Loving Nature's Garden » Birds & Wildlife

What Can You Find in a Nature Garden?

Alison Kerr — Tue, 06 Jul 2010 12:24:31 +0000

American Goldfinches, April 2010

What can you find in a nature garden? Here’s an update on mine. I hope you’ll be inspired. Do let me know what is happening in yours.

Beautiful Birds

Back in December 2009 I asked the question How Long Does it Take Birds to Find a Feeder?

If you hang a feeder full of thistle (niger) seeds which goldfinches love, and goldfinches are gone until spring, then the answer could be 5 months, or more.

Five months is how long it took these little golden American beauties to turn up in my garden. It was worth the wait!

House Finch, May 2010

Also recently spotted at my niger feeder: mourning doves (they eat the seeds which fall to the ground), sparrows (which I don’t care for), and house finches.

Fearless Robins

I’ve done a lot of digging in my garden this year and American robins have been my constant companions. Compared to the other birds, they’re fearless and don’t mind getting close enough to grab juicy worms.

Robins make me laugh with their antics – they seem to be reluctant to fly and can be seen running away from people and cars in my neighborhood from January through December.

Blue Bird House, June 2010

Scolded by Nesting Birds

Nest boxes are prime real estate in my neighborhood. I’m going to have to put up some high rises next year.

My west neighbor had chickadees break into his siding this spring. When he chased them out, the sparrows moved in.

Then my east neighbor hung up this cute blue bird house. Chickadees were soon raising a family. Now, in June, wren parents are busy scolding anyone who gets too close and their youngsters can be seen out and about being fed.

I’ve never seen so many birds raising young around my garden since I moved here over 10 years ago. I’d like to think my nature gardening efforts are paying off, but maybe it’s because the cat who used to keep down the birds and rabbits is gone. Either way, it’s all good.

Phlox in Woodland Garden, June 2010

Beautiful Native Flowers

Native woodland and prairie flowers are so beautiful and delicate.

Not many flowers will bloom in woodland shade when summer comes around. These pink phlox are the stars of my summer shade garden.

Rain Garden Flowers

I’ve added a bunch of new native plants to my back yard this year, with the addition of my rain garden.

And my rain garden has had a really good testing. It’s been a crazy spring, with my whole back yard looking like a river several times. And the rain garden stood up to it all!

Cephalanthus occidentalis (button bush), June 2010

One of the new plants in my rain garden is Cephalanthus occidentalis, or button bush. The button bush came to me in a 5 gallon plastic pot, from which a massive central root had escaped.

The root had been hacked off before it left the nursery and I was a little worried about how the button bush would settle in. I’m pleased to report that it’s doing amazingly well, has put on significant growth, and is now flowering.

I can’t wait for the red cardinal flowers, Lobelia cardinalis, in my rain garden to bloom in July. Of course I’m hoping for some hummingbirds and butterflies. Meantime I’m enjoying my prairie garden.

Butterfly Weed and Spiderwort, June 2010

Prairie Garden

Asclepias tuberosa, the orange butterfly weed, is an itinerant visitor to my prairie garden. This year it has shown up and looks delightful next to the blue spiderwort, which has been in bloom since April.

The Liatris pyncnostachya, purple blazing star, will soon be in bloom. I feel like the flowers are my friends who step me through the Kansas year.

Native flowers keep me going outside in the summer heat, provide a rhythm to my days, and give me a sense of place. I recently wrote a post for Carole Brown about Falling in Love with My Garden.

I hope you will grow to love your garden as I do, if you don’t already. Share the wonders of native plants and wildlife with your children and neighbors. I’m sure they will thank you.

Your turn – please leave a comment. What are your favorite native plants? Did any birds nest in your neighborhood this year?

Cute Bunny Alert!

Alison Kerr — Tue, 25 May 2010 12:51:39 +0000

Baby Bunny Pic #1

April and May can be very busy months in the garden. While I’ve been planting, digging, and building the birds and rabbits have been building, breeding, and feeding.

There’s much to tell and plenty of critters in the garden. Here’s the very cutest.

Darling Little Bunny

One day last week the cutest, sweetest, little baby bunny appeared in my back garden.

“Ooh, cuteness alert!” I shouted to my kids. I couldn’t take my eyes off that little furry bundle of sweetness which was hopping around my back concrete patio. I’ve never seen anything more adorable.

I was so transfixed that I had no thought to grab my camera.

