A Native Garden Attracts Many Migratory Birds

There are four requirements to attract wildlife to a garden: food, water, shelter, and a place to raise their young. Over the past few years we have added quite a few native plants to our garden. Some of them surround our small pond, making it not only a focal point in our backyard, but also a prime stopover location for migratory birds. Even though we have a bird bath, many birds seem to prefer running water to quench their thirst.
During the past few weeks we have spotted the following visitors in our garden: a male scarlet tanager, a Tennessee warbler, an immature male Cape May warbler, two yellow-rumped warblers, and probably a first-year white-crowned sparrow.

By adding water - be it a fountain or mister - you too might view some exciting migratory birds in your yard.

Measuring up the Gardening Year

This summer has been wetter than usual, at least until August arrived. Luckily, a native garden can cope with all kinds of weather conditions. And for dry spells we have a rain barrel that provides free water.
Every year we observe new kinds of insects in our certified wildlife habitat and we never cease to admire them. Needless to say, I find many photo objects in my own backyard. Bees - especially bumble bees - are drawn to purple coneflowers, common milkweed, Joe-pye weed, and blazing star.

Unfortunately, the milkweed did not attract any monarch butterflies this year. We had noticed fewer monarchs last year, but seeing not one of them this year is very distressing.
I plant few annuals, but have always had beautiful zinnias in our flower bed. This year, however, it has been a war of rabbits vs. me, and I'm afraid the rabbits won. I even put down a fence wrapped with landscape cloth, but it was no use. The salvias I planted in their stead are beautiful. I plan on planting them again next year.

Birding at Magee Marsh

Black-throated green warbler

American woodcock

 

We recently visited Magee Marsh in Ohio during the height of the warbler migration season. Warblers, however, are not the only birds you can see and hear in the marshes. I believe it should be called the red-winged blackbird capitol of the world because I have never seen so many blackbirds in my life. Their calls surrounded us from all directions. All in all, we spotted these birds at Magee and the Ottawa National Wildlife Reserve:

 

Red-winged blackbirds, great blue herons, great egrets, tree swallows, barn swallows, purple martins, yellow warblers, warbling vireos, palm warbler, black duck, common grackles, yellow-rumped warbler, black-throated green warbler, downy woodpecker, scarlet tanager, Baltimore oriole, common nighthawk, American woodcock, bay-breasted warbler, black-throated blue warbler, white-crowned sparrow, American robin, northern cardinal, trumpeter swan, bald eagles. Another awesome sighting was a huge snapping turtle on the wood floor making its way to the water.

The weather was gorgeous. I did not get to shoot as many photos as I liked since the warblers were often high in the trees, but I had a great time sighting the birds. Birders are most helpful pointing out birds that we would not have spotted on our own. Thank you all!



Bird baths are essential for winter birds

Bird baths and other water features attract many birds to a yard. We all know that water is essential for all creatures during the heat of summer, but birds also need water in winter. Keeping a bird bath ice-free is a challenge, so a couple of years ago we purchased a bird bath heater. It is a big draw. One frigid day recently, I spotted a squirrel (nothing keeps them away from yards), a Northern cardinal, and a Caroline wren drinking from the bird bath in quick succession.
Naturally, you'll need to check the water level regularly to make sure it doesn't dry out. It is also necessary to clean it on a regular basis. If this sounds like a lot of trouble, it is. But you'll have the satisfaction of knowing that you are helping birds survive.

Rufous Hummingbird

Last week I learned that a rufous hummingbird was banded on Mt Washington in Pittsburgh. I had never even seen a rufous hummingbird in the summer, let alone at the end of November. The homeowner was more than happy to accommodate me when I asked if I could photograph the hummer. I could hear its wings buzzing before I even sighted it. It was an amazing experience and I hope it will return next summer - that is, if it ever leaves for the winter!

