Wren in Rome

We have been experiencing bone chillingly cold weather here in the Northeast these last few days, the kind where code blue alerts are issued and the newscasters tell you to keep all companion animals inside. Our home is not known for being particularly well-insulated - it is nearly 200 years old with windows as thin as a silver dollar, in fact, the other morning I awoke to a thick layer of ice on the inside of the one window not sealed with plastic for the season - but on these nights as I snuggle into bed with my four dogs and a cat surrounding me, my heart goes out to anyone with less, be they human or animal.

My mother called to tell me that the other night my dad found a dead cat  frozen in one of their barns. It was a stray but it still upset my father who, though he is a hunter and farmer, would have done everything he could to provide a warm bed and food for this animal had he known it was in need. I know the feeling; if I could welcome every deer, rabbit and fox from the fields into my home on these bitter cold nights, I would.

Common sense, of course, tells me that is not possible, save for one little bird - sometimes as many as three - who have decided to call our home theirs. Peer into the rafters of our porch most any night and you will see them nestled together, out of the wind or rain and as warm as any wild creature can be. We call them the "Tuckies," as in, they tuck themselves in each night but they are properly known as Carolina Wrens.

Thryothorus ludovicianus 

These cheerful little song birds seem to enjoy the company of humans or at least not mind it much. We first met on a spring day several years ago when one decided our patio heater would make an excellent nest box. It stands roughly 7 feet tall, is constructed of steel, kept on a screened porch and not used so it really was a practical choice. Day in and out we watched as the little bird filled the enclosed basket with twigs, string and dog hair. Being from a patriarchal family I assumed the nester was female but soon found out home decorating was a duty handled by the man of the species, as was singing.

For weeks he would stand on the lawnmower or grill just outside our window and warble his heart out, "teakettle-teakettle-teakettle," in search of a mate. He must be a multitalented fellow because before long there was a brood of chicks requiring constant care from both mother and father. To and fro they flew, bringing in bugs and taking out waste. Once the little fluff-balls learned to fly (that was an adventurouse day for our dogs) we assumed our empty-nesters would move on but they stayed for the summer and then into fall, never seeming to mind our, or our dogs, comings and goings.

We worried about their fate during hurricane Sandy until - I don't remember why - one of us looked up into the rafters high above and saw a familiar fluffy form. We continued to see them on and off throughout the following year and through another nesting cycle. One evening after a long absence of sightings I was watering plants out front when I heard the familiar song. He/she serenaded me from the fence - not more than 10 feet away before flitting up into the front rafters. We were delighted to know they were still safe, and had simply moved from back porch to the front for the summer. Many nights we would creep out to peer up in the rafters, and sometimes quietly cheer the arrival of new visitors. 

Winter is upon us and the Tuckies can again be found on the back porch each night. They have realized we are the sort of neighbors that don't "lock our doors" and have found some way to enter another of our porches, this one enclosed in glass. At first we thought it was a mistake, that one had flown in through an open door and become trapped, but this weekend they had to be released on several occasions. The porch, slightly warmer than the outdoors must be a favorite hibernation location for the plethora of spiders and insects we suffer from as the Tuckies can be seen repeatedly hopping into the rafters and snatching up some tasty morsel. The last time I opened the door, my guest could not be persuaded to leave. He/she paid me no mind as I stood mere feet away holding the door like a dutiful Walmart greeter. After finishing a meal it found its own way out again and I suspect it won't be long before they are sleeping on that porch during the coldest of nights (don't tell my cat). "Snow birds" indeed.

I cannot tell you why but it does my heart good during these brutal nights to look up and see these tiny birds huddled into the eaves of our home. I often think of a Bible passage particularly meaningful to me, being both a gardener and a worrier: "Therefore I tell you, do not be anxious about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink, nor about your body, what you will put on. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing? Look at the birds of the air: they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they? And which of you by being anxious can add a single hour to his span of life? And why are you anxious about clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin, yet I tell you, even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these." Matthew 6:25-34 

Even as I worry about the lack of work, frozen ground and the next fuel bill I am reminded that someone, somewhere is looking after me just as I look after these little lives and I am overjoyed to fit into the grand scheme if only through the shelter I can offer.

The Winds of Change

It's been an unseasonably warm week here in the Northeast, reaching as high as 68 degrees on the 23rd of February in the Philadelphia suburbs. The New York Times is reporting that Camillas, Viburnum and Apricots at the New York Botanical garden are beginning to bloom already. Locally, I have seen snowdrops and crocus, but other flowering species seem to be containing their excitement.

Springs such as this throw off the nature of things: flowers blossom while bees are still in hibernation or other pollinators have yet to hatch, migrating birds (who rely on day length instead of temperature, a less fickle benchmark) return to find they have missed the emergence of important food species and, of course, plants that emerge too early run the risk of being damaged by frost. Besides resulting in an unexciting spring, this has potentially catastrophic results as the loss of bloom will result in little or no seed production, or in the case of damaged leaf buds, stress from poor photosynthesis or re-foliation that drain the plant of its energy stores. Animals which rely on the plants for fruit, foliage and cover also suffer.

