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A CROW, A WREN, AND A SQUIRREL – WILD DRAMA
Most of the most memorable wildlife sightings seem to take place when and where we least expect it. Such was the case this morning.
After eating breakfast, my daughter placed some leftover scrambled eggs in a dog bowl sitting on her back porch. In a few minutes, an American crow flew in and walked over to the dog bowl. It then proceeded to pick out all of the scrambled eggs and drop them on the floor beside the bowl. After eating a bit of the eggs, it slowly sundered out into the yard and began eating dog food scattered on the ground. While the crow was eating the dogfood, a gray squirrel showed up and ate a sliver of the eggs. My daughter said that while dining, the gray squirrel held the food like it was eating a potato chip.
All the while the squirrel was dining, a Carolina wren was loudly fussing as it flew between the house and a nearby planter. The squirrel did not seem upset with the wren’s behavior. My daughter said that while eating, the squirrel sat on its haunches and held the food in its front feet like it would a potato chip.
When the squirrel departed, the wren dropped down and picked up the largest piece of the scrambled eggs and flew off.
This drama lasted only five minutes as my daughter and granddaughter watched drama less than 10 feet away through a glass door.
Now that is the way to start the day!
THE VALUE OF LEAVING DRY CONEFLOWER SEED HEADS
With each passing day, the beautiful coneflower blossoms that adorned our gardens throughout the summer wither and die. When this occurs all that remains are prickly brown seed heads. When this happens often your first impulse is to prune cut them off. If you want to help many of the seed-eating birds that have called your yard home throughout the spring and summer, resist the urge to snip them off.
The reason for this is each seed head contains 200-300 nutritious seeds. Since the seed heads persist into winter, they provide seeding-eating birds with a source of food when food is scarce. Indeed these natural seed feeders are an asset to any backyard.
American goldfinches are particularly fond of the seeds; however, other birds dine on the nutritious seeds too. The list of the birds that compete with goldfinches for this bounty include blue jays, mockingbirds, Carolina chickadees brown-headed nuthatches and cardinals.
BACKYARD SECRET – FUELING RUBYTHROAT MIGRATION?
During the past few weeks the hummingbirds that have been visiting our feeders seem are on a feeding frenzy. The reason for this is they are trying to store enough fuel (in the form of fat) to power their fall migration.
Prior to migration, an adult female ruby-throated weighs roughly 1/10th of an ounce (3.5 grams). These long-distance migrants will consume enough nectar and insects to increase their weight to 5.5 grams (0.194 ounces). Each gram of this stored fat enables a hummingbird to migrate 300 miles.
THE TIMING OF THE FALL RUBYTHROAT MIGRATION
If you have been feeding hummingbirds, you have probably noticed that the number of rubythroats visiting your feeders has dropped significantly. This reason for this is rubythroats are heading south on their fall migration. Interestingly, the timing of their departure is dependent on their sex and age. Let’s take a quick look at the timing of the migration in Georgia.
If you take a close look at the birds visiting your feeders, you will notice that currently few adult males are still using your feeders. The reason for this is adult males are the first to leave. While some adult males will begin migration as early as July, most will leave in August. The adult females are the next to leave they begin their southward trek in August. The last to depart are the hummers that hatched this year. Most of these birds migrate in September.
THE BEST HUMMINGBIRD FOOD
During July and August Georgians typically feed more ruby-throated hummingbirds than at any other time of the year. I know that is the case at my home. For weeks, the demand of sugar water has been so great my wife has been making 20 cups of nectar every other day to keep up with the hummingbirds’ demand for the sugary treat.
Whenever you are feeding hummingbirds, you want to be sure that you are feeding them the right food. With that in mind, here is the recipe for the best hummingbird food. Boil a mixture containing 4 parts water and 1-part white table sugar for minutes. Allow the nectar to cool and store in your refrigerator.
During the extremely hot weather that has been roasting Georgia for weeks, it is best to replace the nectar in your feeders every 3 days or so.
FEEDING BIRDS SEEDS DURING THE SUMMER CAN BE CHALLENGING
Feeding seeds to birds during the summer can be more challenging than during the winter months. One of the main reasons for this is in the summer the high humidity and heat encourages mold and bacteria to contaminate seeds. As a result, birds that dine on contaminated food are more likely to become infected by a number of diseases. Here are a few tips that will help you prevent this from happening.
During the summer, you often have to clean feeders every 3-5 days in order to discourage a buildup of dangerous bacteria and mold. Clean feeders with soap and water. Follow this up by disinfecting them with a solution of nine parts water and one part bleach. Dry the feeders before refilling them with seeds.
Some seeds are safer to use in summer. One of these is black oil sunflower seed. These seeds can be fed shelled and unshelled.
White millet also can resist mold and bacteria however, if you scatter it on the ground, the millet seeds will spoil quicker than they will if fed in feeders.
Avoid feeding mixed seed during the summer. The reason for this is it contains ingredients that quickly become contaminated (e.g. cracked corn and milo). Peanuts also spoil quickly in humid, hot weather.
TIPS THAT HELP OFFERING HUMMERS FRESH NECTAR
With heat indexes almost daily soaring above 110°F, the nectar we offer our hummingbird neighbors can quickly spoil. With that in mind, here are a couple of simple tips that help ensure that rubythroats will be dining on nectar that has not spoiled.
While summer temperatures soar, the hummingbird nectar we provide in the feeders’ spoils more rapidly than it does when temperatures are not excessively hot. With that in mind, if you are using large feeders that take hummingbirds days to drain, put them away and use smaller feeders. In addition, it is a good idea to replace the unused fluid in your feeders every couple of days.
If you notice that the nectar in a feeder is cloudy, immediately discard it. That is a sure sign that it is no longer fresh.
ARE SQUIRRELS DETERRED BY COFFEE GROUNDS?
Recently it has been reported that coffee grounds spread below bird feeders deter squirrels from visiting bird feeding stations.
Before I recommend this practice, I want to know if you have tried this technique. If you have experimented with it, please let me know his bizarre practice actually works.
CONTAINER GARDENING FOR WILDLIFE MADE EASIER
Gardening for wildlife is being adopted by an increasing number of gardeners each year. One form of wildlife gardening that is growing by leaps and bounds is gardening in containers.
While container gardening is nothing new, growing plants that are of value to wildlife is. Container gardening for wildlife allows gardeners to attract wildlife to small places. In addition, is allows people that are physically unable to engage in traditional gardening to continue their hobby.
One of the problems that plagues container gardening is moving large pots from one spot to another. A large container full of soil is very heavy and difficult to move about. In addition, it can be quite expensive to buy enough soil to fill a large pot.
An excellent way to solve this problem is to fill third to half of the pot with a lightweight filler. Innovative gardeners are using variety fillers such as plastic bottles, bags and nursery pots as fillers Some even employ large chunks of Styrofoam. Others are using organic fillers such as pinecones, and wood chips.
If you want to make container gardening for wildlife less expensive and easier, you should consider using lightweight materials as fillers.
If you have used this technique, I would appreciate it if would let me know if your efforts proved to be successful.