Baby Bunny Pic #2

Bunny Comes Closer

Later that day bunny came even closer, right onto my back deck outside the kitchen window.

She hunkered down right next to my not-yet-planted woodland garden plants and began to look sleepy and close her eyes.

Bunny Gets Sleepy

As bunny closed her eyes, I woke up enough to grab my camera. Even my husband, a typical guy, who prefers chainsaws to cute bunnies, stopped and stared.

Bunny was feeling right at home there next to the native plants, so much so that I began to think her behavior very strange. “Do you think she’s OK?” I began to fret, images of animal rescue organizations flitting through my mind.

Baby Bunny Pic #3

Live Without Fear

Then baby bunny stretched out and fully relaxed just a few feet from my window, right there in front of me.

That’s living without fear!

She didn’t lay there for long though; she must have got hungry. It was then I learned why she felt so happy next to my plants.

Bunny Takes a Bite

While I was still oohing and aahing over her, she reached up and began to nibble one of my woodland plants, the one on the left.

Now I’m all for cuteness, but I do have my limits. Learn fear little bunny – I just paid $7 for that plant and it’s a baby too! As soon as I opened the door, she was gone. I could relax, she clearly was not sick, and my plants were safe… for now.

What’s happening in your garden? Are your plants safe from the rabbits? Check back later this week for How to Protect Plants from Rabbits.

Benjamin Rabbit Defends

Alison Kerr — Tue, 13 Apr 2010 14:14:27 +0000

I’ve been learning some great nature gardening tips from Carole Brown over at Ecosystem Gardening. If you’re wondering what to do with all the sticks which fall from the trees in your yard, Carole has the answer. Make a brush pile.

So, after the most recent storm, when a whole pile-worth of sticks fell down onto the grass in my garden, I made a brush pile. Now I’m enjoying the critters who visit. I made a cute rabbit video (my first ever video). I hope you enjoy Benjamin Rabbit Defends.

And for my regular readers there’s a little surprise at the end – what happened to Alison?

All About Bird Nesting

Alison Kerr — Tue, 23 Mar 2010 12:57:38 +0000

Bird Nest by Tobyotter

Spring is springing all over the place and birds are singing, displaying, traveling, or even getting ready to nest. I thought I’d share some great resources related to bird nesting.

Below you’ll find information on attracting birds and enjoying the bird breeding season in your nature garden. It’s a wonderful time for you to better get to know our feathered friends, by inviting them to share your space.

All About Nest Boxes

At the Cornell Ornithology Lab website you’ll find a whole host of information on nest boxes. Did you know that small nest boxes should be mounted on metal poles or pipes? I didn’t. Find all the information you need, from plans for bird nesting boxes, to information on dealing with competitors and non-native bird species. All the links are on the page All About Nest Boxes.

Nest Watch

If you like garden science you can get involved in monitoring bird nests through the Cornell Nest Watch program. Carole Brown has written a great intro to what Nest Watch is all about, or go straight to the Cornell site for nest watching resources. If a full-blown nest watch sounds too much, you might commit to selecting three things to do to help nesting birds.

Watch Birds Nesting

Rather than risk disturbing nesting birds in your own garden you might want to watch birds nesting through one of the many nestcams. Here’s the Cornell Nestcams. Don’t confine yourself to watching birds in North America though, you can watch barn owls in England, ospreys in Scotland, or check out this wildlife cam site which allows you to see a bird table, a water trough, and even British badgers.

Nesting for the Kids

It’s the perfect time of year to visit your local library and find some books about spring, birds, and nesting to share with your children. If you’ve not yet cleared out bird houses there’s no time to waste. Old nests harbor parasites and should be removed from nest boxes. It’s fascinating to study what nests are made of. Kids need to know not to disturb nests. A pair of binoculars can be handy for watching from a distance.

How Birds Build Nests

At the Cornell Ornithology All About Birds site you can look up your favorite birds and find out where they like to build their nest, what they build it of, and what it looks like. Or if you want to bring more birds to your garden for you to enjoy check out their how to attract birds section. Apart from providing fresh water, you’ll want to think about providing native plants.

I never tire of wondering how a nest can be built with just a beak. Have you seen any signs of birds nesting in your garden yet?

Amazon.com has a good selection of children’s books on bird nesting. Please leave a note of any favorites in the comments.

Hello Skunk!