It can be difficult to draw conclusions about the global environmental causes of this over the course of just one season. Personally, I feel it is erroneous to blame all this on global "warming." Don't forget that in October 2011 we were fearing a long and difficult winter ahead after a Halloween snowstorm knocked out power and covered the area with a blanket of white. The winters of 2011 and 2010 were some of the snowiest on record and coldest in recent memory across the region. Finally, let us not forget Punxsutawney Phil, with a 50-50 chance, he certainly got it wrong this year by predicting 6 more weeks of winter, but for years his other option has been "spring has sprung." This tradition goes back to 1886, which means that more than 100 years ago there was a 50 percent chance that spring was just around the corner on February 2nd in southeastern Pennsylvania, long before the Kyoto Treaty!

Now look, I am an environmentalist - I believe we should find alternative fuel sources, enjoy more meat-free meals, grow organically and scale back our consumption  to live in greater harmony with this planet - I just think that it may not make a difference. The world may be changing for reasons beyond our control or comprehension. So what to do? Well, all those things I just mentioned - but really we should do those for our own good. I also think we should acknowledge that this planet is constantly changing and, unfortunately it may not be to our benefit. The down-side of evolution is that not everything is meant to survive "as-is." Species will  adapt, others will fill their roles and hopefully we will be smart enough to stop trying to save the world we remember and instead start developing habits and technologies for the one that is.

As for what should be blooming, here is a list:

Whitchazel, Helebore, Pieris, Mahonia, Snowdrops, Crocus, 

 

Humming Along Through Summer - Part 1: Hummingbirds

Here at the summers peak we thought it would be a good time to high light one of our favorite flying sites of the season; hummingbirds. The hummingbird is the smallest bird and also the smallest of all animals that have a backbone. The common Ruby Throated Hummingbird that most people are familiar with weighs about 3 grams. Ruby-throated hummingbirds are about 3 1/2 inches from the tip of their beaks to the tip of their tales.

Hummingbirds can beat their wings up to 80 times a second during normal flight and up to 200 times per second during a courtship dive. Unlike other birds, a hummingbird can rotate its wings in a circle. Because of this special hummingbird fact, they are the only bird that can fly both forwards and backwards. They can also fly up, down, sideways, hover in one spot, or fly upside down for short distances. 

Normal flight speed for hummingbirds is about 25 miles per hour, but they have been clocked at speeds in excess of fifty miles per hour during their courtship dives. During normal flight a hummingbirds wings beat about 60-80 times per second. In their courtship dives they might beat up to 200 times per second. A courtship dive is an elaborate display of flight performed by the male hummingbird at the start of the nesting season.

Hummingbirds have the highest metabolism rate of any animal on earth. They have a high breathing rate, a high heart rate, and a high body temperature. A hummingbird has a heart rate that can reach up to 1,260 beats per minute. To maintain all of this and to provide energy for flying they may consume anywhere from 2/3 to 3 times their body weight in food each day. Their high-energy lifestyle compels hummingbirds to locate reliable food resources.

Hummingbirds will feed 5 to 8 times every hour for 30 to 60 seconds at a time. The large portion of a hummingbirds diet is sugar which they get from flower nectar and tree sap. Hummingbirds don't always depend entirely on flowers. Hummingbirds also eat insects and pollen to get protein to build muscle. During the breeding season, in particular, hummingbirds will hover mid-air and catch small flying insects to eat and feed to their nestlings. In northern and high-elevation areas, hummingbirds depend upon sap-wells of woodpeckers known as sapsuckers. The woodpeckers are able to keep the sugary sap of trees flowing and the hummers sneak in and take advantage of their work.

Hummingbirds are very territorial and will perch in trees, vines or bushes, between feedings to watch the area and will attack other birds that might try to feed at their food source. Hummingbirds are for the most part unsociable. When more than one hummingbird is around, it is often a scene of repeated high-speed chases. In many cases, hummingbirds defend small territories around a favorite flower patch, and do so even during brief stop-overs for refueling during migration.

The hummingbirds' bills are long and tapered to match perfectly with the tubular shaped blooms on which they like to feed. Their tongue is grooved on the sides to collect nectar which they lap up at the rate of 13 licks per second. Hummingbirds are also very helpful in pollinating the plants on which they feed. There are some plants that are only pollinated by hummingbirds. As they lap up the nectar, pollen from the bloom is rubbed off onto the hummingbird, then carried to the next bloom as it continues to feed.

Flowers that attract hummingbirds provide a large amount of nectar with a substantial sugar content to support the demanding hummingbird life style. Sugar content averages about 26%, which is double what you get in a soft drink. But the nectar can't be too concentrated and sticky because hummingbirds rely on a long tube-like tongue to draw nectar into their mouth through wicking action (like the force that brings water up a straw when you stick the straw in a glass). They tend to have red or orange petals or bracts, which provide a long-distance sign to a fast-flying hummingbird that it should take notice. The flowers are often long and tubular so that a long narrow bill and tongue are required to extract the nectar and often hang down and point downward so that a hovering bird has the easiest access.

