grandpasrose
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Year Round Birds

Although we plant perennials, annuals and shrubs, as well as having numerous types of bird friendly trees, we also do much more to encourage the birds to our little part of the world. We have numerous bird feeders, (I don't even know how many we have anymore!), and several bird baths, as well as the pond. The birds just love to play in the waterfall! We even have a mated pair of mallard ducks nest in our yard every spring and swim in our little pond with their babies every year for the last four.

But there are things that can be done to help the birds even in the cold winter months (some of us have it colder than others).
- We leave the crabapples on our tree - the birds use it as a tasty treat, and there is not one left to be found by spring!
- We also continue to fill our feeders, and ensure that there is one birdbath left with open water in it by using a small heater in it.

Also, when it is quite cold, the birds need all the energy they can get to keep warm. We make a special mix of suet and seed that we put out, and the birds - especially the different varieties of woodpeckers we have - love it, and always seem to know where to come when it gets cold!
We end up making quite a bit of it by the end of winter, but so enjoy seeing all the different types of birds using our place as a refuge, that it is worth it.

The recipe is:
- 3 cups rendered suet
- 1.5 cups peanut butter
- 1.5 cups corn meal
- 3-4 cups of various bird seed (we use whatever we have - sunflower seed, millet, wild bird mix, even oats, natural cereals and other grains we have in the cupboard!)

Mix all three ingredients into the suet - it is easier if you do this while it is warm - and then place in a pan to freeze, to be cut up later. We press ours in greased 4"X4"X1.5" plastic storage containers and then the blocks fit perfectly into the wire cages you can get to hang suet blocks.

Try it - it takes a while for the birds to know it's there, but then they expect it and it's fun to see all of them!
Remember though, if you begin feeding birds in the colder months, they may become dependent on you, and so you must continue until it is spring or they may starve.
Hope somebody has as much fun with the birds all year round as we do!! :wink:
VAL

opabinia51
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You can also plant bushes in your garden that bear "year round fruit." Feeds the birds and keeps a bit of colour in your yard through the winter.

The Helpful Gardener
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I like all those ideas, but I like planting better better and here's why...

Here in the Northeast, we see cardinals as a winter constant; there was one point two years back where I counted 6 pairs at my feeder. But seeing these was a treat when I was a kid, and if you go back to old bird books from the 30's and 40's, they're listed as an occasional at best, and out of range for Connecticut. What gives?

Feeding with sunflower seed, a preferred source for cardinals, has allowed them to prosper far out of range. Now don't get me wrong here, I'm not comparing cardinals with invasive species, I am just illustrating what man can do with seemingly harmless behaviors to effect major changes in a biosystem.

By doing as Opa suggests and planting native forms that provide seasonal food sources, you support native populations without interjecting the human factor. I love cardinals, but when I see those six pairs I have to wonder if someone else is going hungry because of a less agressive habit, or being moved out of range because of competition for nesting sites. So the most ecologically friendly thing you can do to feed your feathered friends is plant bird plants. Sort of a forte of mine, so I could help figure out your needs if you are in North America, and I'm willing to help with research for elsewhere (I also have some great contacts at the National Wildlife Federation, so I can get those questions answered. Keep them coming!

Scott

Papa2mykids
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Hi there,

I'm Ron and new to this forum.

I noticed you mentioned Cardinals. Cardinals were once a deep south bird only. Cardinals have followed man north and west to the Great plains. You notice your book of the 40's mentions them as rare up North yet now they are common.
Same holds true with the tuffted titmouse. if you don't have them yet, wait a few years.
Cardinals, like robins have benifited from the expannsion of humans.

Ron

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Thanks Ron. Titmice are another one that I have known all my life, btu the principle is indeed the same...

HG

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My favorite bird plant is serviceberry; it flowers early, attracting insects that the birds eat (and it looks great even before dogwoods). Then it sets berries for summer, just before migration. Plus the shrubby habit of this tree is perfect for nesting...

HG

Papa2mykids
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Amelanchier (serviceberry) are nice. A native plant for all seasons. Beautiful in the fall and nice gray bark shows in the white of winter.

Berries are edible if you can get some before the birds do.

Ron

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Sure are. These were the berries the Indians used to mix with ground dried deer meat to make pemmican (where the name serviceberry comes from). And darn tootin' about the fall color; one of the best in our native pallette (matches nicely with it's kissin' cousin chokeberry (Aronia arbutifolia is the red one and A. melanocarpa, the black chokeberry. You even get a choice of berry color). Good substitutes for invasive burning bush...

Scott

Papa2mykids
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Scott, you are good.

Another common name for serviceberry in MI is Juneberry. Also understand they are called shadblows also in the New England area.

Ron

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Sure are: they are the surest sign that shad are running (even with the flukey weather it still is spot on; when they flower, the fish show up. Accurate to 24 hours; honest injun...).

Lots of confusion on this one as there is considerable interspecific breeding. A. arborea and A. laevis are more tree like while A. alnifolia and A. canadensis (my usual culprit 'round here) are more shrubby, There are Asian, Pacific, and ground cover species, as well as some natural and nursery hybridization...

