Archives
SCRATCHES IN THE SNOW—WHERE IS THE WATER?
Shortly after midnight on Friday (January 29), a light dusting of snow fell on my yard. The brief snow shower occurred on a very cold, windy night. The temperature dipped to 26⁰F and the wind chill hovered in the teens. When I walked down the path leading to my home office, I discovered that the water in the birdbath was frozen and covered with snow. When I got closer to the birdbath, I noticed that birds had left scratches in the snow as they vainly tried to reach water.
This was a stark reminder that wild birds need water during the winter just as much as they do during the spring, summer, and fall. However, it seems that during the winter we sometimes focus on just providing the avian visitors to our feeders with a supply of fresh food.
The truth of the matter is without a dependable source of water close by birds must travel some distance to find it. This enhances their chances of being killed by predators. In addition, it forces them to use energy that they need to avoid freezing to death on bone-chilling winter nights.
Many birds drink water at least a couple of times day. Other birds obtain water from the fruits, insects, and other invertebrates they eat. However, during the winter months their primary source of food is not always readily available. In spite of the fact their primary sources of water are often difficult to locate, they continually lose water through respiration and their droppings.
They also require water to bathe. Birds need to keep their feathers clean. It is much easier for a bird to preen feathers into place when they are clean instead of dirty. Consequently, clean feathers arranged in just the right positions can help a bird from losing too much body heat. This can make the difference as to whether or not it can survive a cold night.
With that in mind, it is essential that all of us make water available to our bird neighbors throughout the winter. In my case, it almost seemed some birds had left me with a cryptic message in the snow that I interpreted as meaning, “Where is the water?” I got their message loud, clear, and immediately poured fresh water in the birdbath.
I hope my experience will prompt you to keep a fresh, clean supply of water in your backyard. If you do, I know the birds will definitely benefit from your actions.
MANAGING PLANTS FOR WILDLIFE IS LAGGING BEHIND
Once every five years the United States Fish and Wildlife Service surveys the participation of American’s in hunting, fishing, and other wildlife-related activities. The latest report (2018) documents the findings from the 2016 survey. Although the report revealed that, from 2011-2016, wildlife watching increased 20% (71.8-86.0 million individuals); Americans have not fully embraced the value of managing plants for wildlife in their yards.
The survey revealed that that around-the-home participants 16 years and older jumped to 81.1 million. They accounted for 94% of all of the Americans that watched wildlife. The most popular activity of these 59.1 million folks was feeding birds and other wildlife; they represented 73% of all around-the-home participants. Thirty-eight percent said they photographed wildlife. Those that fed other wildlife accounted for 18% of around-the-home participants. However, only 10% maintained plants for wildlife in their yards. In addition, just 9% maintained and managed natural areas for the benefit of their wildlife neighbors.
It is exciting that interest in wildlife watching is on the rise. However, it is concerning that we wildlife watchers are, largely focusing our attention on simply feeding the wildlife that we enjoy living just outside our backdoors. Meanwhile, we are losing thousands of acres of wildlife habitat each year. Unless we enhance the wildlife habitat that remains, the time may come when many of the wild animals that provide us with so much enjoyment will become rare or simply disappear.
One way to ensure this does not happen is to restore and create wildlife habitats in our yards. There are so many ways that we can provide backyard wildlife with suitable places to live, the task seems impossible. One of the best ways to tackle this daunting task is to begin by selecting a species or species that you are most fond of and direct your efforts at addressing their needs. Then begin by setting just a few goals to accomplish. For example, if you are interested in butterflies, incorporate a few host plants into your landscape. If you are fond of birds, plant one or more seed, fruit or berry-producing plants. Only after you have made these changes, make the decision as to whether you are going to try to accomplish anything else this year.
Whatever you do, make planting native plants a priority. These plants are often best suited to survive in your neck of the woods and require less care. In addition, the food they often produce more food and support far more insects than ornamentals.
When you start looking for lists of these plants, as other habitat enhancement tips, begin by checking out the Archive section of this blog. It contains a treasure trove of often hard to find information relating to backyard wildlife.
We can all be better stewards of our yards. With that in mind, can you imagine how much our backyard wildlife neighbors would benefit if each one of us made a conscientious effort to enhance our property for them this year? With that in mind, I hope you will make a New Year’s resolution to enrich your home landscape for wildlife. I know I plan to do just that.
