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Garden Gate: Episode 176 – Repairing bird feeders (Oct. 25th, 2019)

At The Avant-Garden Shop we carry a wide variety of bird feeders but the most popular and best quality are those from Brome, Droll Yankees and Aspects. These feeders are made from high quality materials that last a lifetime. The tubes are made from a special UV protected plastic that doesn’t yellow or crack. The […]

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Garden Tips: It’s for the Birds (the Importance & Nuances of Bird Seed)

Seedy Business The majority of the contents in most bird seed mixes available at large stores is a blend of “fillers” that are low in nutritional value, such as wheat, red millet, and flax. The seeds in these bulk bags are often poorly cleaned, which leaves them dusty, and oils are then added to reduce […]

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Garden Gate: Episode 118 – Setting up a bird feeding station (June 23, 2017)

CHEX TV airdate: June 23rd, 2017 Click link to watch this episode online It’s really wonderful to watch the birds.  Their beautiful colours and sweet songs relax and help you to appreciate the nature all around you.  Often times elderly who live alone at home much of the time can spend hours watching and being entertained […]

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Garden Gate: Episode 13 – Why are the birds not feeding from my feeder?

Birds at a Feeder

CHEX TV air date: Fri. May 31st, 2013 Click here to watch this episode of ?The Garden Gate. During prime finch feeding season, almost weekly I have customers coming in to purchase a new feeder because they?ve lost their finches. Initially when they put up their feeder they get lots of finches but at a […]

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Garden Gate: Episode 6 – Identifying birds

Suet Feeder

CHEX TV air date: Fri. Feb 22nd, 2013 Click here to watch this episode of?The Garden Gate. Drew Monkman joins Brenda Ibey, owner of The Avant Garden Shop, to discuss how to identify your favourite birds during nature walks and birdwatching outings.It was a cold day in January but the birds were out singing and […]

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Garden Gate: Episode 5 – Attracting birds to your back yard with Drew Monkman

Upside Down Suet Feeder

CHEX TV air date: Fri. Feb 8th, 2013 Click here to watch this episode of?The Garden Gate. Brenda is joined by special guest, Drew Monkman to talk about ways to attract birds to your backyard. It was a cold day in January but we saw a lovely little woodpecker enjoying some suet and peanuts and […]

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The 5 o’clock show, November 11th, 2012, A visit to The Avant-Garden Shop

5 o'clock show

Theresa Kazuba from CHEX TV visited The Avant-Garden Shop in late 2012 to learn more about backyard bird feeding and bird watching.? Special guest Drew Monkman also joined us for a segment of the program. Well worth watching if you’d like to learn more about choosing the right bird food, quality bird feeders and even […]

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Winter Bird Feeding

Pileated woodpecker

Feeding wild birds in Canada during the winter months requires some special consideration. Canadian winters are very cold and the nights are long, sources of water are often frozen and shelter remains a must for many fragile birds. Even grit, which birds require in order to digest food, can become quite scarce in midwinter when […]

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