Backyard Bird Watching

How to keep a bird bath from freezing: a de-icer or heated bath, a fresh bowl each morning, sun and a dark basin. Never add antifreeze, glycerin or salt.

Put suet out when the weather turns cold and keep it up through winter. Temperature rules for raw, rendered and no-melt suet, and when to take it down.

No vet source gives a safe number of hours. Why a budgie that stops eating is urgent, how to spot empty seed husks, illness signs and when to call a vet.

Cockatoo rescue adoption fees run $200 to $800 at four rescues. See lifetime costs, 25 to 45+ year lifespans, noise, CITES rules and what to know first.

Pet dove care basics: which doves you can keep, why wild doves are protected, cage size, diet and grit, cleaning, illness signs, lifespan and breeding.

There are no lovebird breeds, only 9 species and many color mutations. How to tell them apart, the 3 sold as pets, wild US lovebirds and care basics.

How to get rid of grackles in your yard: cut off the food, break up an evening roost with noise, stop nests early, and stay within federal law.

Birds pecking your tomatoes? Net or cage the plants, pick at first blush, try a water source, and move scare devices often. Humane, legal fixes.

Hearing a squeaky-toy sound at night? It’s often a Northern Saw-whet Owl or begging baby owls. See the usual suspects by season, plus how to ID it.