BIRD SHELTER
Backyard Habitat From Start to Finish
Technology, as we all know, dominates many aspects of our lives. Computers are wonderful, but no amount of gigabytes can duplicate the sight of a male cardinal offering a seed tidbit to his mate. No television program can be more real than a wren building her nest. And no website can capture the nuanced sights and sounds of your backyard oasis.
It's important for us to stay in touch with the basics, to be aware of the natural world around us. What could be more basic than enjoying the backyard scene from your deck chair?
There's the hedgerow planted for food and shelter against a backdrop of fir trees filled with nest boxes. Nearby, berry bushes and seed-producing flowers highlight a water garden. As the birds fly from one attraction to another, we have the privilege of sharing nature -- up close -- with our family and friends.
But this entertainment is available only if people are willing to do their part. Imagine returning to a favorite summer vacation spot only to find it had been turned into a subdivision, or worse, a parking lot? Well, it happens to birds all the time. Every time natural habitat is paved over or subdivided, some bird loses its home. Are we long past Joni Mitchell's lament? We can't reverse the destruction: they've already paved over paradise. But we can turn the trend toward bird-friendly habitat. We just have to do it one backyard at a time.
A well-landscaped yard of any size contributes to the overall "greening" of America.
What is needed are three basic elements: food, water and shelter (including cover and nesting areas). You don't have to create a new landscape all at once. Nature takes its time and so should you. Start by drawing an overhead picture of your current yard. Then imagine how you want the end result to look and what features you'd like to add for the birds. Incorporate existing elements in new ways. Make the rock garden an extension of a native plant garden. Add bushes to the yard edge that will provide bird shelter and hide the old fence. Fit a bird bath in front of the apple tree.
Placement of new trees and shrubs is a good beginning since they will take the longest to become established. Native plants will provide cover for birds near your feeding station. Because they are well adapted to your area, they are hardy and disease-resistant. Contact your local conservation district or farm bureau extension office for help in selecting what plants will work best in your climate and soil conditions.
Once the plants have been chosen, the next important element is water for drinking and bathing. In order to keep feathers clean, birds depend on a reliable water source year 'round. The most natural spot for a bath is on the ground, but higher placement reduces attacks by cats or other predators. Choose a location near trees or shrubs for further protection as well as a place to preen after bathing. Adding a dripper or small fountain available at your local Wild Bird Center store creates the irresistible sound of moving water. Whether still or moving, always keep water sources scrupulously clean.
To get feeding birds, you must have breeding birds.
Nest boxes can be purchased from your local Wild Bird Center store where the staff will tell you that the key is to install the right box for the species you want to attract. In general, nest box guidelines include good building materials (wood is ideal), dimensions that accommodate specific birds, adequate drainage, ventilation, ease-of-cleaning and protection from the weather and predators. Put nest boxes in trees or along field edges to attract cavity-nesting birds such as bluebirds, chickadees, nuthatches and swallows. To accommodate non-cavity nesters, such as robins, put a small shelf under the eaves of the house or garage.
As you convert your yard to a more bird-friendly environment, food already has been incorporated with the use of seed and berry-producing plants. By adding feeders you expand the birds' selection and give yourself a perfect spot to observe the birds in action. Start with a hanging feeder for sunflower seed, a hopper feeder for a quality seed mix and a suet feeder. As more birds arrive, add or adjust the menu. This is a fun, exciting learning process that ensures hours of enjoyment.
It is individuals just like you, working to restore ecological health to their own private land, who are taking the first step toward protecting habitat. You contribute to the rolling quilt of habitat oases across America, helping preserve its natural diversity.
Bird Friendly Backyards: Getting Ready For Winter
The brilliance of autumn has faded, and in many parts of North America the world appears drab, even bleak. Storm clouds gather in blue skies and frost patterns appear on windowpanes heralding the arrival of winter.
This is the season when millions more people join in the wonderful activity of providing food for wild birds. As natural food supplies diminish, wild birds may respond in ever-greater numbers, especially when snow and ice blanket the landscape.
It is true that all you really need to do in order to attract birds to your yard is throw some seed on the ground (although this generally is not a good idea), stand back and wait for the first feathered opportunists to arrive for dinner.