Alison Kerr — Thu, 04 Mar 2010 14:09:29 +0000

wet baby skunk by Out at Bob's

One day you find a skunk under your deck. What do you do? Do you say, “Hello, cute little skunk. I’m so glad you have moved into my nature garden.” Or, “Little skunk, I know you’re part of nature, but you must find another home. Not in my back yard!”

One morning last week, and again the same evening, there was a very noisy critter on my back deck. It really sounded like something large bumbling about. I put on my nature detective cap and came up with the following possibilities of who might have moved in: groundhog (not, because they feed in the daytime); possum (possible – I know they’re in my neighborhood); skunk (hopefully not); raccoon or fox (both are in my neighborhood, but I’ve seen no signs of them in my yard).

I wasn’t really too excited about the idea that there could be a skunk out there under the deck. I mean, what would I do? Fortunately for me there was still snow around so I went out to have a good look for footprints. I came back in with several photos. After trying to match them with all of the above critters, I’m not sure if I was relieved, or disappointed, to decide that all I’d found were squirrel prints.

So, the squirrels in my yard are apparently trying to raid the squirrel-proof feeder at dawn and after dusk just to see if that’s different from daytime. That’s what I decided the loud noise was – squirrels leaping onto the metal feeder. It would have been nice to have a possum, but a skunk I’m not so sure about.

Have you ever had a skunk in your garden? Are skunks beyond your limit when it comes to back yard nature? Are you hoping never to find out?

Mama, I’d Like to Learn About Birds

Alison Kerr — Mon, 08 Feb 2010 15:21:08 +0000

Chickadee by auburnxc

I have a special guest for you today, a guest who is keen to learn about birds. Enjoy!

Dear Mama,

I really want to spend some time with you this weekend learning about birds! I heard about the Great Backyard Bird Count and I am really excited to identify new birds. We only have to spend 15 minutes watching and counting individual species, but we could go to the pond and look for the big red hawk or some ducks. There’s a website where we can look up great information about what kinds of birds live around our house this time of year. I heard there are even some eagles over near the river; maybe we’ll see one of them!

To take part, we need to go bird counting sometime next weekend (February 12^th to 15^th). After we make our list of species we send it in through the internet. Scientists are collecting all this information to see if there are changes from other years. This is one way scientists keep track of the climate changes. I think that what scientists do is really cool and I’d love to see what it’s like to do their work.

So can we check it out? I‘ve been feeding the birds in our yard for a long time, but I never looked up their names. Now I can and it will help others learn too! Could this be our special Valentines Day adventure?

Love Ya, Your Little Explorer

PS. We could even win some of these prizes for participating! I’d love to win a new birdfeeder!

Shannon Baer started writing at Backyard Mama this past summer in an effort to inspire grandparents, parents, teachers, caregivers and their children to spend more time in nature. Follow @backyardmama for up-to-date tweets about her new adventures. She looks forward to meeting you knee deep in mud and exhausted from a full day of nature play! See you outside!

Voles Like to Play Outdoors

Alison Kerr — Tue, 26 Jan 2010 15:35:23 +0000

Who made this track?

Many small animals hibernate for the winter. Chipmunks gather lots of food, then hibernate, or stay indoors. Mice try to move inside. Voles like to play outdoors in winter.

Whom do you think made the track, or runway, you see here? Was it a vole?

Winter Gardens Full of Life

I discovered this little animal track, or runway, on Sunday after the Kansas snow melted in my backyard garden.

While little kids are low to the ground and find lots of interesting stuff, as an adult I need nature to be just a bit more glaring to attract my attention. This track was obvious – well defined.

Animal tracks can take a little detective work. When I first found this track I was surprised, then delighted, then curious about who made it.

Who Would Be Out Under the Snow?

My first thought was that a mouse had been running back and forth under the snow. But something wasn’t quite right with this picture. The track, or run, isn’t just a bare spot on the surface of the dirt. It’s actually dug down into the turf, among the grass roots.

A quick check on the list of Kansas mammals turned up several possibilities. I’m going with the meadow vole, Microtus pennsylvanicus pennsylvanicus, as my best guess because: voles like to eat grass; and (from the meadow vole information at that last link), “In spring, after the protective layer of snow disappears, runways that have been established on the ground beneath the snow are clearly evident.”

Now all I need is a wildlife night camera and maybe I could get a photo of the little guy in action. Wouldn’t that be fun? Have you ever seen a vole?

