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.
LOL! He was sitting on an 'X' of branches about 15 feet up the tree.
I'll see if I can get a better one in the next couple of days if I can talk hubby into leaving the camera home. :)
Here's another I took Monday. We have several pairs of Mourning Doves. Not particularly attractive to look at, but their soft *cooing* is rather relaxing.
Nice picture. The sun caught her feathers just right. I enjoy the Mourning Doves. They are entertaining. I have several of them. I have a couple that apparently don't know they are supposed to be ground feeders and will fly up to the feeder. One of them will sprawl herself out in the feeder and won't let the other birds eat until she's good and ready to leave. The other birds will just hang out and look confused and wait for her to get done.
Morning glories are pretty, but after a while they have, for me anyway, kind of taken over too much. I get where I cut back on the every day. When you have to have a machete to hack your way out every morning thier too much:). That was my second year. This year I'm going with about 2 seeds:)
The blue ones don't make as many leaves at the other colors. It's good to mix them a bit. The colored ones have a fuzzy leaf and stem, the blue ones are not fuzzy.
Morning glories need lots of sun, and the less fertile the soil the more flowers they produce. So don't fertilize them. The flowers will attract hummingbirds too.
Becky
I don't think they will be as prolific in my zone. I did grow them a few years back by seed and they looked good. It was a pack or more of them. They didn't get very big though. Since you said that, I'm thinking, I planted them in to fertile of soil. I have to try to find a place outside of the garden soil.
See on the left how there are very few leaves at the bottom of the arbor, that is the side I planted the blue ones on. The other side I planted red ones. The red ones make more leaves and are bushier.
Becky
Becky
I don't start mine in the house either. They just grow really well here. We have very very poor, rocky soil. I do water them often, just no fertilizer and no rich soil.
Thanks too for the compliment. I really enjoyed my garden the last few years.
Becky
It's a type of coleus. I had about 6 different types last year. I've figured out what I like best and that is what I'm planting this year:)
Becky
I have a three-sided porch off the deck. I have decorated it with old pots, pans and utensils. A couple of years ago, two Carolina wrens used one skillet to crawl under and roost at night.
LOL...I had to leave for work before they even got up. All I could see were their tails hanging down.
What a great way to start the day to see those little tails hanging out! Clever birds.
My daughter bought me a bird house for Christmas this year, It's red, with what sort of looks like a license plate as the roof.
I was thinking of hanging it in my garden in front of the windows of my house so I can see it from the house and garden.
Questions:
1. Is that too close to the house to get birds to come to it?
2. Should I put any hay/straw/etc. in it or leave it empty?
Becky
Hi Becky
I haven't had much luck with my bird houses. I can't give you expert advice, that's for sure.
I changed locations of my houses last year. One mistake I made was having the Wren house with a copper roof in the sun. I wasn't thinking about the heat in there. I also had a couple to close to the feeding area.
What type of bird is the house for? As far as how close it is it would depend on the bird. Some birds will have no problem nesting nearby a house. My friend, who isn't even into birds, had Chickadees only about 10 feet from her back door in a decorative house. Another year she had Blue Jays in a tree near her back door. I have houses and haven't been that lucky yet ;)
I brought metal openings (I forget what the name is for them) to cover my houses entrance holes to make it sized for Titmice and Chickadees. We have House Sparrows around sometimes. One year we had Wrens in a house and the House Sparrows took over and broke all the Wrens eggs. I'm hoping this year for Wrens, Chickadees or Titmice. I would be thrilled.
LOL! What a sweet looking bird and smart too!
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