However, as with any worthwhile pursuit, the more you know about feeding the birds, the more you will enjoy it.
There are only three basic requirements to create a bird-friendly backyard: water, shelter and fresh, clean seed offered in appropriate feeders. Keep your feeders well stocked so the birds don't have to resort to scavenging for seeds that have fallen on the ground, a risky business when predators may be lurking.
Also, full feeders entice more birds to visit, and studies have shown that birds are safer in flocks than when alone. When one member of the flock spots danger, it gives an alarm call so all can fly to safety.
Birds generally do better in raised feeding areas out of reach of cats and not too close to cover, such as buildings, fences or parked cars that could conceal a cat's approach. If you hang your feeders from tree limbs, place them near the trunk where they will be harder for hawks to approach. An attacking hawk first reaches the outer branches, particularly of a sparsely leafed tree.
Ideally your feeders will be within 20 feet of shrubs where the birds can fly for protection from danger. What they want is something to perch on that is not so dense that predators could hide in it -- old Christmas trees are perfect. You can create a brush pile using an arrangement of branches to simulate cover.
In order to enjoy the ever-changing pattern of form and color that birds bring into our yards, position your feeding station so you easily can view it from inside. Whether it's a window in the kitchen or near your desk, you can participate in "arm-chair" birding every time you glance up from stirring the soup, working or paying the bills.
Birds that approach or leave feeders and baths placed a few feet from your windows will be flying at low speeds and are less likely to suffer severe window strikes. If you have to stop feeding for a while in the winter, "your" birds won't starve; they visit many feeding sites during the day to forage for food. Once you resume your feeding program, your feathered friends will return.
Bring on the Bushes (And the Trees)
A landscape barren of trees and shrubs has little appeal to songbirds, no matter how many delicacies are available at a feeding station.
To increase the likelihood that birds will come to, and then perhaps nest, in your yard, add features that appeal to them. Hedgerows, for example, are more likely to attract nesting birds than a vast expanse of lawn with only scattered plantings. Twiggy or thorny shrubs such as viburnum, spirea, barberry and holly are attractive to many birds, as are briar patches, brush heaps or other naturalized areas.
Every section of the country has unique climate and soil conditions that will affect your choice of what to plant. As much as possible, incorporate varieties of trees and shrubs native to your region. They have had centuries to adapt to the local environment and will prove to be hardier and more disease-resistant than "exotics." Look around at the conditions in which natural vegetation grows and choose plants appropriate to your property -- willows in wet areas and pines in open, sunny sites, for instance.
The time you invest in research and planning before you plant assures that the tallest trees don't wind up in the center of your yard. Diverse plantings, placed on different vertical levels, will provide greater attractiveness -- to both birds and viewers -- and help minimize problems with plant disease and insect pests. Tall trees, large shrubs, small bushes and ground cover create natural layers to supply more good habitat in small spaces.
By varying the height of growing things, you accommodate bird species that spend most of their time on the ground as well as those that prefer low, bushy cover or treetops. Plant variety also helps to meet wildlife needs through all four seasons of the year.
As a primary element of your habitat plan, trees and shrubs provide food, cover and reproductive sites. However, you can't rush Mother Nature. Patience is more than a virtue when it comes to creating backyard habitat; it is a necessity. But over time, with careful attention, you will find your yard has come alive with the sight and sound of birds and other wildlife.
Create an Enticing Environment for the Birds
When you landscape your yard to attract birds, you win on two counts: you improve the beauty of your property; you provide food, nesting areas and cover for your local birds. There need be no limits to your gardening endeavors. Some people even have "planted" large dead trees to attract nesting woodpeckers. Flowering trees, shrubs and a variety of both annual and perennial flowers make a successful hummingbird garden. For the seed-eating birds, you even can dedicate some space to growing your own sunflowers, corn and millet. If you live in the southwest, choose cacti, succulents and drought-tolerant plants for your yard. Stick with plants native to your area and appropriate for your climate. They are the easiest to grow and most likely to attract the insects that in turn feed the insect-eating birds. Gardening and landscaping for birds is fun for the whole family. With a little time and effort you can create a sound environment that invites birds by providing their four necessities: food, water, shelter and nest sites.