Autumn Serviceberry

When we purchased our serviceberry (Amelanchier canadensis), we bought it especially because of its awesome fall foliage. It did not disappoint, as the images I took recently attest.
The serviceberry is also called shadbush or Juneberry. In spring we admire its delicate white flowers, which soon turn into tasty red berries (just ask cedar waxwings or robins). It puts on its biggest show in October when its leaves turn into a bright red burst of color.
Unfortunately, superstorm Sandy knocked many of the leaves from its branches. But we know that next year, we will enjoy our serviceberry all over again.

Successes and Failures of the Gardening Year

It has been a challenging garden year. The warm spell in March fooled the trees and other plants, which flowered weeks before their usual time. May and June brought heat and dry weather, forcing us to water not only annuals, but also on occasion our native plants. With the gardening year winding down, it's time to take stock.

Success stories: The only annual flowers I planted were zinnias and a gailardia. Both are still blooming and have attracted many insects during the summer. Goldfinches also love to eat zinnia seeds. That's why I don't deadhead them.

False indigo, blazing star, purple coneflowers, black-eyed Susans, cardinal flower, Joe-pye weed, goldenrod, and asters performed very well and attracted many insects. Our pannicled aster is blooming right now and buzzing with life. The butterfly weed did not have a great year. Perhaps it was too dry. It has also not been a great year for Monarch butterfly sightings.

Failures: The Mexican sunflowers we planted in early summer grew extremely tall, but haven't produced any flowers yet. The probably put all their efforts into growing huge leaves. Our biggest disappointment were our tomatoes. Even though we planted them in a new location, they all suffered from some form of blight (or stinkbug attacks). The few that we could actually eat were rather tasteless. In fact, the only tasty tomatoes we ate were heirloom tomatoes that came up on their own from last year. Go figure!

Overall, we're seeing more species of insects every year. If that isn't a testament for planting native plants, I don't know what is.

Caught in the Act

We keep our bird seeds in a plastic container in the garage. It has a lid that closes with a snap. That way the critters can't steal sunflower seeds, right?
For the past few weeks I've noticed that the lid was sometimes ajar or even partly off. I closed it shut, puzzled that my husband would forget to snap the lid shut so many times (he later told me that he suspected me). The other morning, when hubby walked into the garage, he caught the culprit in the act. It was none other than one of these fellows:

Don't get fooled by that innocent look! Apparently, squirrels are pretty smart when it comes to finding food. Being outsmarted by a squirrel, however, is not what we had in mind when we began feeding birds.

Our New Gadget: A Rain Barrel

We are experiencing a very hot and dry summer this year. Our annual flowers need to be watered once or twice a day and even our many native plants are often drooping.
It is therefore rather appropriate that we recently installed a rain barrel. Not only does it provide a little relief from a probably astronomical water bill, but it also keeps some storm water out of the sewers.
One decent rainfall fills up the barrel and the overflow diverts back into our downspout. The rain barrel has a cover because we do not want to to breed mosquitoes in it. And the barrel's earth tone even matches our house. The way things are going with the heat we might even purchase a second barrel to take even greater advantage of the occasional rainfall. The only downside is that we'll have to store them indoors or in the garage over winter.

Photo Safari at the National Aviary

I recently participated in a a photo safari at the National Aviary in Pittsburgh. The focus was on raptors. While I didn't garner any flight images, I added some beautiful portraits to my collection.