Spy on nature in your garden with a nature cam and find books about North American mammals at Amazon.com

How to Make a Winter Bird List

Alison Kerr — Wed, 06 Jan 2010 13:57:16 +0000

Cedar Waxwing 1 by Bob MacInnes

Here I’m going to tell you how to make a winter bird list for your area. I made a winter bird list for Kansas, you can make one for wherever you live using the same steps. It can be a list for your nature garden, or it can go beyond this.

Why Make a Winter Bird List?

Unless you’ve looked at making a list of birds to look for in winter you may not realize that your area has winter bird visitors. For instance, here in Kansas, the cedar waxwing (pictured left) can only been seen in winter.

But you may also be wondering why you shouldn’t just do a Google search for a suitable list for your area or state. I’ll tell you why you may want to make your own list. There are several reasons:

- you may want to include only birds from a specific habitat;
- you may want to learn what the birds look like while making your list;
- you may want a short list which is achievable and can engage your kids (and yourself).

Step 1 – Get Yourself a Good Bird Reference Book

A good bird reference book will not only allow you to make your list, it will also help you identify any new birds you see later. The book you use will need to tell you what to expect for your area. Here are some bird guides to consider:

The Sibley Guide to Birds is the bird book others are measured against. It’s detailed without being overwhelming and highly understandable to use, though perhaps rather daunting for you if you’re new to birding.
All the Birds of North America was my favorite until I saw the Sibley guide. I like that this one is compact. Personally I think the maps in Sibley are easier to use (after 12 years of casual use of this book I still haven’t managed to memorize the map colors for the different seasons).
Stokes Beginner’s Guide to Birds – Eastern Region uses photographs rather than illustrations. As well as clear little maps it contains tips on how to attract the different bird species. Make sure you choose the correct Stokes guide for your area.

Now you’ve got your book with maps or another way to identify which birds will be in your area, let’s look at the next step.

Step 2 – Where Will You Look for Birds?

Many winter bird visitors to Kansas are ones which like water and can only be found on lakes or ponds. I wanted my list to only include birds I might see in my back yard and I don’t have a lake in my back yard. The only birds which made it onto my list are birds of woodlands or gardens – I excluded birds which like large open areas, prairie, or fields too.

Step 3 – How Do You Want to Use Your List?

You can make a long list of any winter visiting birds you might see, but before you do that, think about how you want to use your list. Is it going to be a checklist of all possible birds? Or maybe a list of a few special birds you’d like to see. Or you might be asking your kids to make a list, or making a list to catch their attention and prompt questions. Maybe you want to put on only birds you’ve never seen before, birds which visit only in winter, or birds you know you’ve seen and which will be sure to visit your garden again and bring you/your kids a feeling of success.

Step 4 – Choose a List Format

Do you want a simple 2 column list with bird name and page number? Maybe you’d prefer to make an illustrated list by drawing each of the birds you’d like to see, giving each bird it’s own page in your notebook or journal. Or you might want a multi-column list with common name, scientific name, habitat, size, and features as well as the page number.

Step 5 – Get to Work

I call it work, but this is the fun part. Snuggle up with you book and a pencil and paper, notebook, or journal. Simply start at the front of the book and work toward the back. Check the map to see which birds are in your area in winter.

Take as long or as short a time to make your list as you like. Enjoy the process, stop and use a ruler to help you visualize a few birds you’d love to see, or zoom through making a mega-checklist. Just make sure that if you’re doing this with your kids that you don’t leave them in the dust with your enthusiasm!

Birds are a wonderful gift of nature, something for us all to enjoy. Have you ever made a winter bird list for your neighborhood? Do you have a favorite bird guide book? Please share in the comments and consider subscribing so you won’t miss any posts.

Find birding binoculars, bird books and bird baths at Amazon.com.

Foiling Squirrels At Your Feeders

Alison Kerr — Tue, 15 Dec 2009 14:52:41 +0000

Caught Red-Handed! (Red-Pawed?) by Di_the_huntress

Raise your hand if a squirrel has ever raided your birdfeeder. What, you too? Seems when winter comes and squirrels are hungry those cheeky rascals will go to great lengths to plunder birdseed from feeders. Debi Huang, author at Go Explore Nature is having this challenge and she asked for help.

Squirrels aren’t visiting the feeders in my backyard; herein lie some clues to keeping the birdseeds for the birds.

