Attracting these little backyard visitors is as easy as one, two, FEED! Seriously, when it comes to the Downy Woodpecker, if you supply them with the right feed, they will be return visitors all year round. Try Black Oil Sunflower Seed, Sunflower Chips, or Peanut Splits. But the most popular menu item for the Downy is suet! Suet comes in a variety of flavors, and the best part is they are really economical!

In winter Downy Woodpeckers are frequent members of mixed species flocks. Advantages of flocking include having to spend less time watching out for predators and better luck finding food from having other birds around. An often acrobatic forager, this black-and-white woodpecker is at home on tiny branches or balancing on slender plant galls, sycamore seed balls, and suet feeders. Downies and their larger lookalike, the Hairy Woodpecker, are one of the first identification challenges that beginning bird watchers master.

Love them or hate them, you’re bound to see them this month! But come to think about it, what a festive time of year to see such creatures. Don’t they just remind you of some other “special deer”, that perhaps can fly and help bring presents to little ones? Join in the spirit of the season and stop and smile when you see a deer this month.

LOVE ‘EM:
If you love deer and don’t mind them as backyard visitors, or simply feel sorry for the fact that their homes were recently destroyed by mankind, here are a few things to consider. Offer loose feed such as Shelled Corn, Cracked Corn or our special Deer Mix Feed! You can place this feed in a Manger, Platform Feeder or even on the ground! Want something that will last a bit longer? Try salt block! There are large blocks as well as smaller blocks. Stop in to check out our selection!

Shelled or Cracked Corn 50 lb = $16.99
Shelled or Cracked Corn 25 lb = $9.99
Shelled or Cracked Corn 10 lb = $4.49
Deer Mix 50 lb = $19.99
Deer Mix 25 lb = $11.99
Wildlife Manger Feeder = $45.99
(not pictured -stop in to see it!)

Salt Block 50 lb = $12.99
Corn-lix Deer Block = $12.99
Salt and Feed Pan = $10.99
Buck Lickers Salt Blocks = $4.99
(any flavor -acorn, apple or wild persimmon)
Small Salt block holder = $6.99

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HATE ‘EM:
If you don’t want deer in your backyard deter them with these simple solutions. Use a deer repellent. The Rock Pile offers a number of different animal repellents to suit your needs. Quite often homeowners will find better results if they switch up their repellents every once and a while. So if your trusty repellent doesn’t repel as well as it used to, switch it up. Deer getting into your bird feeders? Try Feed with Hot Pepper Flavor or add Flaming Squirrel Sauce to your feed. Mammals cannot tolerate the taste of hot pepper but birds can, so you birds will still enjoy their feed while deer and other mammals will go searching for a drink of water! So can also place Deer Netting up to prevent deer from entering your yard or going near certain vegetation. Have a great deer prevention solution? Let us know what it is!

Plantskydd RTU quart = $22.99
Plantskydd Concentrate = $24.99
Liquid Fence Granular 2 lb = $16.99
Liquid Fence Granular 5 lb = $27.99
Shake Away for Deer = $18.99
Deer Off = $21.99
All Season Deer Repellent = $24.99
All Out Deer & Rabbit Repellent = $18.99
Deer Netting = $24.99 – 36.99 (vary in size)

It’s that time of year when you need to be thinking of all those visitors that may be coming to your front door. The last thing anyone needs is a slippery sidewalk or drive way.

Trust me; everyone from the mailman to the pizza-delivery guy will be thanking you for a clean walkway.

Try an ice-melter this winter for fewer slips and falls.

Diamond Crystal Winter Melt (50 pound bag)

• Rock Salt/Halite (natural mineral)
• Works to 5° Fahrenheit
• Economical & efficient
• High Capacity ice melter
• Helps provide instant traction
• Blend of large and small melting crystals

Peladow (50 pound bag)

• Works as low as -25° Fahrenheit
• Premiere snow & ice melter
• Calcium chloride pellets
• Generates heat on contact with snow and ice accelerating the melting process
• Economical because you can use less and melt more.

Mag – High Performance Melter (50 pound bag)

• Works as low as -13° Fahrenheit
• Magnesium Chloride
• Safer for People, Pets, Concrete & Environment
• Very low toxicity, won’t burn or irritate skin
• Safer for plants – Magnesium is a common ingredient in fertilizers
• Won’t leave powder residue on floors and carpets

Safe-T Pet (8lb Jug)

• Works below 15º Fahrenheit
• Veterinarian approved
• Chloride-free, Non-toxic
• Better for plants and concrete than regular salt
• Colored pellets provide clear visibility

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With an ever-growing to-do list, the Effort-Less Birdfeeder makes one task simple and painless. Built to withstand every type of weather, the Effort-Less is a unique birdfeeding system designed to last. “The Effort-Less Birdfeeder features a free-standing base, allowing it to be placed virtually anywhere – on patios or decks, in gardens or grass. When filled with 30 pounds of dry sand, the base is designed to keep the feeder stable and straight in all kinds of weather.” Good news for our Ohio winters!

Did you catch the phrase “free-standing base”? That means you can plant this baby right on your deck! That opens up a whole realm of possibilities. Does Grandma have a lovely patio right outside her breakfast window? I bet she’d love this bird feeder.