Lanner Falcon

Martial Eagle

Black Kite

Birding in Florida - Day 4

On our last day in Florida we headed to Six Mile Cypress Slough Preserve in Fort Myers. While less famous than the other reserves we visited, our walk was very fruitful. The 1.2 mile boardwalk began at the Gator Pond, where we indeed saw two immature alligators. Across the pond, a wood stork landed in a tree. Double-crested cormorants rested on a platform in the pond while we spotted a common moorhen at the water's edge just a few feet from our overlook. As the sun grew hotter, we were grateful that much of the boardwalk wended through the woods. At one overlook we were amazed to watch an anhinga as it beat a fish on a branch repeatedly, probably to make it easier to swallow. An ibis landed in a tree next to a pavilion surrounded by people, oblivious to them.
It was amazing how tame all the wildlife was. While I was glad that I was not carrying my tripod and long lens (due to exhaustion) I regretted that decision when we observed a pileated woodpecker hammering at a tree just a few feet from the boardwalk. Oh, hindsight!
All in all, we spotted: Great egret; wood stork; anhinga; double-breasted cormorant; alligator; common moorhen; red-bellied and pileated woodpecker; white ibis; vultures; turtle; and a water snake. I have never been able to identify two small species in the woods. Perhaps they were warblers.
All in all, this preserve was an unforgettable experience during an amazing trip.

At "Ding" Darling National Wildlife Refuge

On our third day in Florida, we headed to Sanibel Island to visit J.N. "Ding" Darling National Wildlife Refuge. We had hardly entered the refuge when we spotted a tricolored heron and a white ibis nearby. The day was hot and it was tempting to stay in the shade. Unfortunately, the shade also harbored tiny black insects that attacked my arms relentlessly. Oblivious to insect repellant, they drove me into the sunshine. That was the only low point during an otherwise amazing drive.

One overlook was especially fruitful, as we observed a large group of white pelicans on a sandbank, snowy egret, hooded and red-breasted mergansers, plovers, ring-billed gull, and cormorants. Fish were jumping out of the water and crabs moved on the bottom.

After a couple of hours, we realized that we had only covered a quarter of the wildlife drive. We then increased our pace and stopped less frequently. Before leaving the refuge, we spotted an immature alligator and, most excitingly, an osprey nest quite close to the road.

I had never before even seen an osprey, let alone one this close. What an amazing finale to our time at "Ding" Darling! After eating a nice lunch, we were too exhausted to check out other reserves on the island. That gives us a reason to return to Sanibel Island during our next trip.





Birding in Florida 2012

Last week, we spent several days in the Fort Myers area of Florida. On the second day, we headed to Corkscrew Swamp Sanctuary. We soon learned to join groups of people with binoculars. Our first surprise was a Pileated Woodpecker in a tree next to the shelter, entirely oblivious of people.

A red-shouldered hawk perched right about the boardwalk was another awe-inspiring moment. The boardwalk was quite long, and we were not used to the excessive heat. I finally decided to pack up my tripod, only to unpack it again after a couple of minutes. That was a wise decision, because the best was yet to come:

Great egrets and white ibises stalked in the shallow water right next to the boardwalk before this egret landed in a tree. It was amazing how tame all the wildlife was, including four alligator babies sunning themselves on a a log.

After six hours on the boardwalk, our tally was: red-bellied woodpecker, two pileated woodpeckers, tufted titmouse, catbird, black-and-white warbler, black-crowned night heron, swallow-tailed kite, turkey vulture, little blue heron, yellow-crowned night heron, and green heron. Besides the allegiators, we also observed zebra longwings (the state butterfly), cooters, and countless lizzards. Naturally, we also noted the vegetation, such as cypresses, pines, air plants, irises, and alligator plant. Best of all, there were no mosquitoes! It was truly a haven for nature lovers.



The Great Backyard Bird Count

I have participated in the Great Backyard Bird Count for a few years now. This year, it takes place from February 17 - 20. Anybody from beginner to bird expert can become a citizen scientist. Visit www.birdcount.org to explore past results, brush up on tricky bird IDs, or find out about local events. You can count birds for any length of time, as long as you count them at least 15 minutes a day. Once the count begins, you can submit your results online and watch the real-time uploads.
Get your binoculars and field guides ready and count birds! 