Every Backyard Counts
A recent item in Architecture magazine listed the open acreage that has succumbed to development in each state between 1992 and 1997. Texas, leading the list, has used up 1,219,500 acres of croplands, forests and other open-spaces. Pennsylvania and Georgia follow closely behind. Every time natural habitat is turned into commercial development, some bird loses its home. By making our yards bird-friendly, we can make a difference one backyard at a time.
Creating a haven doesn't mean constant attention to maintenance. You will do yourself, and the birds, a favor by using plants native to your part of the country. Generally speaking, native species are plants that have naturally grown and reproduced in a given habitat over a long period of time. Exotic species, plants brought into new areas, reduce the diversity of other plants and destroy natural habitats. Once established, a yard full of native perennials requires minimal weeding, fertilizers or water. And even first year plants will bloom and provide food and cover for a variety of birds. In the East and Midwest, choose goldenrod and asters, leaving black-eyed Susans and native coneflowers for the mountain west region. Wax myrtles and sweetbay magnolia benefit the birds in the humid south, from the Tidewater to Florida and west into Oklahoma and Texas. Drought-resistant native poppy and yarrow are good choices to attract birds to California backyards. If you let milkweed stand into spring, the birds will use it for nesting material, and Monarch butterflies may lay their eggs on the plant. Gardeners often spend a lot of time pinching off wilted blossoms to encourage more bloom. But resist the temptation on an annual plant in the desert southwest called firewheel and it will reseed itself. Also, it is the seeds that attract the birds, especially lesser goldfinches. Don't try to create a new landscape all at once. Plan. Consult with experts in your neighborhood. Nature works slowly and so should you. Gradually work your way around your yard, and take time to enjoy your efforts to keep the birds and the environment happy.
Fall Fitness
Plant bird friendly shrubs and trees that will bear fruit and nuts as well as give shelter for wildlife. Make a brush pile out of branches from your tree-trimming projects to provide cover for the birds during the cold weather. Take down and clean all your summer nest boxes. You can rehang them, put some fresh wood shavings on the bottom and perhaps some birds will use them for roosting in severe weather.
Gardens for Birds
After the heft of holiday catalogs, the gentle promise of spring comes in the form of seed and garden catalogs. The pages turn, the renewal begins: a garden plot to renovate; two mulberries to relocate; a stand of monarda to plant.
Daydreaming gives way to musing and the vision emerges. With an eye toward improving songbird habitat, you plan the elements to enhance your private sanctuary.
There appears to be a more enlightened consciousness in the marketplace, recognizing that those who are sincere, soul-driven gardeners also are dedicated bird feeders, hopeful conservationists, meticulous recyclers and maybe even mildly eccentric composters. And it matters not how you arrange these character traits and habits. The result is the same.
More newspaper articles have appeared recently on plants that encourage nesting and produce food for birds. Book and bird feeding retailers have volumes dedicated to that singular topic, and even local garden center newsletters include tips for bringing the birds to your yard.
The awareness exists, and it is to your advantage to use it. Visit your local garden centers before the busy planting season begins to find the plant person who imparts enthusiasm for your gardening philosophy Although the specific plants, shrubs and trees will vary according to your location, your bird population, the growing zone and the seasons, the approach to attracting birds to your yard remains constant: water, food and a place to hide, perch or build a nest. Resist order, embrace the casual. Choose shrubs and plants that produce definitive fruits and seed heads and allow them to develop. Allow a bit of messiness and overgrowth. Emulate nature. Build that brush pile you've read about and leave it alone.
So gather your catalogs for planning and dreaming and relax. Let the flowers lead the way and the birds will follow.
Landscaping
What influences your landscape design? If it is the desire to attract wild songbirds, you must meet the birds' criteria for natural cover, food and water. Even small backyards can become bird sanctuaries with forethought and the inclusion of those three basics. Cover is anything that protects the birds from predators and the weather: brush piles for towhees; evergreens for chickadees; holly, barberry and cotoneaster as a haven from cats for all birds. Wherever possible, use native plants that meet the needs of local insects, which in turn feed the local birds in your area. Additional food for the birds is easy, but without the other habitat elements, the birds won't be able to live in your yard. Plant trees and shrubs appropriate for your climate that produce nuts, fruits, berries and seeds. Whether you use a multi-tiered series of pools or an inch-deep basin, providing water for drinking and bathing is critical year 'round. As human development encroaches on the area available for bird habitat, even your patch can make a difference if it is a well-planned natural landscape.
