A Common Gardeners Guide to a Bird's Basic Needs... Part One

A bird's basic needs are very similar to ours.
Food, clean water, shelter, and a safe place to raise their young.
When we started looking into creating a Certified Wildlife Area here in our yard, we found that we were providing most of these needs already! We had a bird bath and feeders... trees were everywhere... we were set to go so we thought :)
Then we started looking deeper into the lives of a bird. Here are a few of our discoveries broken down into a two-part series. Part one will cover 'Food' and 'Water'.


First off, water is huge to a bird. They must bathe in order to keep their feathers perfect for flight and warmth. Clean water is vital for drinking of course, but they aren't good decision makers when it comes to a source. Oil slicked water puddles right smack dab in the middle of the road is just fine with them if there is no other source. Then they need to spend even more vital energy preening the filth off of their feathers.
How could one birdbath supply enough area for all of the birds that visit our yard? Water also needed to be provided year-round, so we had to plan for a heat source. The small heated bird bath became fouled too quickly with so many birds bathing. Then we expected them to drink from it too.

Pond number one was built out front :)

No more bathing in the street! The upper part was made shallow so the birds could splash around without fear of falling in the deeper water. The sound of water drew in lots of birds, frogs, and small mammals. Plus it soothes troubles away for us stressed out humans too ;) Doesn't need to be big, and you can add different features in stages. This one started out as a very inexpensive kit (under 125.00 for everything including pump and fall components) purchased at Home Depot. We added the rock and lighting a couple of years later. Considering a heated bird bath can set you back 89.00 plus shipping, this is another option.


Next up, food. We had feeders with various seeds hanging in a few areas... but what about natural sources of food? What if we are gone on vacation? Would 'our' birds go without or leave because of a lack of food? How about adaptation? We don't want generation after generation of birds and mammals teaching their young to depend totally on our seed and suet offerings and fail to learn the art of foraging on their own...

The addition of natural food sources for our friends became a priority. After much research and observation here is what we discovered.

Insects are vital... if we kill all of the insects with broad-range insecticides, we totally remove a food source for the birds. Worse yet, if they ingest enough of the dead or dying insects that have been exposed to the insecticides, they could be harmed themselves. Then if a predator consumes the bird that was poisoned... and so on... the problem could travel up the entire food chain! This problem extends indoors too. Trying to rid your garage or shed of vermin? Please avoid poisons if at all possible. Mice eat the poison, and then head for a water source. Most water sources are outdoors. If an alert raptor picks up that poisoned mouse to take home to his babies, then the poison is now inside the tiny raptor baby. This may not seem like a big deal, but researchers are finding that it has really has an impact. Please remember that once again the poison is attractive to more than just the specific creature that you are trying to remove too. Precious pets, chipmunk, squirrel, moles, and voles for example :(

Organic was the way to go for us.

I wanted our yard to be a haven for wildlife. A safe place where they could eat, rest, and raise their young. Have we lost plants when we were starting out? Yes. Until the natural balance of the garden is restored, there will be losses. Slugs the size of my hand <shudder> destroyed countless perennials. I watched as the leaves on my prized plants disappeared overnight. Squirrels destroyed the remaining plants before they could bloom, and consumed/destroyed feeder after feeder of seed.
Then as time went by, I noticed a change. A regime change was happening in my garden. There were a few new commanders in town! Fox, opossum, raccoon, and owl ruled the night. Hungry insect-eating birds ruled the day. Plucking those nasty little things off the plant leaves and plopping them in the feeder tray, or better yet, having a bird catch it in mid-air was awesome! No chemicals needed, just my hands. Pretty soon the birds came begging when I was out gardening :)
Little by little the plants started to thrive. Nesting owls controlled the squirrel and mice population (with a little help from the fox I suppose).
Did you know that the humble opossum is one of the largest slug eaters? He thinks they are yummy :) How about Northern Flickers? They can have an ant colony consumed in one afternoon! Carolina Wren, House Wren, Finches, Northern Cardinals, American Robin, Catbirds, Thrush, Warblers... all voracious insect eaters. Beneficial insects will return once the poison is gone. Praying Mantis, Ladybugs, Assassin Bugs... they are like our tiny little garden guardians!
Try not to worry about the birds eating the good bugs, it happens, but it's all a part of the balance that we are trying to create.

