Many think that harness systems are all created equal. That is not true. There are vast differences when it comes to pricing, quality, customer service and overall value. The best binocular harness has got to be a combination of all of these qualities. There is no reason to settle when you know that you deserve the best binocular harness.

Something to consider as you’re searching for the best binocular harness is that it should work as more than something to carry your binos. It should be able to carry cameras as well. And if you are serious enough about using your equipment to get the best binocular harness, then your equipment is probably seriously nice too. That is just one of the many reasons it is essential to get the best binocular harness out there.

The best binocular harness should be able to comfortably keep the weight off your neck. This happens if the system is a shoulder strapping type. It should also prevent the binoculars from swinging around as you are hiking. In a way, this protects your binoculars because they will not be accidentally dropped, nor will they get battered and beaten from hitting random objects as they swing.

The best binocular harness will have adjustable straps for tension and sizing. This is key because one of the many aspects of the best binocular harness is to ensure that you are comfortable. Your equipment needs to be instantly and conveniently accessible at all times.

And lastly, it is imperative that what you choose is made from durable materials that are guaranteed to last. Only the best binocular harness will be so sturdy and durable that you will not have to worry about dropping your equipment. If there is a 100% satisfaction guarantee, you will know that it is made from quality products. You will also know that the system as a whole is, indeed, the best binocular harness you can get your hands on.

So in summary, the best binocular harness is a quality built, light weight, adjustable and guaranteed system that will greatly enhance your overall birding experience. Best of luck!

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Materials. Most tube bird feeders are made of an 18″ long clear, plastic tube with holes arranged in a staggered way to allow 3-6 birds to eat comfortably. The best plastic tube feeder will be made with the UV stabilized polycarbonate tubes that won’t yellow with age. This tube is very flexible when you squeeze it. Hard plastic tube feeders look more durable but after a short time in the harsh elements, they become very brittle and crack easily. Portals. In the industry, we call the holes birds sit and eat from “portals.” They look almost like a ship’s window, openings surrounded by metal. Portals can be made of plastic, wood, or metal. Plastic breaks easy and can be chewed, but is cheaper. Same goes for wooden portals. Metal portals made of aluminum die-castings last a lifetime and resist even the sharpest teeth. Hole Arrangement. This is one area that backyard birders never look for. Take a look at how the portals are arranged down the tube. The best tube bird feeders make sure that the holes are not on top of one another, they should be staggered around the tube. Overcrowding stresses the birds. Less stress means wild birds will stay longer in your yard. Tops & Bottoms. The best tube bird feeders are made with easy-opening tops and bottoms, without needing special tools. You open the top to fill the feeder and remove the bottom of an empty feeder to allow for simple cleaning. Due to their design, tube bird feeders are notorious for trapping moisture. The bottom of any tube feeder is the area that causes hardening of the seeds inside. You need complete access to remove old, moldy seed. Hangar. Another overlooked component of tube feeders. Strings, ropes and cords are not the best choice to hang a tube feeder because they snag and break too easy. The best tube bird feeder will have a metal loop-shaped hangar at the top. This is usually attached to the feeder on the sides and holds the top in place. You simply slide the top up the sturdy metal hangar to fill the feeder.

Use these 5 tips to help you choose the best tube bird feeder for you. Look over each tube bird feeder, feel the materials, look at the portals, tops, bottoms and hangar. With this new knowledge, you can be sure that the best value for you is not the cheap, throwaway models. After purchasing 3 or 4 of these in one season, you will have already covered the cost of the best tube bird feeder you can find.

Still need help choosing? After two decades of serving the backyard bird feeding public, we believe these are the best tube bird feeders available. No-questions-asked lifetime warranties, all metal construction, UV resistant tubes and ornithologically correct portals put them at the top of the birding world. If you are not able to purchase these products in your area, simply visit our website www.wildbirddepot.com for the entire line at value prices. Start now and enjoy your birds.