Location, Location, Location
This isn't just the mantra of real estate folks; it applies to your bird landscape as well. Your feathered friends face murder, intrigue and death on a daily basis. They need cover to escape predators, bushes and trees to rest and nest in, a reliable supply of food and a source of clean water. Sound familiar? It's the Basic Four for Backyard Birds. Vary your landscape with trees, shrubs and grasses of different heights. Smaller birds move from tree to tree, bush to bush and will choose their feeders and nest sites by location. Plant things such as mountain ash and Japanese holly to give shelter to some birds and food to the rest. Flowering trees have the added benefit of generating bugs for the insect-eaters (bluebirds and barn swallows). Water, for drinking and bathing, is a year 'round essential. Keep the bath shallow -- four inches of water on a chilly morning won't have much appeal to a short-legged bird. In warmer months, create a water park for birds with a hose slowly dripping into a shallow container surrounded by wildflowers. For most comfortable dining, the perchers need solid footing. Blue jays, cardinals and juncos eat off the ground or from a solidly mounted tray or table feeder not more than five feet high. The clingers, on the other hand, will eat upside down, sideways or even swaying. Woodpeckers and finches will take seed from tubular feeders or suet from feeders hung from a tree limb. You don't need much space to set up a good bird habitat, and the birds don't care if it's a formal garden. There are just four essentials: food, water, shelter and a nesting site.
Planning a Bird-Friendly Backyard
In the late 18th century, a man named Thomas Pennant wrote about America's landscape: "A plain, rich in woods and savannahs, swarming with... a great variety of game, occupies an amazing tract, from the great lakes of Canada as low as the gulph of Mexico; and eastward to the other great chain of mountains, the Appalachian..."
He would scarcely recognize the paved and subdivided landscape today, much of it devoid of wildlife diversity. By developing bird-friendly backyards, we move to reverse a trend of habitat destruction, helping make up for the loss one backyard at a time. The need is acute as land is cleared for housing, office complexes and shopping centers. Natural areas are shrinking, but good habitat can be an oasis amid development. A well-landscaped yard that helps make amends for displaced wildlife doesn't need to be huge to be a haven.
You can transform any yard, and you don't have to be an avid bird watcher or expert gardener to do it. You need to provide four basic elements for birds: food, water, cover and a place to nest and raise their young. Consider what already is available in your yard. Chances are you probably have some of the elements and need only to add or modify what's there. The most useful planning tool is to layout your current landscape, drawn to scale: a "before" picture to serve as a starting point. Your ‘Before Habitat' plan will show: - property size with elevations - location of your house, including windows - existing trees, plants and shrubs - shady and sunny areas - utility wires, septic tank or well - type and depth of soil, water, mounds or rocks. From this you will develop your landscape plan, which will prove to be worth the effort, especially if you are starting from scratch. It's a lot easier to erase from paper the sketch of an evergreen than to move it after it's been set in the ground.
Before you ever pick up a pencil, however, think about how your yard will look in all seasons. What would you like to see as you're sitting on the patio in the summer? Visualize the view from the kitchen window as you have breakfast or from the desk in your home office. Are there vacant lots near your property? If they are sold, how will you want to screen them? Consider how far from the house you may want a vegetable garden and what you will need to conceal a compost pile.
Once you have a broad idea in mind, think about the birds. What migratory songbirds breed in your area? Remember that some birds nest in a tree, some in the bushes. What are the needs of those year 'round residents that frequent your neighborhood? Each species has its favorite food, but all need a place to drink and bathe. You won't want to design a landscape filled with trees, plants and flowers attractive to species that don't live anywhere near you. Don't be overwhelmed by the scope of your plan. This is a work in progress -- it is meant to take a long time. By starting with an annual garden and a few of your proposed shrubs, you will have an almost immediate impact. Within a relatively short time, ornamental trees can reach substantial heights. In ten years oak, maple and pine trees will grow to twenty feet or more. Don't be put off by Mother Nature's long-term growing schedule. Patience is a necessity when it comes to creating and maintaining good habitat. Even if you aren't sure where you might be a dozen years from now, think about the increased value of your landscaped property if you have to sell.
