Posts Tagged ‘recreation and leisure’

Birdwatching 101: Choosing and Maintaining Wild Bird Feeders

February 8th, 2010

Joining millions of bird lovers in creating a backyard aviary can be easy and rewarding with a little help choosing and maintaining your wild bird feeders. Begin by imagining your backyard as a birdwatching paradise and picture the desired sights and sounds that will become your goal.

Start by considering the types of birds that you wish to attract, and the ones you do not want to see. If you’re a beginner, asking neighbors or co-workers which types of birds frequent their backyards might prove useful. Understanding that your target is to attract finches or cardinals, for example, will assist you in selecting the optimal wild bird feeders and creating the right birdwatching environment.

Bird feeders are available in a number of styles. Some of these kinds include platform and ground feeders, tube, thistle, suet and wood. There are even specifically crafted feeders designed to attract a particular type of birds, such as hummingbirds. Taking the time to learn about the features of each one will increase your chance of success.

Once you have chosen the right feeders, make sure to fill them with your desired birds’ food preferences. To attract the most varieties of birds, black oil sunflower seeds are a great choice. Seasonal fruits or nuts may attract less common types of birds, especially in summer. Specific types of birds, like woodpeckers, enjoy peanuts.

Keeping to a budget with regard to bird food is easier when you choose wild bird feeders that are squirrel-resistant or unlikely to attract other furry animals. Choosing a location away from easy-to-climb landscaping or shrubby hiding places can also reduce the chance that squirrels or other creatures will gorge themselves on your newly refilled seed. If squirrels do persist, you may also try switching to thistle seed as some birdwatchers have noted that squirrels don’t like the taste.

If you’re like most birdwatchers, your desire is to attract a variety of species. Offering an array of feeders rather than one type is a way to enjoy regular backyard visits from a number of birds even throughout the seasonal changes.

When you find a spot that birds seem to frequent, setting up a bird feeding station with many feeders concentrated in one area can be exciting. Alternatively, you can position your wild bird feeders at various locations around your house and take delight in viewing the wildlife through many different windows.

Once you’ve got your yard set up, sit back and enjoy. Remember to have an identification book handy so you can enjoy your success when those exotic or unexpected species begin to arrive!

To learn more about Best Bird Feeders and birdwatching, visit my website for great deals and reviews on Droll Yankee Feeders and other top feeders.

Saltwater Fishing Tackle For Beginners

January 4th, 2010

If you want to be a saltwater fisherman than you must have the appropriate fishing tackle for the kind of fish that you are trying to catch. Since there are so many different sizes of fish to be caught, that means there are many types of tackle that are necessary.

For inshore fishing some light fishing tackle would work well. By this I mean either a spin casting rod and reel, or a spinning rod and reel set up. I would recommend the spinning rod and reel set up, and look for a reel that can support 5 to 20 pound test fishing line.

There are two popular types of saltwater fishing lines that are commonly used by anglers, there are braided and monofilament. Monofilament line is much cheaper than the braided line, and will catch fish and has been used for a long time, it will not hold up as good as braided line though.

For the size of line, braided line is a lot smaller, for instance you can fit more yards of 15 pound test braided on a reel than you can with monafilament line. Braided line is easier to cast and will hold up a lot longer than monofilament line. The only downside is that braided line is the most expensive type fishing line you can get.

You will need a leader line on your fishing rod set up too, this line is usually 2-4 times stronger than the line you have on your fishing reel, and should be 1-3 feet long for inshore fishing. When you are fishing offshore, especially when you are trolling the leader lines can get a lot longer.

Some of the things you might have on a leader line would be weights and sinkers. The leader line is connected the fishing line by a swivel and clip, or by tying a blood knot. The last thing on a common leader rig is the fishing hook or a fishing lure.

Hooks are sized by number, 1 being the smallest for inshore fishing. For inshore fishing you will be using sizes 1 through 10, 10 being big enough to catch a medium sized shark. If you are deep sea fishing you will need to use much larger hooks if you are going for big game fish that are 50 pounds and up.

An alternative to using live bait would be a fishing lure. Fishing lures can come in many varieties, while some are designed for a certain species of fish and some are for a wide range of fish. Every angler should have a good collection of fishing lures in their tackle collection.

Now that you have an understanding of what types of tackle you will need to saltwater fish you will need a place to store all of it. This is where the tackle box comes in place. Tackle boxes will give you the space to neatly organize all of your terminal tackle and fishing lures so that you can find them easy when you need them.

Want to learn more about saltwater fishing tackle, then visit the authors site on how to select the best saltwater fishing gear for your next trip.