Thank goodness, our incisor teeth are far different from those of squirrels. While our teeth reach a certain length and do not grow any longer, such is not the case with squirrels.
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BACKYARD SECRET – STAGERING SOWING ZINNIA SEEDS PROVIDES BUTTERFLIES WITH NECTAR UNTIL FROST
Zinnias have long been a favorite of Georgia gardeners. They not only adorn our flower gardens with a wide variety of blossoms, they provide food for a wide range of butterflies and other pollinators. However, since we typically sow zinnias seeds only in the spring, zinnia blooms are scarce in autumn… This is unfortunate as pollinators often find food hard to find late into the fall. Here are a couple of ways you can alleviate this situation.
One way that you can prolong the zinnia’s blooming period is by deadhead plants. This will stimulate the plants to produce more blossoms. The downside of this practice is you eliminate a food source for songbirds.
Another way that you can enhance the availability of zinnia blossoms until frost is stagger the times you sow seeds. By sowing seeds every few weeks well into the summer, when some zinnias fade away, they are replaced by plants just coming into bloom.
This simple practice will enhance the available of nectar and pollen well into autumn a when food is often scarce and add color to your gardens.
BACKYARD SECRET – MALE & FEMALE ROBINS DON’T SLEEP NEAR EACH OTHER DURING THE NESTING SEASON
It is easy to assume that during the nesting season male and female birds spend the night together; Such is not the case with American robins. At this critical time of the year, females sleep at their nests while the males spend the night in roosts with other males.
Once the young are old enough to strike out on their own, they join the males at their nighttime roosts. The females do not join the males and young robins until they have completed their nesting chores.
BACKYARD SECRET – THE BLUE-GRAY GNATCHER RARELY EATS GNATS
In spite of its name, the blue-gray gnatcatcher rarely dines on gnats. It does, however, consume a variety of insects, spiders, and other invertebrates.
Often blue-gray gnatcatchers locate food by standing on a twig and moving its tail sideways. The movement of the tail often results in hidden insects moving just enough for the tiny bird to spot them.
If a blue-gray gnatcatcher captures a large insect, the bird plucks the insect’s wings off before swallowing it.
A couple of days ago I heard my first blue-gray gnatcatcher of the year singing from the canopy of a tree in my backyard. Since blue-gray catchers often nest in my backyard I hope a pair these tiny birds (4.5 inches long) will do so this year. If they do, I will be able to enjoy the sights and sounds of this backyard neighbor throughout the remainder of the spring and summer.
If you are not familiar with the bird’s song, open the MERLIN bird identification App on your smart phone and listen to its call. Once you hear it, I suspect you might say, “I have heard this song before but did not know it was sung by a blue-gray gnatcatcher.
WHAT ARE THE BEST TIMES TO MONITOR BLUEBIRD BOXES?
Many of the homeowners that provide eastern bluebirds with nesting sites like to monitor the boxes to determine the nesting success of the beautiful birds nesting in them. Here are some recommendations offered by the North American Bluebird Society (NABS) to help ensure that nesting attempts are successful.
If you are certain the birds nesting in your nest boxes are bluebirds, once a nest has been completed, the female will typically lay one egg per day until her clutch of 4-6 eggs has been completed. Female bluebird usually 4-6 eggs.
After the clutch is complete, incubation begins. This process will last anywhere from 12-14 days. After the hatchlings emerge, they remain in their nest from 17-20 or more days. With that in mind, the NABS recommends that after 12-23 days, boxes should only be monitored from a distance. The reason for this is during this critical time in their lives the young bluebirds might prematurely jump or fly from their safe haven.
Box checks should only be done when the weather is calm, mild and dry. Open a box cautiously and make your visit is as short as possible as this prevents the chilling of eggs or nestlings.
BACKYARD SECRET – EATING EARTHWORMS CAN CAUSE BLUEBIRD NESTLINGS PROBLEMS
Bluebird parents feed their nestlings a wide range of invertebrates such as grasshoppers, spiders, caterpillars, and others. They will also feed earthworms to older nestlings. The problem with this is nestlings that eat earthworms sometimes suffer from severe diarrhea.
BACKYARD SECRET – DOWNY WOODPCKERS CAN SMELL
Most birds do not seem to have much of a sense of smell. However, research has discovered that some birds can detect certain scents. For example, recently a group of biologists recently reported that hummingbirds could indeed smell certain odors.
In the case of the downy woodpecker, experts believe that downies have a more highly developed sense of smell than most of the birds that inhabit our backyards. There is evidence that suggests that downy woodpeckers can detect formic acid.
Why would this be advantage to North America’s smallest woodpecker? This answer is simple; this ability enables them to locate insects such as termites, ants and bark beetles.
WHY NOT PROVIDE A NEST SITE FOR BROWN-HEADED NUTHATCHES?
The vast majority of nesting boxes in the state of Georgia are erected to help alleviate the shortage of bluebird nesting sites. While it goes without question that bluebirds need places to nest, all of the other cavity-nesting birds that nest in the Peach State also have a difficult time finding places to nest. With that in mind, why not put up a box designed for brown-headed nuthatches?
While it is true that brown-headed nuthatches will nest in bluebird boxes, the reason more do not do so is often bluebird boxes are placed in wide-open yards, along the edges of fields and the like. Such sites are great for bluebirds but not nuthatches. These tiny birds prefer to nest in more wooded areas.
In backyard settings, boxes should be placed in yards with open mixed or pine trees. Erect only one box per six acres. While the birds will nest within a minimum of five feet of the ground, boxes placed higher are sometimes more successful. Although brown-headed nuthatches will enter boxes equipped with 1.5-inch holes, the hole size recommend for Georgia’s smallest cavity nesting bird is only 1,”
It has been reported that placing a couple of inches of sawdust in the box will help entice a pair of brown-headed nuthatches to your box. If you do so and later find that it is damp, remove it.
For a set of brown-headed nuthatch nesting box plans, contact Melissa Hayes at melissa.hayes@dnr.ga.gov
If you would like to earn certification for your efforts to provide nest boxes for cavity-nesting birds, request an application for Community Wildlife Project’s Nesting/Roosting Box certification component. Certification is earned by those individuals that provide nesting boxes for Georgia wildlife.
The Community Wildlife Project is sponsored by the Garden Club of Georgia, The Georgia Wildlife Conservation Section and The Environmental Resources Network (TERN).
BACKYARD SECRET – CEDAR WAXINGS DISPLAY UNUSUAL MATING BEHAVIOR
Now that spring in on the way, birds will soon be displaying their own unique forms of mating behavior. One of the most fascinating behaviors is displayed by cedar waxwings.
Male cedar waxwings initiate the courting ritual by performing a dance highlighted by hopping up and down in front of the female. If the male’s dance steps intrigue a female, she will perform her own dance.
One of the most intriguing aspects of the courting ritual is male and female cedar waxwings will exchange petals. The behavior can also take a far less romantic turn when the couple will also exchange insects. Oh well, while that does not sound very romantic to us, from the size of the cedar waxwings flocks we see, it obviously must work for them.