A backyard habitat is a landscaping plan that keeps birds (and other wildlife) in mind. Because vegetative diversity is important, design possibilities include tall trees, bramble patches, grassy areas, small shrubs and food-bearing plants. Another addition could be a pond or a large boulder or two for natural appeal. As your yard comes alive with the sights and sounds of birds and other wildlife, you and your family will gain countless hours of enjoyment. As you watch nature up close, you gain understanding about the roles all creatures play in it.
Planning Your Yard
Because you want to create your backyard landscape as a whole entity, having a drawn plan is very important. Think about each of the habitat components -- food, water and shelter -- and arrange them to complement each other to provide the most benefit for the birds.
One example is to put the feeding stations near trees or bushes where birds can seek cover from soaring or stalking predators. Then set the birdbath near conifers out of the way of cold north winds.
Conifers (evergreens) play an important role in your backyard habitat. They provide shelter and nesting sites as well as protection from predators. Planted on the north and west edges of your property, they make excellent windbreaks to protect your feeding stations from the elements. They also give the birds a place to hang out when they aren't foraging for food. An evergreen hedge offers a popular roost site as well as good cover as birds move from place to place in your yard.
Most of these plants do not lose their needles in winter, including the familiar spruce, pine and fir trees and juniper, hemlock and arbor vitae bushes. The eastern red cedar, a conifer with abundant blue berries, is a good food source, as are all the spruces.
Although deciduous trees grow slower than conifers, a mix of tall and small food-bearing species will combine to form a supportive landscape once they mature. Trees planted around the edge of your property become the backdrop for lower-growing vegetation.
Room and Board
If you subscribe to the theory that if you don't have breeding birds, you won't have feeding birds. In order to make your property bird-friendly, you need to have the three basics: nesting sites, water and food.
By providing cover, which is any place that offers protection from predators and the weather, you increase the chances for nesting birds. Knowing the preferences of the birds in your area -- which species will nest in tall trees and which will choose the boughs of an evergreen -- will help you with your landscape plan. For instance, dense thickets offer good nesting cover, formed by bushes such as easy-to-grow honeysuckle, blackberry and cranberry. But not all birds build nests out on a limb. Several species, known as cavity nesters, build their nest in holes found either in natural tree cavities or in manmade boxes. Since natural cavities often are in short supply, installing birdhouses can help such birds as chickadees, wrens, titmice, bluebirds and nuthatches. To accommodate phoebes and robins, species that won't use an enclosed box, put up a small shelf under the eaves of the house or garage.
Birdhouses, more properly called nest boxes, aren't "homes" for birds. They don't "live" in these structures, but occupy them for the purpose of protecting their eggs and providing a nursery for their young.
Although actual nesting usually doesn't begin until late March or early April, a break in winter weather will start the search for a perfect site. Male bluebirds, for example, may find a suitable area, leave and come back with a mate. So it's a good idea to have your birdhouses ready and promote bird conservation by adding man-made boxes to your yard. Cavity nesters, unlike most tree-nesting species, often make use of a previously occupied box. It is important, therefore, that you clean out boxes after the fledglings have left the nest for good. Old nesting materials may retain parasitic insects and diseases that could be harmful to the next inhabitants.
Wild Bird Center Stores Selling Shade-Grown Coffee
There is good news on the good coffee front. Wild Bird Center stores stock organic, shade-grown coffee beans. These beans, known as Arabica, indirectly benefit our backyard songbirds. They are grown beneath the forest canopy in Central America that provides a sanctuary for some 150 species of birds, especially the insect-eaters that migrate during the summer to northern breeding grounds. Most grocery-store mass-marketed brands began using beans from "sun plantations" in the 70's because the price was lower and the supply larger. This led farmers to cut down trees and use chemicals to meet demand. Since the U.S. consumes one-third of the world's coffee, consumers can drive environmental change and slow down or even stop the loss of bird habitat. With the continuing disappearance of the rain forest, shaded coffee farms often are the last refuge for literally millions of migratory birds.