The joy of roses. The Morden Snowberry is covered in floppy white blooms, the inestimable Winnipeg Parks is still producing one hot magenta rose after another and the Explorers bring out a few pink blossoms every week. The rose hips will attract birds later in the winter but for now the bright red hips of the Red Leafed Rose are as brilliant as flowers. Around town, many Hansa Roses are still blooming albeit weakly. Their leaves will be the last things to drop with the frost, expected any day now.
This is also PG Hydrangea time. These shrubs are aThunder Bay fav. and every garden should have one just to pick up the spirits this time of year. Many people buy Annabelle hydrangeas with their enormous flower heads but they need winter protection and even so....
My garden is full of birds plus the odd squirrel. I heard that a Thunder Bay guy has been trapping the big black squirrels and releasing them out of town. Is this legal? I hope so. I prefer the tiny native red guys over the muscle bound Toronto newcomers.
There are so many birds around I've set up a fourth bird bath. By far, the birds prefer baths on the ground and they like the blue ceramic saucer the best. Perhaps the colour attracts them. My new bath is a child's snow saucer, purple in colour. I have also bought a device that keeps the water moving in a bird bath. This repels mosquitoes who lay eggs in stagnant water and attracts birds who are attracted to moving water.
I have started to move the bird feeders closer to the house so that they can be seen from the porch window in the winter.
I will also put out the bird bath heater and leave it for a few months. But once it gets really cold (below minus fifteen or so) the heater will not work and the bath freezes solid. Even a kettle of boiling water doesn't do much good.
I have made some high energy seed cakes to put out in the special holders once the frosts sets in. Recipe next post.
Tip: If you believe in prayer, say one to the goddess of gardens for early and deep snow for all northern gardens. Perform a hex to keep away the devil's work - no snow and the mercury deep down in the thermometer's socks.
Showing posts with label birdbaths. Show all posts
Showing posts with label birdbaths. Show all posts
Sunday, 21 September 2008
Tuesday, 29 April 2008
ATTRACTING BIRDS
Even in this cold weather, the birds are patrolling my garden. I see the house sparrows moving thought the beds and the starlings checking out the lawn. They are eating seeds, thousands of seeds. They are the most efficient weed prevention machines known. A cranky nay-sayer may remark that the seeds are shat out the nether end of said birds but not all seeds. The seeds are food and so are digested, or most of them anyway.
I use birds as the first line of defense against insect pests and excess weeds. They don’t get everything but they get a lot. This means I keep spraying and weeding to a minimum. Here are five ways to attract birds.
1. Birds like thickly planted gardens, the English country garden style. I learned this on a bird watching trip to the village of Grande Isle in Louisiana, a town famous for its birds. As we walked around the tiny houses, birds were everywhere and I noted that few of the citizens did much in the way of gardening or landscaping. Bushes and trees grew thickly around each cottage. However, away from the village, in an up-scale suburb, where gardeners were manicuring the lawns and garden beds, no birds were to be seen. The moral is plain – birds like tangle, lots of different plants.
2. Birds need water. This is even more important than feeders. They like shallow water only a few inches deep. Mostly they like a bird bath on the ground. I have five bird baths. The blue ceramic bath on a stand is an attractive feature of the garden but it is the least popular with the birds. The plain old plant saucers filled with water are used all the time. I even use a scavenged snow saucer as a bird bath – perrrfect! If the bath is too deep, put a brick or stone in for the birds to stand on.
3. Keep the cat inside. Tell your neighbours to keep their cat inside. It is estimated each outdoor cat kills thirty-five birds per summer. It is illegal for cats to run at large in Thunder Bay. Mention this fact often in the neighbourhood. Take feral cats to the Pound. Cats not only chase away birds, they crap in the garden and dig up plants.
4. Birds like insects, seeds and berries. They like native plants but in my garden they are not fussy. The gobble all the seeds from my lilacs over the winter. They feast on the seeds of the delphiniums. They hide out in the cedar trees. They strip all the berries from the Mountain Ash, the high bush cranberry and the nanny berry. They wait until the crab apples are frozen into pulp and then eat them. The moral is to leave the seeds on the plants. I have seen birds chow down on the honeysuckle berries and pick off the aphids at the same time. Most bird species have their favourite food, but many are omnivores who will take anything. I have seen humming birds catching mosquitoes. I have noted chipping sparrows hanging around the outdoor light taking moths. (note – moths lay eggs which become caterpillars which eat my shrubs – so “Go Chippers!”)