Steve White is the owner of Wild Bird Depot, New Hampshire’s largest variety of wild bird products for over 16 years and www.wildbirddepot.com. He was on the Board of Directors for the National Bird Feeding Society. He is a guest lecturer for national conventions in St. Louis and Atlanta. Wild Bird Depot has donated over $5,000 to the local nature centers for rehabilitation. He has also donated and participated in helping local schools set up wild bird habitats for learning and research. Steve is now offering his backyard bird feeding expertise to assist others in creating wild bird sanctuaries in their backyards, one feeder at a time.
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The Red-bellied Woodpecker is a member of the Picidae family, and is the largest common woodpecker of the eastern United States.  It is found primarily in  northeastern US and southern Canada, ranging as far south as Florida and as far west as Texas.   Its common habitat is wooded areas, including suburban neighborhoods and parks.  Red-Bellied Woodpeckers are very tolerant of humans, and are regular visitors to backyard garden feeders (especially during the winter), favoring sunflower seed, suet, and fruit.  Red-Bellied Woodpeckers climb and “hitch” along branches and trunks of trees, picking at the bark.

Red-Bellied Woodpeckers have a very thick skull and strong neck that protects them from brain damage when they “drum” to attract mates, excavate nest cavities and forage for food.  They are equipped with a unique tongue that can extend 2 inches beyond its beak, and is barbed and sticky to catch insects inside deep crevices, where they gather and store food.

Identification Facts

Head to Tail Length: about 9″ – 10.5″

Distinctive Features: The Red-Bellied Woodpecker can easily be identified by its red crown and black-and-white striping on its back.  Its name is derived from a subtle red patch on it’s abdomen that is rarely seen.  Adult Red-Bellied Woodpeckers’ abdomen, chest and face are mainly grayish white.

Male & Female Characteristics: Males have a red crown running from their bill to their neck, where females have a red patch on the nape and another above the bill.  Males have a bigger tongue than females.

Songs & Calls

Red-bellied woodpeckers are highly vocal and noisy birds.  Their calls sound like churr-churr-churr or  with an alternating brr sound. Both sexes are vocal, but males call and drum more often than females.  Male woodpeckers drum their beaks to attract females in the spring, sometimes pounding on metal siding and even cars to create a resonating sound.

Nesting Behavior

Distribution: The red-bellied woodpecker can be found in most of the eastern United States, except for northernmost New England.

Nest Type: Cavity

Breeding Season: The breeding season lasts from late January to late June

Migration: During severe winters, Red-bellied Woodpeckers have been observed migrating south from northern areas to escape extreme weather.

Nest Facts: Red-bellied Woodpeckers are cavity nesters. The male carves and excavates a new cavity in a dead tree or sometimes a live tree in 7-10 days.  Three to six eggs are incubated by both the male and female. The male incubates at night, the female during the day. Chicks hatch in about 12 days, and fledge in 22-27 days. Both parents care for the young.

In some areas, many Red-bellied Woodpecker nesting cavities are taken over by starlings.  Red-bellied woodpeckers will occasionally use bird houses.

Recommended Bird House: Audubon Woodpecker Bird House

Diet

Red-bellied woodpeckers eat mostly nuts and fruits, with seeds being their primary food source during the winter.  They also eat berries, corn, acorns, beechnuts, tree sap, ants, grasshoppers, beetles, lizards, frogs, and some bird eggs and nestlings.

Commercially available food options include sunflower seed kernals, fruit and nut blends and suet.

Recommended Feeders: Clinger Feeder, Fruit Feeder, Suet Feeder and suet log feeders

Similar species

The Red-headed Woodpecker is a rather close relative but looks entirely different.  The Gila Woodpecker has a darker brown head and abdomen, and lacks the red neck and spot above bill. The Golden-Fronted Woodpecker is also similar in coloration to the Red-Bellied Woodpecker.

Originally published at New England Birdhouse blog.

“by Bill Askenburg, Owner – New England Birdhouse. We specialize in fine architectural bird houses and feeders, offering handcrafted custom and stock replica bird houses and backyard birding supplies and garden decor. For more information or articles please visit our blog.”
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The state bird of Maine and Massachusetts, the Black-Capped Chickadee is a small, common songbird in the Tit family generally found throughout Alaska, Canada and the northern United States.

Their rounded head, distinctive black cap, white cheeks and long narrow tail make them easily identifiable in the suburban backyard.  Their innate curiosity makes them likely to be the first birds to discover a new garden feeder, and their nests can be found in the backyard by observing and following them carrying wood chips while they excavate a nesting cavity.