Long story short, they can look a lot alike, so find one close to what you see in your woods... :wink:

Scott

Papa2mykids
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Nursery I work at is good at getting and selling only native serviceberries.

Yes, there are a few different species. The clumping look is one of the attractions to these beauties.

Rain here today, been a different sort of winter.

Ron

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40mph winds with gusts of 60. Sidways buckets for an hour. By four o'clock, sunshine and birds and warm. Lost a few houses at the nursery. Bizarre...

Pop, what nursery do you work at? I'm at Prides Corner Farms in Connecticut.

HG

Papa2mykids
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I work at Fruit Basket Flowerland. A locally owned 3 store outfit.

I'm in the seasonal dept. Annuals, perenniels, bird supplies yard and garden art. Also help out some in the nursery in the summer when needed.
I like playing with ther flowers and bird stuff the best.

Ron.

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I'll be at CENTS; any chance you're going? 'Spect you did Mid-AM?

Annuals is a weak spot for me; you'll have to school me...

Scott

Papa2mykids
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There are so many annuals and new ones every year it seems. I enjoy helping customers plant for birds. Annuals like salvias and tender perennials like lantana and sages are great for hummers.
Zinnias are greast for bird feed and if you ever see hummers hanging around zinnias, they are eating tiny bugs.
I'm fortunate that I can put my two passions in one job.

Any questions, I'll try to help you out

Ron

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How are you on native annuals? Discovered wild Bidens down south this tear and fell in love. What's up in your neck of the woods?

HG

Papa2mykids
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Very weak on wild annuals, still need to learn more on what is a flower and what is a weed per say.............. I know many things are weeds, but don't know what is considered if you know what I mean.

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Yeah, sure., I like that definition that if you don't want it there, it's a weed. I dig them out of friends yards where they are weeds and move them to mine where they are native perennials. Go figure :roll: ...

Scott

grandpasrose
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Then there's the ones that are noxious or on the dangerous plants list, but they have a pretty flower, so everyone digs them up and plants them at home! :roll:

Val

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Lythrum, chicory, Queen Anne's lace (actually a good butterfly plant so I don't mind it so much) chives, ajuga, tawny daylilies, fleabane and a host of others that we have become so familiar with in our all too infrequent trip into Nature that we think of them as ours. The insects and birds are not nearly so adaptive, and when these non-natives replace plants they count on, we begin to get habitat degradation.

It is up to us as gardeners to police ourselves as the alternative is the kind of laws we are seeing passed in New England. Scenarios like the SOD scare of last spring are clear indication of the folly of moving masses of plant material over continental, or even national ranges. Plants from, and grown in your backyard are better for your environnment than non-natives. I think we can select and breed and I am in no way saying we should not have non-native plants in our garden. They simply must prove to be no danger to the public, and the public must include all the species in our biosphere. We are entirely unsure of how to manufacture a sealed ecosystem, so how can we begin to say what creature is unecessary, which plant is expendable?

Ask about invasive habit to any plant you buy, native or otherwise. Learn the different ecotypes for your area and who lives where. Provide food plants, shelter, water and cover. Your backyard is a valuable piece of property to you, make it a valuable piece of property to the birds and butterflies in your neighborhood...

Here's a group I've been working with lately, trying to reach 70,000 certified habitats for their 70th year. Check it out...

[url]https://www.nwf.org[/url]

opabinia51
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There are also perennial sunflowers that will provide both food and shelter for birds year round.

The Helpful Gardener
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Sure and Jerusalem artichokes need thinning at least once a year; you can feed yourself too :D

Back of the border though; bit rangey...

Scott

opabinia51
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Helianthus tuberosa (aka: Jerusalem Artichoke aka: Sunchoke aka: tastes really good!) is a perennial sunflower but the one I was thinking of (just came to me... the name) is Helianthus maximillani

It also provides a barrier against deer. And it has edible shoots.

Michigan2Iowa
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A desperate plea...

I know there are many out there that love visits to their bird feeders from cardinals, doves, etc., yet when they see a predatory hawk or falcon they install deterrents or even :shock: shoot at :shock: these important members of the aviary ecosystem.

Please remember that migratory and resident predatory species are important also. I know it is difficult for some to see a dove or songbird being captured by a red tail hawk...but please remember it is a part of nature's amazing circle of life. This is the time of the year when local Raptor Rehabilitation Centers see many "Bird Feeder Casualties". Please take a moment to study these majestic creatures. You can find a new appreciation for these truly remarkable (and honestly very skillful) creatures.

If you do see a hawk or raptor that has been harmed (or, sadly, killed) please report it to local authorities if for nothing less than to see if the bird has been tagged by the National Fish and Wildlife Service. Tracking the life cycle of predatory birds helps researchers to better understand the life cycles of these amazing creatures.

Thanks!
-Paul-

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Some of my favorite feeder moments were watching a little sharpie chase sparrows back and forth from the feeder to the rose bushes to the feeder to the rose bush to the feeder to the rose bush...

Predators are a necessary part of any ecosystem and birds are no exception. Paul raises an excellent point; thank you sir... 8)


Scott



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