THE WIND CAN AFFECT MONARCH WATCHING
Monarch watching has been downright abysmal around my home. As of October 15, only one monarch had made an appearance at the Johnson Homestead. However, the next day monarchs were seen twice in my yard. The first sighting took place in early afternoon. Then just before dark, I spotted a monarch drifting across the bird feeding area located in front of my office. While I will never know for sure, it seemed it was looking for a place to roost for the night.
I suspect the monarchs had been riding the wind. Yesterday a cold front swept through Middle Georgia. This leads me to believe this was the case because it is a fact that during their fall migration monarchs often catch rides on northerly winds found along the leading edges of approaching cold fronts. If these winds are blowing in the direction the butterflies want to go, the butterflies can fly long distance without having to expend a lot of stored fuel. When this occurs monarchs are often seen making their way southward for several days after the leading edge of the cold front has left your us far behind.
On the other side of the coin, if the north winds are too strong, monarchs are known to fly so high in sky it is impossible for us to see them as they wing their way over our yards.
Conversely, when the prevailing winds are blowing from the south, they tend to hang around and forage for nectar before resuming their migration. This situation often provides us with some of our best monarch watching opportunities.
OFFERING HUMMINGBIRDS NESTING MATERIAL
If you are looking for a gift for hummingbird devotees, a hummingbird nesting kit may be the answer.
You can purchase kits from several companies or make your own. Each kit consists of a wire suet feeder and a supply of nesting material. All of the kits I checked out online contain either raw or processed cotton. Some even include kapok and lichens.
Currently hummingbird nesting kits are rarely employed in Georgia. In fact, I only know one couple that annually offers cotton to ruby-throated hummingbirds . They have told me that, on several occasions, they have seen female hummingbirds collecting cotton from their wire cages. They also mentioned hummingbirds have a definite preference for loose cotton over cotton balls. Perhaps this is because the birds find it more difficult to pull fibers out of a compacted ball. Who knows?
I suspect, in most locales, hummingbirds have little problem finding plant down to line their nests. If that is the case, you might ask yourself, “Why would anybody want to offer ruby-throated hummingbirds cotton?” One reason might be having an ample supply of cotton fibers available to line their tiny nests makes the female’s arduous job of constructing a nest a little easier. However, it may be because hummingbird fans simply want to experience the exhilaration that stems from watching a hummingbird actually use “their” cotton to construct its nest.
I know it would make my day!
BIRDHOUSES ARE OFTEN PLACED TOO CLOSE TOGETHER
Nesting birds are often very territorial. As such, when one pair spots another pair of the same species trying to nest too close to their nesting site, conflicts emerge. With that in mind, one of the reasons why birds do not use birdhouse in some yards is boxes are placed too close together. When nesting boxes are packed in too closely, some birds of the same species will fight with one another and sometimes end up not nesting at all.
NESTING PAIR OF BLUEBIRDS
With this in mind, here is a list of some of the birds that commonly nest in Georgia backyards and the recommended spacing between boxes designed avoid territorial battles.
Eastern Bluebird – Minimum of 100 yards.
Carolina Chickadee – 30 feet
Tree Swallow – 35 feet
Tufted Titmouse – 580 feet
Carolina Wren – 330 feet
House Wren – 100 feet
Great Crested Flycatcher – 1 box per 6 acres
Brown-headed Nuthatch – 1 box per 6 acres
Keep in mind that some species tolerate birds of another species nesting close to their nest. For example, eastern bluebirds will allow Carolina chickadees to nest well within 100 yards of their nests. In this case, if a Carolina chickadee nest box is equipped with an entrance hole measuring 1 1/6th of an inch in diameter, bluebirds would never try to nest in a birdhouse with an entrance hole that small.
HOW TO MAKE GOLDENROD MANAGEABLE IN YOUR GARDENS
Goldenrod is one of our most gorgeous fall flowers. In addition to beauty, it is also a valued late season source of food for a wide variety of native pollinators including butterflies such as the monarch. While its virtues are indisputable, goldenrod is rarely considered a desirable garden plant. A primary reason for this it spreads and often grows extremely tall. However, I want to share with you tip that just might make you less inclined to pull up goldenrods that often crop up in gardens across the state.
More than 30 species of goldenrods are native to Georgia. As such, various species of the plan thrive in a variety of habitats. In addition, some goldenrods grow to be only a couple of feet tall while others can attain heights of eight feet or more.
