to harvest the seed =
and
  >> whether use of such seed - possibly corrupted or contaminated with =
a
  >> herbicide - would be detrimental to birds.
  >>
  >> I read and hear of the decimation and reduction in the counts of =
some=20
  >> types
  >> of birds. Could this be a factor to consider or at least make =
notice of?
  >>
  >>
  >> =
------------------------------------------------------------------------
  > This may or may not be relevant to the above, but this past winter I =
have=20
  > noted a very dramatic reduction in black oil sunflower seed =
consumption=20
  > compared with all previous 20++  years of bird feeding (seeds for =
which I=20
  > get locally here in Tantallon). The local supplier told me at the=20
  > beginning of this season that he had changed suppliers so I have =
just=20
  > contacted him after reading the above to ask where he is now getting =
the=20
  > seeds from; he tells me they come from a distributing company, =
Armstrong,=20
  > in Ontario, but that at least some of the seeds, if not all, may =
well come=20
  > from further west. He tells me he is not hearing from other =
customers=20
  > about any change in feeding patterns - but he also hasn't asked - =
and I am=20
  > left with an even greater concern than I already had about the low=20
  > consumption I am noting. Just for interest I am going to try and get =
some=20
  > seeds that originate from a different source to see if that makes =
any=20
  > difference.
  > I'll keep you posted..........
  > Eleanor Lindsay
  >
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<DIV><FONT face=3DArial size=3D2>We just top your total woodpeckers =
Margie.....we=20
have ten assorted hairy and downy&nbsp; :) and two pileated just down =
the street=20
in a stand of mixed woods.</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=3DArial size=3D2><