Boing, Boing Branches

While squirrels are excellent climbers and jumpers I never see them hanging out at the end of branches. They’ll walk tightropes (people have given them this challenge just for fun) and jump from tree to tree but they’re too heavy for the last 2-3 feet or so of tree branches. Unless of course you know different…

Lightweight feeders, such as suet holders, can be hung on slim branches, which might be enough to keep off those sticky squirrel paws. Other lightweight feeders to hang at the tips of branches are peanut butter pine cones, in-shell peanut garlands, and home-made milk carton feeders.

Teensy, Tiny Seeds

Those hungry squirrels like something to get their teeth into. They seem to love stuff like sunflower seeds in the shells, peanuts, and corn. They don’t seem to care much for small seeds.

Nyjer and thistle seeds are tiny. I’ve never seen the squirrels in my yard bother trying to get to the nyjer seed feeder.

A Squirrel-Style Harvest

You know the story about squirrels burying acorns? When there is plenty of natural food for squirrels there’s less need for them to raid the birdfeeder. This year my white oak tree had a bumper harvest – more than enough acorns to feed the squirrels in my neighborhood this winter. I’ve also given the squirrels hedge apples to chew on, which were free, and they love them.

When you are choosing trees and shrubs for your garden consider the needs of native animals and wild birds. Plant native vegetation to provide nuts, acorns and berries and the wildlife in your backyard will be less dependent on birdfeeders and just as much fun, no, make that “more”.

Squirrel-Proof Bird Feeders

The array of commercially produced squirrel-proof bird feeders is both dazzling and a testament to the ingenuity of both designers and squirrels on raids. There are peanut feeders with cage wires small enough for birds to fit through which exclude squirrels, there are sunflower and mixed seed feeders that slide closed under the weight of a squirrel, baffles to stop squirrels climbing poles, and even feeders than spin and tip to toss squirrels off.

If you want to make your own squirrel-proof feeder, here’s how from Instructables.

If you’re in the market to purchase, I recommend both Droll Yankee and Heritage Farms bird feeders which are both available from Duncraft. Both Heritage Farms feeders and Droll Yankee feeders are made in the USA and they are very sturdy and will last for years. Heritage Farms use recycled plastic for some of their feeders and Droll Yankee uses FSC certified materials and has a published sustainability policy.

Have the squirrels been pestering your feeders? How did you foil them?

How Long Does It Take Birds to Find a Feeder?

Alison Kerr — Wed, 02 Dec 2009 15:48:21 +0000

bird feeder by stevendepolo

Thinking of adding some birdfeeders to your nature garden. You might be asking the question, “How long does it take birds to find a feeder?” The answer seems to be a great big “it depends”.

For my feeders it took about 8 days – long enough that I lost track. For the first day I avidly watched my newly-hung birdfeeders hoping for a quick reward. Alas, patience was the order of the day.

How Long Will You Have to Wait?

A quick google search on the question “how long does it take birds to find a feeder” will turn up several sites, but they all contain the exact same text

“Sometimes it can seem like forever. It may take more time for birds to find window feeders than hanging or pole-mounted feeders.”

One of the sites is the US Fish and Wildlife Service. They have quite a lot of useful information on backyard bird feeding but just aren’t much help on this specific question. Yes, eight days seemed like forever, but surely there’s a better answer on what to expect. Surely someone has looked into this.

Downy Woodpecker by Audreyjm529

Project FeederWatch Has the Answer?

I felt pretty sure that the folk at Project FeederWatch and the Cornell bird lab must have something to say on this, but alas it’s not a Project FeederWatch frequently asked question.

What Should You Expect?

After waiting a whole week to see a single bird at any of my three not-so-newly-hung feeders I’d almost lost hope. I asked a friend, “How long does it take birds to find a feeder when you’ve not had one up for a while?” Her answer, “About 30 minutes.” So, I have my answer – it takes birds anything from 30 minutes to 8 days to find a feeder.

Worth the Wait

It was worth the wait – my kids will tell you how excited I get when a downy woodpecker arrives to peck the suet, or a chickadee to take some niger seeds. In the last few days I’ve seen the following birds – house wren, chickadee, downy woodpecker, robin, bluejay. My feeders are still full of food and the birds are not yet regular visitors, but the weather is still mild – things could change soon. The birds found my feeders – I think it’s going to be a good winter.

How long did it take birds to find your feeder? Are you taking part in Project FeederWatch?