The male and female look alike, although males tend to be a little longer and heavier.  Black-Capped Chickadees have an average life span of about 2-3 years.

Identification Facts

Head to Tail Length: 4 – 5 inches

Distinctive Features: round head, black crown and throat, white cheeks, short bill, pale gray top, gray to ruddy orange bottom

Male & Female Characteristics: very similar, males are a little longer and heavier

Songs & Calls

The Black-Cap Chickadee’s vocalizations are very complex in meaning and use.   Their song is a simple, clear whistle of two notes, identical in rhythm sounding like bee-bay.  The song is used to maintain contact with the flock, as the males only sing when in relative isolation from other chickadees.

Their most familiar call is chick-a-dee-dee-dee, which gave this bird its name.  It is commonly a warning message and includes variations for specific predators.  Research has shown that the number of dees in a call relates to the severity of the threat from nearby predators.

Nesting Behavior

Distribution: Alaska, Canada and northern US

Nest Type: cavity nesters

Breeding Season: April – May (depending on region), laying eggs shortly after building nest.  One brood per season

Migration: do not migrate, rather form “foraging flocks” in winter – traveling from area to area for food together for safety.

Nest Facts: Both male and female excavate for the nest, but only the female builds the nest.  To find their nest in your backyard, follow Black-Capped Chickadees carrying wood chips, because they commonly are seen carrying chips away from inside their nesting cavity.

They typically lay 6-8 eggs, and incubation lasts about two weeks, with only the female showing responsibility.  When eggs begin to hatch, the male brings most of the food so the female can continue to warm the eggs.

Once all of the eggs are hatched, both parents bring the nestlings food.  Fledglings leave the nest approximately 5-7 weeks after hatching.

Diet

Food Type: primarily eat insects, snails, seeds and berries. Seed mixes that include black oil sunflower seeds, gray striped sunflower seeds, peanut kernels, hulled sunflower seeds will attract Black Capped-Chickadees.  They especially enjoy insect or fruit suet.

Similar species

Carolina Chickadee – Telling the difference between the Black-Capped and Carolina is virtually impossible, with the most obvious difference between them being their songs. Black-capped sings a two note song while Carolina sings a four note song.

Chestnut-Backed Chickadees – reside along the coast of the Pacific Northwest, ranging from Central California up into Canada.

Boreal and Chestnut-backed Chickadees have more brown in their plumages than the Black-capped.

“by Bill Askenburg, Owner – New England Birdhouse. We specialize in fine architectural bird houses and feeders, offering handcrafted custom and stock replica bird houses and backyard birding supplies and garden decor. For more information or articles please visit our blog.”
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Due to the hardness of the wood, a carbide saw blade must be used to cut it. Other types of blades will dull really quickly. Also, pilot holes must be drilled for the hardware to attach this wood. Whereas, treated pine lumber used for decking can be cut without the use of a carbide blade and does not necessitate the use of drilling pilot holes.

Pine decking is pressure treated with chemicals forced into the wood in order to make it more weather resistant and decay resistant. Even untreated Ipe wood is naturally resistant to mold, fungus, decay and termites because of the density of the wood.

Each of these decking products as said to last for 100 years, but the Ipe expands less each year out in the weather than pine. Less expansion in the joints means the longer the wood keeps its natural shape and doesn’t bow. Ipe wood does have a unique feature not seen in other woods. It is naturally slip-resistant even in the rain. This can be a very desirable trait for homeowners.

Ipe is a stronger more durable product than pine. It’s hardness is rated at 3600 lbs and it’s bending strength is an amazing 22,560 psi. Whereas, pine’s hardness is rated at 690 lbs and it’s bending strength is 14,500. There is quite a difference in this aspect.

Most people choose to stain and seal their pine outdoor decks and products to achieve a beautiful color of their choice. Ipe wood has such a pretty color naturally, that most consumers don’t even stain or seal it. This does save quite a bit of time on your project, especially if it is a large one.

Ronnie Tanner is a contributing writer at Everlasting Hardwoods. He writes about Ipe Decking and other industry specific topics.
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