Brown Thrasher looking for yummy bugs...

American Robin finding a few nesting supplies...

 The Grey Catbird is another hungry insect eater!

 We can't forget little turtle here... Yes, he helps rid the garden of slugs and many other slow moving grubs. Isn't he adorable? He was so tiny... What a little blessing!

Yes... This is how it is around here :)

Next up... Nectar... we of course love to feed the Hummingbirds. The nectar feeders are a huge source,
but like my last blog post mentioned, they love natural sources even more. Try to find a place for some honeysuckle (maintained because it can and will become invasive), hosta (leave the flowers please, that is a hummers paradise), and all kinds of Salvia. That sweet nectar not only brings the hummers, it also brings the insects... which in turn brings the birds :)

'Foxglove' Digitalis Purpurea...
Beautiful but deadly. Please note that every part of this plant is poisonous. Care should be taken with children and pets, and make sure you wash your hands well before touching your face or food. Also an interesting note is that the pollen from this plant has been found on neighboring plants with an alarming 80% rate of toxin. No edible plants near-by this beauty please.
(The name might sound familiar because a widely used heart drug by the name of 'Digitalis' was derived from the toxin)

 Campanula 'Cherry Bells'

'Raspberry Wine' Monarda
aka:
Bee Balm, Bergamot, Horsemint
Ever heard of 'Earl Grey' tea? This plant is what gives it that distintive flavor and scent :)
When you rub the leaves you can release that lovely scent too!
Bees and hummers absolutely adore it.

Ahhh... Here we go. Hummers paradise that I was talking about earlier. Hosta blooms. Most people I know grow Hosta for the intricate and beautiful leaves. The gardeners that mentored me even went as far as to removing the 'unattractive' flowers that took away from the leaves beauty...
Please refrain from doing that if you are trying to draw in hummingbirds. We had close to twenty in the back shade garden last year :) They were going from flower pod to flower pod, hovering below the plant, and feeding from deep inside. Little heads were just buried in the petal cups. That was an awesome sight!

Next up... Seeds and Berries! There's nothing quite like seeing a flock of Cedar Waxwings or American Robin descend upon a berry covered tree that you planted just for them. There are so many to choose from too! Choke Berry, American Holly, Inkberry, Viburnum... Please note that in some species you must provide a male for every few females in order to pollinate for berry production.
Please leave the seed heads on your Coneflowers and Rudbeckia! Oh how they adore those cones! Goldfinch especially :) They will cling to the stem and eat every seed there. Sometimes you'll find several eating at the same time even! They look like bright gold flowers themselves perched up there so gracefully.


Our first pond grew to a second pond that is three times larger. For areas that can't handle a pond, we added a trickle feature to the birdbath. Once you see the various species and the large number of birds that just the sound of water draws in you'll be amazed.
Providing for our feathered friends becomes a sort of life-style after a while :)


Thank you for following along on our adventure!
Up next is safe shelters and places to raise young.
See you all next week!

A visit to the Avalon Jetty...

There are so many beautiful places to visit here in Jersey.

We decided to visit Avalon before the Winter birds left for their Summer homes. 

Much to our delight, thousands of birds have gathered in preparation to leave!

It's still pretty cold here right on the water so we hunkered down on the rock and observed all of the species behavior for a while. 

Hundreds of Purple Sandpiper pecked around the green algae

Thousands of Dunlin rested on the rocks

Six Common Loon fished and floated on the blue water

Ruddy Turnstone mingled with the Purple Sandpiper

Nearly fifty Long-Tailed Duck courted shamelessly right off of the rocks

Seen but not photographed:

Northern Gannet

Red Throated Loon

Lots of Gull

Red Breasted Merganser

Black Scoter

Common Eider

It was a lovely day spent with our Winter feathered friends :)

Stay safe enroute to your Summer homes, and we'll hopefully see you in the Fall!

Patiently Waiting...

It's almost that time of year again!
Hummingbirds will be arriving soon here on the Jersey Shore :)

Now is a good time to get ready for their arrival!
Here are a few tips for attracting and caring for these little beauties.

