Posted on 02/12/2005 9:27:14 AM PST by sweetliberty
With Spring just around the corner, at least here in the southeast, it's time to think about spending more time outdoors and making our yards and porches more pleasant places to be. FReepers have such a wide variety of interests and talents, I thought it might be fun and educational to do a thread for bird and garden enthusiasts. I see a fair amount of discussion on some of the threads about gardening and landscaping, but not too much that is specific to gardening for the birds.
I've pretty much always had a bird feeder or two around, and that number has grown since I moved into a place last summer that has a big yard. I have a fair variety of birds and I have begun to think about developing it specifically to attract more species, not only for the enjoyment of watching the birds, but also to control natural pests that are prevalent in this part of the country, without resorting to pesticides. I know that the right combination of flora can discourage certain pests and also attract birds that will help keep the pest population down. I would love to hear from FReepers who are experienced at creating such a balance. I think it would also be fun to have a place to share our experiences as we develop them. I know there's lots of links out there with useful information and I make use of them from time to time, but it's just not the same as having discussions on a forum where we have experts on everything. And I don't know of any place else on the web so animated by wit, along with wisdom, on just about any topic.
This will be interesting. Especially for the wife, she loves her birds as I can attest to after having to run out in the freezing cold this morning to fill the feeder.
ping for later...I'm interested, too!
I own and run a 20ac garden center & nursery in southeast Pennsylvania, have several thousands pairs of nesting birds on the property's trees, and feed them 150-200lbs of seed a week, during the winter months.
Here's a great resource for birdfeeding:
http://www.birdfeeding.org/
Keep us informed, s. I'm interested...
LOL! Yeah, it's hard to believe they can eat so much. Seems I am constantly filling the feeders and there have been plenty of mornings I thought my fingers would freeze before I got done.
I've got the time and I've also got too darn much snow. Lets talk in April...... :)
Yeah; up north and parts west, Spring is still a ways off.
"Yeah; up north and parts west, Spring is still a ways off."
Maybe so but I have robins hopping around in the snow.
I think the Robins have been a bit confused this year. I've had them through the winter. I even have a regular at the bird feeder. Apparently nobody told him that Robins don't feed at birdfeeders...not typically anyway.
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Links to more info:
http://www.birdwatchersdigest.com/site/backyard_birds/gardening/garden_index.aspx
I live in New Hampshire, so what works in my garden may not be right for Arkansas.
Attracting birds to your yard is one way to control bad bugs. You can also attract good bugs (such as mason bees, small predator wasps, and ladybugs) to help out. In my neck of the woods, plants with small or composite flowers do the trick (such as herbs - thyme, dill, ... and certain wild plants (such as Queen Anne's Lace, elderberry, ...). Many of these plants also attract butterflies - a bonus!
A squirrelly plumber?
I don't know too much about the Martin houses, except that they like condos. I would be interested in what you find out though.
I've got Robins and Mockingbirds who have taken to feeders too. The pair of Mockingbirds watch for me to enter the yard and fly right to the spot on a tree where I spread peanut butter, waiting no more than a foot from me. It's amazing! This has been going on for a couple of years now. One of the Mockers flew into my 2nd floor bedroom once via an open window but that's another story.
I just had a pair of Red-wing Blackbirds show up this morning, and I have quite a variety of woodpeckers, some of them huge! Some of the woodpeckers and Chickadees all but ignore me when I approach the feeders. Most of the others stay pretty close by. The Cardinals remain timid. There are a lot of them. I've never had so many Cardinals in one yard, that I remember, at least not since I was a kid. My great-grandma had a perfect garden and an incredible number and variety of birds.
Wow! And I thought I went through a lot! Good thing you get it wholesale! That's a lot of birds.
I'm not really sure what to plant, partly because I'm not sure yet what I already have. This will be my first Spring in this place and I may not be able to identify some of the plants and shrubbery until it leafs out, or even blooms. I'd like to plant a Dogwood, but it wouldn't flower this year. I also would like to attract Cedar Waxwings. They seem to be kind of fickle little birds, but very enjoyable to watch. I know they are native to the area and they eat berries of some sort. I haven't seen any since I lived in Georgia.
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