The Oak Ridge Bird Man | Everything birds in the Oak Ridge, TN area.

Welcome to the Oak Ridge Bird Man shop!

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Welcome to the Oak Ridge Bird Man shop!

Scroll to see our most popular items, or click the button below!

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Keep track of events, learn bird care tips, and find out about useful products designed for the enjoyment and well-being of wild birds.

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A beautiful female Red-bellied Woodpecker on a gra

A beautiful female Red-bellied Woodpecker on a gray November day.

Hey, what are you up to this weekend? Wanna go re

Hey, what are you up to this weekend?

Wanna go release a baby sturgeon like this one?

This Saturday from 10a-2p is STURGEONFEST at Seven Islands State Birding Park! It's a great event for anyone who likes wildlife and conservation - not only will I and many other local conservation orgs and vendors be there, but if you visit https://www.7islands.org/sturgeonfest (or just look up "sturgeonfest" in your search engine) you'll find the link to reserve your spot in line to release one of these little guys to help repopulate the French Broad River. It is *completely* free to do, but the organizers need to keep it orderly for the baby fishes' sake. And while at the park, you can even hit the birdwatching trails - come back and tell me what you see!

It's also, just in general, a big weekend for us in the Oak Ridge Bird Crew - we've got so many markets to attend we've had to turn some down. So here's where we'll be:

9a-1p: Market Square Farmers Market in Market Square

9a-3p: East Tennessee Makers Market at Maryville College (this one is HUGE)

10a-2p: Sturgeonfest at Seven Islands

These holiday markets are starting to pop up, so our schedule's about to get a little wild! Visit https://www.oakridgebirdman.com/events/ to keep up with all our comings and goings.

Peanuts are a popular treat for wild birds any tim

Peanuts are a popular treat for wild birds any time of year, but right now, with the arrival of the first truly cold weather, we have *really* hit prime peanut season. These legumes are loaded with fat, a healthy dose of protein, and an array of beneficial micronutrients, but the primary reason for their appeal is simple: THEY BIG.

They're so big, in fact, that you can actually use them to manage what birds frequent your feeders: for people facing issues with European Starlings or Mourning Doves, I often counsel putting out nothing but peanuts, as these species tend to swallow their food whole and simply can't risk a hypogeous chonker like this getting stuck in their craw.

But the big appeal right now, for birds ranging in size from this White-breasted Nuthatch to as big as woodpeckers and Blue Jays, is, well ... packing peanuts. The official name for the behavior is "caching" - taking from one to several of these and stashing them in an assortment of hidey holes throughout the woods and fields. They'll stick them under bark or in knotholes; they'll poke them under leaves; they might even stick them under your shingles or in gaps in the bricks of your chimney. If you're quiet and patient you can even watch them do it - I've been sitting in the woods behind my house and seen peanut-laden titmice and chickadees poking their little stuffed bills into every nook and cranny of a sapling until they notice me, realize their spot is not as secret as they hoped, and fly off to search elsewhere.

The point of this behavior is simple: making a strategic food reserve for the winter months. You'll find that even if you have kept your feeder full from now through spring for decades and decades, your little neighbors will still be out there satisfying the hard-wired drive to hedge their bets. If you want to help them stock up, visit https://www.oakridgebirdman.com/product/peanuts-whole/ and get yourself a quart, a gallon, or even a five gallon bag and watch these tiny critters perform the astounding magic trick of making it all ... disappear!

Those of y'all who've been following my stories wi

Those of y'all who've been following my stories will recognize this delicious, fall-colored fruit who always tastes best right off the ground. It's persimmon!

In true Oak Ridge fashion I tend to keep my foraging patches and fishing holes behind the REDACTED label, but I'm going to make one exception today: shout-out to @ornyavenativeprairie who so thoughtfully has given their two persimmon trees so much sunshine and good dirt that these delectable little pumpkin-wannabes right now are falling like rain from its lofty branches.

And just like rain in our area lately, so many are falling that frankly, we can't quite handle them all ... so if you're of a mind to try an absolutely delicious but oft-overlooked native fruit, I highly recommend getting in touch with @ornyavenativeprairie directly so you can go scoop some up yourself!

It's been ... crazy, y'all. We had three big marke

It's been ... crazy, y'all. We had three big markets scheduled for tomorrow - now only one we'll be attending; one has been postponed; and one we've had to cancel our attendance from because I'm currently stuck on the other side of the mountains without gas or power on account of the hurricane. Here's the rundown:

WE'LL BE THERE: Market Square Farmers Market

POSTPONED: Hops and Hounds Oktoberfest Village Market

CAN'T MAKE IT: UT Arboretum Migration Festival

I'm really bummed about this last one, because besides running the booth at the vendor market, I was also slated to give a lecture on the fall bird migration in our area 😭

For those who don't know, or could use the reminder: we post our schedule of markets and other events online at https://www.oakridgebirdman.com/events/ and keep it up to date, so if you're ever wondering where you can find us, check there first! We'll look forward to seeing you at Market Square this weekend, and keep your eyes peeled, cause we've got plenty more fun events coming up this fall!

Guess what's coming up this Saturday! This is one

Guess what's coming up this Saturday! This is one of my favorite Ijams events because, besides the festive atmosphere and market of local vendors (me included), they've got actual, live, walk-up-and-watch-them-do-it bird banding! The whole event is from 7a-1p this Saturday, 08/17, and if that seems a bit early, that's precisely because you've got to wake up pretty early in the morning to get those early birds into the nets. But MAN it's a big shindig with all sorts of cool stuff, so come out and see me - and us!

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