Like many of you, goldenrods volunteer in our flower gardens every year. Obviously, the goldenrods growing in my yard are tall varieties. These plants easily top out at six to seven feet tall. This requires us to pull them up. If we don’t, they completely shroud other plants growing nearby.
This year my wife taught me, a trick that makes these lofty nectar plants easily managed. In August, she trimmed a few of goldenrods down to where their stalks were approximately a foot tall.
“Long-tailed skipper feeding on blooms produced by a goldenrod pruned in August.”
Each plants responded by developing three to four stems. As summer gave way to fall, the goldenrods growing along the edge of our property grew to be as tall as expected and produced golden plumes of flowers.
Their tiny flowers were visited by lots of bumblebees, some monarchs, and a variety of other pollinators. This feeding activity ceased a few weeks ago.
Meanwhile, the pruned goldenrods continued to grow eventually topping out at three feet tall and just recently produced their crop of flowers. These blossoms could not have come at a better time. Although many pollinators still are active in our yard, with each passing day, it is becoming more difficult for them to find nectar and pollen. Our pruned goldenrods are helping meet their need. In addition, they are extending the goldenrod’s floral show into late autumn. The bonus is we have found a way to include goldenrod in our nectar gardens. Wow! A well-time pruning can make huge difference.
DON’T REMOVE SPENT SEED HEADS FROM NECTAR PLANTS — BIRDS RELISH THEIR SEEDS
Now that our days are characterized by low humidity and cool temperatures, it finally does feel like autumn. While the weather has changed, the complexion of our gardens has been undergoing a major transformation. Those of us that try to provide wild pollinators with food throughout as much of the year as possible still have an abundance of nectar-bearing flowers in full bloom. However, alongside them are the dried seed heads of plants that bloomed earlier in the year. Although our first impulse is often to remove these plants, I wish you would consider leaving at least a portion of them for birds that feed predominantly on seeds.
The list of the flowering plants that produce seeds eaten by birds is quite long. Here is a short list of some of the more popular plants that produce nutritious seeds for birds: black-eyed susan, coneflower, cosmos, aster, scarlet sage, zinnia, coreopsis, and blanket flower.
Birds will eat these seeds directly from seed heads or when the seeds fall to the ground. In addition, it matters not whether the plants grew in containers on a deck or patio or in a traditional garden.
My wife and I have truly enjoyed watching cardinals and American goldfinches feeding on scarlet sage and zinnia seeds produced by plants grown in large containers on our deck.
It never ceases to amaze me how a cardinal can pick up a tiny scarlet sage with its large beak.
Among the birds that do not miss a chance to eat the seeds of nectar plants during the fall and winter are the northern cardinal, dark-eyed junco, chipping sparrow, and American goldfinch.
If you want to add a new facet to bird feeding, simply resist the impulse to create a tidy garden. Let the plants that produced the stunning floral display remain standing.
If you do, you will be providing your autumn/winter avian visitors with a great source of food. Meanwhile, you will enjoy watching the fascinating behavior of birds foraging for flower seeds.
TICKS AND FALLEN LEAVES
Shortly many of us will be faced with removing fallen autumn leaves from our yards. According to an article that recently appeared the National Wildlife Federation’s magazine, National Wildlife, how you dispose of these leaves can have a significant impact on the number of blacklegged ticks that will infest your yard next spring.
Three ticks that are of great concern to Georgians are the lone star, American dog and blacklegged.
According to the piece, a study conducted by the Monmouth County, New Jersey Mosquito Control Division, revealed that homeowners that raked or blew the leaves from their yards into nearby wooded areas each fall actually promoted the blacklegged tick population in their yards. It seems that the following year the blacklegged tick population was three times greater than that found in their yards the previous year.
This is significant since blacklegged ticks carry tick-borne diseases such as Lyme’s disease.
A better way to deal with the leaves is to either compost them, or use them to create or enhance wildlife habitat in an ill-kept section of your property. In garden situations, leaving leaves on the ground helps valuable insects overwinter and creates feeding habitats for wintering birds.
FROGS AND FISH DON’T MIX IN SMALL BACKYARD PONDS
If you are trying to encourage frogs to breed in your small backyard pond, it is best not to stock your pond with fish, with the exception of the perhaps a small number of mosquito fish.
It seems many species of fish will eat tadpoles. In addition, young fish will often compete with tadpoles for food.