Bringing Nature Home

Since I am a public speaker covering backyard habitats, it is very important that I keep up on my reading about environmental topics. There are few books which have influenced my husband and me as much as Douglas W. Tallamy's "Bringing Nature Home: How You Can Sustain Wildlife with Native Plants."
This book is my bible now and I often mention it during my presentations. I can attest that we detect more and more insects in our yard, the more native plants we are planting.
Professor Tallamy discovered that our native insects cannot digest alien plants. Alien plants are any plants which were, accidentally or on purpose, introduced into the United States. These "aliens" often bring with them alien insects (e.g. the marmorated stinkbug as a recent example). Alien plants do not provide any host plants for native insects, and thus are not part of the natural food chain.
A large part of the book focuses on plants you should plant to create a healthy habitat. The back of the book lists the plants by geographical area.
I highly recommend this book to anyone who is interested in gardening.

Bird Feeding in Winter

This fall I finally decided to hang up a log that we purchased at a birding store a while ago. It has several cut-out holes to stash in food for woodpeckers and chickadees. I put some extra crunchy peanut butter in the holes and didn't have to wait long for takers. Downy and hairy woodpeckers love it and I can't refill it fast enough for them. It seems to be even more popular than the suet cake we put out.

Since winter has arrived here in western Pennsylvania with freezing temperatures and snow flurries it is particularly important to provide birds with the fuel they need to survive in this weather. Peanut butter or suet are just the ticket because of their nutritious content. You can also place nuts in the holes, but only if it isn't windy. Now sit back and enjoy the show from the warmth of your house.

Photographing a Chipmunk

Now I see you

Now I don't

Winter Birds Have Arrived

Fall brings many changes to the garden. The hues of leaves change every day and the last hummingbirds and Monarch butterflies have left our area weeks ago. In their stead, the dark-eyed juncos and white-throated sparrows have arrived from Canada. All birds have one thing in common: They want to stock up on food for the upcoming winter. Besides the sunflower seeds in our hopper feeder, peanut butter is a big hit with woodpeckers this year.

I am busy photographing the birds in our yard. Recently, I have also given a talk about "Attracting Birds to Your Yard" at the Pittsburgh Botanic Garden. It was the first time ever that I gave an open-air talk, at the site of the future garden. Afterward I participated in a guided tour of the Appalachian woods section of the park. I learned a lot about the differences between oaks and the requirements for different native plants--not a bad way to spend a gorgeous autumn day.

The Great Migration

The days are getting shorter and the temperatures are dropping. Butterflies will soon be a memory for us here in Pennsylvania. For the past couple of weeks we have spotted quite a few Monarch butterflies stopping at our goldenrod and asters to fuel up on nectar before flitting in the direction of the South. It is time for their migration to the mountains of Mexico. I am sad to see them leave, but I realize that they would never survive during our winters. So I marvel at their beauty and the fact that such small, delicate looking creatures can fly all the way to Mexico to their winter quarters. It will be a long time before we'll see the first Monarch of the year here in the North. By that time, they will be several generations removed from their wintering ancestor. They need nectar along their journey, and milkweed plants to use as host plants for their eggs. If you want to ensure their survival, please plant milkweed plants in your yard.

Red Chokeberry

Last year, we added a red chokeberry (Aronia arbutifolia) 'Brilliantissima' cultivar to our front yard because of its beautiful fall color. I had also hoped that the birds would devour the red berries. At least, that was my plan until I learned that its berries have a very astringent taste. To protect it from the rabbits, we put a wire cage around it.
Last week, I spotted two unfamiliar caterpillars on it. The green monster above is the larva of a Polyphemus Moth. I watched it daily as it munched on the leaves of our little chokeberry, wondering whether there would be any leaves left to turn red in the fall. I need not worry anymore. Yesterday, I saw with dismay that another animal - most likely a deer - had eaten almost all ripe berries and for dessert, had chewed off quite a few little twigs.
When left alone, the chokeberry gets to be about 8 feet tall and 4 feet wide. It can take dry to moist soil and sun and partial sun. Spring flowers are white and only last a few days. All in all, the chokeberry is a versatile addition to any native garden, provided that you don't have deer in your neighborhood.