~ Store bought 'nectar' is not only expensive, but in some cases unhealthy for the birds. Make your own instead! The recipe is a 1/4 ratio, meaning 1 part sugar to 4 parts water. Leftover solution should be refrigerated. Please leave the red dye out of your mixture. It is not needed :)

~ Feeders should be changed every 4-5 days in cooler weather, even more often if the sun is beating down on it. Hummers will often avoid a rancid food source (something to check if you see your numbers dropping), but if they have few other nectar choices available, they will eat from the spoiled feeder. It doesn't take a lot of bacteria to make something so small, very sick. Also note that insects spoil the feed quickly. There are ant guards available, and once the other insects start invading there are port guards that work wonderfully.

~ Consider adding a few window feeders if you would like to view them up close. There is a suction cupped wooden hanger that is just the right size to hold a full feeder securely.

~ Do you garden? If given the choice, hummers prefer natural food sources. They dearly love Hosta, Azalea, Honeysuckle, Salvia, Monarda (Bee Balm), Mint, Trumpet Vine, Sedum, Butterfly Bushes, and lots of other blooming flowers.

~ If you have hummer bullies that guard 'their' feeder and will let no others come near, try putting several feeders that are not within eyesight of each other. This will help ease those territory battles that tend to ensue around July-August.

~ Did you know that hummingbirds are voracious insect eaters? They have to have the protein that the insects provide. Please keep this in mind when you spray insecticides. Unfortunately broad-range insecticides are not selective to the particular insect that you are trying to combat. It takes a very minimal amount of poison to harm these little ones. Perhaps try organic gardening! It's not only healthier for the beneficial insects like bees and for wildlife that might consume poisoned prey...but it's also a lot healthier for humans too. Our children (those with and without fur) shouldn't breathe or be in contact with poison either!

~ If you live in their breeding area, try to watch where they head after feeding. If you can spot the tree they head to, try scanning the branches (with bins, please do not ever attempt to approach a nest). Their nests are tiny and sort of look like a clump of lichen or moss. A nest will usually hold two little Tic-Tac sized eggs :) When they hatch they will only be an inch long. Mama will take care of the little ones all by herself, feeding them regurgitated insects and nectar every 20 minutes. She will even scare the male away because his brightly colored feathers could catch a predators eye.

ID alert~~~ :)


~ There is a particular insect that we often mistake as a hummingbird. It's a species of moth that is called a 'Hummingbird Moth'. These moths tend to visit the same flowers as the hummers, so at a glance they might appear similar. Here is a picture of a Hummingbird Moth sipping from a Butterfly Bush:

We had several in the garden last year. Every time they darted by, I'd have to take a second glance to make sure!


An often over-looked part of enjoying wildlife and nature in our environment is the responsibility we take on when we provide food, water, and shelter. We must keep the feeders, bird baths, and bird houses clean and safe. It is also vital to consider our wildlife friends when we try to remove pests from our homes and gardens.
They give us so much pleasure :) It's the least we can do to thank them.


Thank you so much for reading about our smallest bird! We are blessed to be able to enjoy their presence in our lives. They are proof that the greatest blessings in this life are sometimes the smallest :)

Here is a wonderful tracking chart that you can use to monitor how soon the Ruby Throated Hummingbirds will arrive at your location:

http://www.hummingbirds.net/map.html

Make sure to report your first arrival! If you would, please let me know too :) I'd love to hear from you!

The Lake...

Yesterday was just perfect for visiting our local lake.

Puffy clouds floated across the brilliant blue sky...

The water was just choppy enough to make it interesting...

A beautiful male Mute Swan was swimming off the opposite shore...

Just gorgeous.

