The Avant-Garden Shop: Your Garden & Bird Store

Attracting Hummingbirds and Orioles

  Sweets for the Sweet In May, we begin to see the arrival of hummingbirds, orioles and warblers. The beautiful but elusive warblers are generally happy within the safe cover of trees to provide a healthy diet of insects, but hummingbirds and orioles will come to gardens and feeders if we provide what they love … Read more

GARDEN GATE: Episode 290 – Keeping out the squirrels! (April 12, 2024)

In the last episode Brenda talked about keeping grackles and starlings away from feeders. This week is about keeping the squirrels off. The Brome Squirrel Buster feeders are really the best option. These are triggered to close with the weight of a squirrel. Another great option is to put a baffle on your pole. These … Read more

Flight or Fight: The Challenges Facing Birds in Spring

  The Problem with the Flight As our migratory birds return to spring habitats, it’s a wonderful time to watch behaviours specific to this time of year. Many species migrate in large flocks, but once they arrive, their mating displays and territorial behaviours kick in. They chase or are chased by other birds over mates … Read more

GARDEN GATE: Episode 288 – The Return of the Grackles (March 15, 2024)

It’s that time again. The grackles have returned and many people are asking how to get rid of them and the starlings. As these birds are invasive it’s a good idea to try to deter them from visiting. Here’s a few tips that can help.  As soon as they start showing up, you want to … Read more

The American Robin

  Someone once described a day in the life of a robin as follows: Run, run, run, STOP. Run, run, run, STOP. Run, run, run, STOP. Run, run, run, STOP. There’s much contentment found in sitting quietly and watching robins. They’re keen worm finders, tilting their heads just so, to focus one eye on wormholes … Read more

GARDEN GATE: Episode 285 – Local Photographers Tracy Waddington & John Ashdown Stop By (Feb 2, 2024)

Today our guests are two Peterborough based photographers sharing their love for birds. Tracy Waddington & John Ashdown have taken many amazing pictures of birds and frequently share them with our community on a couple groups on Facebook. They are amazing photographers that like to look for birds near Trent University, along the Otonabee river, … Read more

GARDEN GATE: Episode 283 – The best winter bird seed! (Jan 5, 2024)

The weather is getting colder and the birds are busy working hard to keep warm. Changing your seed to a hulled variety really helps them get their food quickly. It saves them energy not having to remove the shells, and also keeps things tidy at your feeders. We sell the hulled sunflower seeds, hulled peanut … Read more

Snowbirds – we get it!

Fall migration is underway. Like many Canadians, a lot of bird species prefer to spend their winters in warmer climes, often for the simple reason that food is more abundant there than it is here. Migration is risky business, though, and the move to the food is replete with challenges. First of all, it takes … Read more

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