5. A bird is a bird is a bird. Some people like robins and chickadees but hate crows or starlings or grackles or house sparrows. Black coloured birds are often disparaged as are blue jays, so pushy at the bird feeders, so noisy. Gulls are hated as well, even though, in Thunder Bay, they do a wonderful job cleaning up garbage. Without them, we would be up to our fannies in trash. Grackles, black iridescent beauties, eat slugs; therefore, they are my favourite birds. True they are not melodious, but I forgive them. Get those slugs, boys! Sparrows and starlings eat tons of seeds. Chickadees will eat anything, insects, seeds – even a dead mouse. Sometimes, visitors arrive. Bohemian waxwings visit my neighbour’s crab apple tree. Some people are blessed with evening or pine grosbeaks. I have had myrtle warblers, juncos, pine siskins and goldfinches drop in from time to time. The wonderful white throated sparrow sings in spring with it’s “I love Ca-na-da, Ca-na-da” song Birds and gardens go together like bees and blooms. They help create the living work of art which is a garden.
I use birds as the first line of defense against insect pests and excess weeds. They don’t get everything but they get a lot. This means I keep spraying and weeding to a minimum. Here are five ways to attract birds.
1. Birds like thickly planted gardens, the English country garden style. I learned this on a bird watching trip to the village of Grande Isle in Louisiana, a town famous for its birds. As we walked around the tiny houses, birds were everywhere and I noted that few of the citizens did much in the way of gardening or landscaping. Bushes and trees grew thickly around each cottage. However, away from the village, in an up-scale suburb, where gardeners were manicuring the lawns and garden beds, no birds were to be seen. The moral is plain – birds like tangle, lots of different plants.
2. Birds need water. This is even more important than feeders. They like shallow water only a few inches deep. Mostly they like a bird bath on the ground. I have five bird baths. The blue ceramic bath on a stand is an attractive feature of the garden but it is the least popular with the birds. The plain old plant saucers filled with water are used all the time. I even use a scavenged snow saucer as a bird bath – perrrfect! If the bath is too deep, put a brick or stone in for the birds to stand on.
3. Keep the cat inside. Tell your neighbours to keep their cat inside. It is estimated each outdoor cat kills thirty-five birds per summer. It is illegal for cats to run at large in Thunder Bay. Mention this fact often in the neighbourhood. Take feral cats to the Pound. Cats not only chase away birds, they crap in the garden and dig up plants.
4. Birds like insects, seeds and berries. They like native plants but in my garden they are not fussy. The gobble all the seeds from my lilacs over the winter. They feast on the seeds of the delphiniums. They hide out in the cedar trees. They strip all the berries from the Mountain Ash, the high bush cranberry and the nanny berry. They wait until the crab apples are frozen into pulp and then eat them. The moral is to leave the seeds on the plants. I have seen birds chow down on the honeysuckle berries and pick off the aphids at the same time. Most bird species have their favourite food, but many are omnivores who will take anything. I have seen humming birds catching mosquitoes. I have noted chipping sparrows hanging around the outdoor light taking moths. (note – moths lay eggs which become caterpillars which eat my shrubs – so “Go Chippers!”)
5. A bird is a bird is a bird. Some people like robins and chickadees but hate crows or starlings or grackles or house sparrows. Black coloured birds are often disparaged as are blue jays, so pushy at the bird feeders, so noisy. Gulls are hated as well, even though, in Thunder Bay, they do a wonderful job cleaning up garbage. Without them, we would be up to our fannies in trash. Grackles, black iridescent beauties, eat slugs; therefore, they are my favourite birds. True they are not melodious, but I forgive them. Get those slugs, boys! Sparrows and starlings eat tons of seeds. Chickadees will eat anything, insects, seeds – even a dead mouse. Sometimes, visitors arrive. Bohemian waxwings visit my neighbour’s crab apple tree. Some people are blessed with evening or pine grosbeaks. I have had myrtle warblers, juncos, pine siskins and goldfinches drop in from time to time. The wonderful white throated sparrow sings in spring with it’s “I love Ca-na-da, Ca-na-da” song Birds and gardens go together like bees and blooms. They help create the living work of art which is a garden.
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