We stood admiring the view as the cold wind whipped across the lake. There wasn't a lot of bird activity. A few Canada Geese were on the shore to the right of us, a flock of Bufflehead flew over, and three Great Blue Heron were way over on the other side. The temps were dropping so we decided to take a few more shots and head home. Suddenly we spotted a large bird soaring pretty high up, looked closely, and saw that it was a gorgeous adult Bald Eagle! The sun made his white head feathers just glow. He came closer and closer, but then turned and flew off over the trees. In our wishing for him to fly close enough for a shot, we managed to navigate right to the waters mucky edge. I wear Birkenstocks all year so I was fretting over the fact that my feet were half-way sunk in the cold muck. I heard Zak say 'Uh-oh, there's it's mate', looked up and here is both a male and female swan heading quickly toward us. Here I am, camera around my neck, feet in the muck, trying to slowly back away from a huge male swan (in full breeding presentation, so he looked HUGE) that decided that we were there to harm his female.
So we thought.
As I was avoiding eye contact and slowly backing away I noticed the Canada Geese spooked to the right of me. So did the Great Blues. Then the Bufflehead and Mallards.
It's amazing how you notice everything in great detail when you bird isn't it?
By this time the swan have both positioned themselves about two feet from us and are looking toward the sky. There doesn't seem to be any hostility... they made eye contact with us and began to eat at the waters edge near our feet. Every few seconds they would look at the sky toward the left and hiss.

We took a few pics thinking they were just very friendly swan.

After about fifteen minutes we turned once again to leave and the swan followed us almost frantically. This was really strange and I started to worry that the park rangers might think we were illegally feeding them.

The rest of the lake had become strangely quiet too...


Suddenly three large birds appeared :)

Mr. Bald Eagle was cooking supper this evening and evidently a large bird at the lake was just what he had on the menu. He had spotted his dinner choice the first time he flew over. I guess dining in was an option too because he brought his family along with him this time.
We watched as they slowly circled the lake. What a glorious sight to behold...
By this time I thought the swan were going to climb into our arms! All photo taking had ceased. We were in protective mode I guess. The swan would look at us, the sky, back to us again... and edge closer and closer to us.

These weren't just friendly swan...
These were extremely intelligent swan :)
They weren't headed in to attack us, they were heading in for the protection that we as humans could provide for them.
They knew that the predators circling their lake would not approach people, so they wanted to be as close to us as they possibly could be.
I've heard of birds behaving like this before, but I've never witnessed it first hand. I've found that there are times where you can look deep into a bird's eyes and almost feel what they are thinking. Their eyes give them a voice that we can understand if we look and listen closely. This is the reason I photograph so many birds with their eyes in focus :)

When the threat was gone, our friends once again looked into our eyes... the male fluffed his magnificent feathers (a beautiful sound in and of itself)...
they both bowed their heads to us...

and they slowly swam away :)

Welcome 2013 :) We've been waiting for you!

I sat myself down today and decided what direction I will take with several areas of my life. New Years does that to me for some reason. It seems like such a time of renewal and hope. Lets see if I can keep this feeling longer than I usually do ;)
The 'Birding' aspect stays pretty much the same. This year I would like to attempt to photo document each species on my count list though.
The 'Photography' aspect changes directions significantly. The 'artistic' viewpoint will be more of a focus area for me. A dear friend told me something a few days ago that started me thinking down this path :) Thank you for that Szimy.  I will not be adhering to a specific genre. I will not limit myself to a certain style. I will shoot something every day whether I feel like it or not. I will let my emotions show through my work.
The 'Social Networking' aspect will change slightly. I've met wonderful people across the various sites I frequent. Life changing relationships have been formed, and for that I'm thankful. What I will attempt to do this year is to realize that not everyone will like me... and I don't have to strive to change their mind, or be upset because they don't. I will learn to watch out for those that pretend as though they do care, but I will not harden my heart so that someone who really does can't get in :)
The 'Self-Promotion' aspect... Whew. This one I have difficulty with. I struggle with a fine line of feeling arrogant or self absorbed and perhaps annoying to my friends (huge fear) and the need to show my work on the public platform. I will work on this by promoting in other areas and in different forms.

So.
Those are my goals.
Not too lofty because I never achieve those and it's a bit depressing when I give up two days in.
Please follow along, and feel free to give me a nudge if you see one of these aspects being ignored. I won't get upset. I promise ;)


Happy 2013 Everyone.

Well this is new...

Hmmm...
Blogging.
What an interesting concept to me.
People actually interested in what I have to say, see, do, feel, watch, think...