The Effort-Less Birdfeeder makes a wonderful gift for any bird enthusiast, from the beginner to the pro!

During the giving season, we like to make it easier for you to spread the love to your loved ones. When you buy a $100 gift card, we’ll give you a $10 gift card FREE! You can give it to someone else, or keep it as a special treat for yourself.

Hint: You can even keep all the gift cards for yourself to use whenever you want! It’s a great way to save money!

Also applies to other Gift Card denominations. When you buy other denominations, the free gift card is the equivalent of 10% of the purchased amount. ($50 gift card = $5 gift card free; $150 gift card = $15 free gift card)

*Fundraising that Rocks note: the 5% donation to a participating organization may be designated at the time of the gift card redemption, not at the time of purchase.

White-throated Sparrows are brown and gray with a striking head pattern. The black-and-white-striped head is accented by a bright white throat and yellow between the eye and the bill. White-throated Sparrows stay near the ground, scratching through leaves in search of food, often in flocks. White-throated Sparrows sing their distinctive songs frequently, even in winter. Look for White-throated Sparrows in woods, at forest edges, at pond edges, and near treelines. In winter you can find these birds in thickets, overgrown fields, parks, and woodsy suburbs. They readily come to backyards for birdseed. Since they are ground feeding birds, try putting out a platform or tray feeder that rests on the ground. Or you can simply clear an area off your patio and place the feed directly on the ground!

INTERESTING FACT: Although they look nothing alike and aren’t particularly closely related, the White-throated Sparrow and the Dark-eyed Junco occasionally mate and produce hybrids. The resulting offspring look like grayish, dully marked White-throated Sparrows with white outer tail feathers.

Click below to hear the White-throated Sparrow.

Win FREE Bird Feed for a Year!

Sign up in at The Rock Pile now through Dec 19th!

Stop into the store and put your name in a drawing for a chance to win a year’s supply of any bag feed in our store!

Ever been curious about a feed but never bought it? Well now there’s no reason not to try it. What do you have to lose? It’s FREE! Try a different feed each month or stick with your favorites. It’s up to you. The winner of the drawing will receive one free bag of bird food each month for an entire year! The drawing will take place December 19th! One entry per visit. First free bag will be rewarded January 2012. Stop in and enter now!

Each month the winner can choose between any of the following bags of Rock Pile Bird Feed: 45 pounds of Banquet or Buffet, 40 pounds of Songbird Feast, 50 pounds of Black Oil Sunflower, Deer Mix, Shelled Corn, Cracked Corn or Ear Corn, and 25 pounds of Peanuts in Shell, Peanut Splits, Critter Snack, Striped Sunflower, Sunflower Chips, No Mess Mix, Woodpecker Mix, Safflower, Cardinal Chickadee, Finch Feast or Nyjer Thistle!

Winner:

Congratulations to Kathy Gilbert, the winner of our FREE Bird Feed Drawing! Kathy will enjoy free bird feed for one year! She gets one free bag of Bird Feed every month for a year and can choose from: 50 pounds of Black Oil, Deer Mix, Shelled Cord, Cracked Corn or Ear Corn, OR 45 pounds of Banquet, Buffet or Cardinal Chickadee Mix, OR 40 pounds of Songbird Feast, OR 25 pounds of Peanuts in the Shell, Peanut Splits, Critter Snack, Striped Sunflower, Sunflower Chips, No Mess Mix, Woodpecker Mix, Safflower, Finch Feast or Nyjer Thistle! She can pick her favorite feed or try a new one each month! Don’t worry, if you were not one of winners, we’ll have another drawing soon. So continue to stop by The Rock Pile to check out our drawings, specials and sales!

What a treat to find the Cedar Waxwing in your backyard!  This bird is a silky, shiny collection of brown, gray, and lemon-yellow, accented with a subdued crest, and brilliant-red wax droplets on the wing feathers. And how appropriate for this Halloween month, the Cedar Waxwing sports a bandit-like black mask!  In fall these birds gather by the hundreds to eat berries, filling the air with their high, thin, whistles. Look for Cedar Waxwings in woodlands of all kinds, and at farms, orchards, and suburban gardens where there are fruiting trees or shrubs.  The Cedar Waxwing is one of the few North American birds that specializes in eating fruit. It can survive on fruit alone for several months.  Many birds that eat a lot of fruit separate out the seeds and regurgitate them, but the Cedar Waxwing lets them pass right through.

So try attacking these beautiful year-round Ohio birds to your backyard.  Plant a berry bush or set out a fruit feeder at your feeding station.

Why is fall planting so good for plants? Fall often give us dependable rainfall so you are sure to have prime soil conditions!  In the fall, the warm soil encourages root growth.  Roots continue to grow through the winter. In early spring, roots continue to develop at a faster rate, and top growth begins. Fall-planted plants quickly become well established features in your landscape. Because roots are established early, your plants are now better equipped to deal with heat and drought.

The Rock Pile carries the best selection of quality plants.  Our fresh beautiful stock has something for everyone!   Take a walk through our nursery stock and you will find an array of colors and textures.  Plants with berries, flowering trees and shrubs, airy foliage, compact foliage, from velvety to waxy smooth, we’ve got it!  You’ve just got to see it to believe it.  Go ahead and compare -you’ll find we not only have a wide selection but we have the best quality plants around at great prices!