Plants to Attract and Feed Hummingbirds:

Trees and Shrubs -Azalea, Butterfly Bush, Weigela

Vines - Honeysuckle, Morning Glory, Trumpet Vine

Perennials - Bee Balm, Canna, Cardinal Flower, Columbine, Coral Bells, Four O'Clocks, Foxglove, Hosta, Agastache, Lupine, Penstemon

Annuals - Fuchsia, Impatiens, Petunia, Salvia 

They are also easily attracted to Hummingbird nectar feeders.

Mix 1 part sugar with 4 parts water and bring to a boil to kill any bacteria or mold present.

Cool and fill feeder. Extra, unused, hummingbird nectar can be stored in the refrigerator for up to one week. When making your own nectar, adjust the recipe quantity to only make enough for one week to eliminate waste. Clean hummingbird feeders at least once a week and refill them with fresh nectar. In warm weather or when multiple birds are using the feeder, clean them more frequently.

The use of red dye in hummingbird nectar recipes is a controversial issue. While hummingbirds are attracted to bright colors, especially red, some red dyes in the 1970s were found to be toxic. Today, red dyes found in food coloring and commercial hummingbird nectar are safe for both human and animal consumption, but the color is not necessary to attract the birds. Many hummingbird feeders have red bases, feeding ports or other accents that will attract the birds without risking the use of unessential dyes. If you want to use red to attract more hummingbirds to your feeders, consider planting red flowers nearby or adding a red gazing ball near the feeder to help catch the birds’ attention.

(Information was compiled from several sources found via a Google search of the term 'Hummingbird')

Winter 2011 Newsletter

Winter 2011 Newsletter

(You can always find the latest Newsletter on our site)

Feeding Feathered Friends

By Brendan Banaszak/NPR

Bill Thompson, the editor of Bird Watcher's Digest who wrote the new book Identifying and Feeding Birds, recently came by my urban backyard in Washington, D.C., to make it more bird friendly. "It's the time of year most folks start feeding actively, 'cause we get a lot of the northern birds coming down for the winter, to what they feel is our milder climate," Thompson says. "So it's a great time to ramp up your feeder operation. I think that's what we need to do here in your backyard."

My backyard is actually less than 1/100 of an acre. I have one bird feeder there — a tube feeder, mounted on a pole. Thompson notices a dark coating of black gunk at the bottom. "You wouldn't want to eat something out there, right?" he says. "We often forget that, really, bird feeding, we're doing it for us. We're not responsible for the birds' utter survival. So we need to do it the right way, and the right way is to really give your feeders a regular cleaning." That means a good scrubbing every few weeks to get rid of mold and dirt: You don't want to make the birds sick.

As we chat, two red-tailed hawks circle high above, cruising for a squirrel. And they should have easy pickings: This is prime squirrel country. "It's really hard to squirrel-proof a bird feeder because squirrels are like The Flying Wallendas of the mammal kingdom," Thompson says. We do have a baffle on our feeder pole to keep the squirrels away. We've got gray ones, black ones, hungry, aggressive urban ones. "I mean, literally, I've seen them practically giving each other boosts up," Thompson says. "And one will knock the feeder and flip some seed out, and then they'll switch places."

Thompson pours the seed into the feeder: It's mostly black oil sunflower seed. It has a thin shell, with lots of nutmeat inside. And he's brought a smorgasbord of other bird treats. The key is to put out a mix of bird feed — including black oil sunflower seed — that will attract a variety of birds. He pours peanuts into a wire mesh tube feeder. "Peanuts are a great high-energy, high-fat food for the winter," he says. He's also brought a mix of tiny thistle and Nyjer seeds, which he pours into a long mesh sock.

"This'll be the favorite food and feeder for the gold finches and pine siskins. It's a huge year for pine siskins. We've had 20 at our feeders already," he says. "They're very rowdy and noisy at the feeders. So if you see a bird that's the disruptive kid in the class at the feeders, that's gonna be a pine siskin." He scatters some mixed seed, cracked corn and millet for the ground feeders. Up on the railing of our deck, Thompson sprinkles a crumbly concoction he's mixed up: suet dough made from lard, peanut butter, cornmeal, flour and quick oats. "This is super high-energy food for birds in winter. They love it," he says.

Here are some more bird-friendly suggestions from Thompson: First, don't overtidy your yard. Also, ditch the lawn-care company if you're trying to protect birds. "If they're down in your beautifully dew-covered and also chemically treated lawn grabbing an insect and taking it back to the featherless nestlings to feed them, sometimes those chemicals can transfer right to the young and they can't handle it," he says. "It can be pretty toxic."

One last thing: Keep Fluffy indoors. "Cats kill millions if not billions of birds every year. Cats are this superpredator that we've put in artificially in our backyards," he says. "And they roam around and create havoc." We don't want havoc. We want birds.

The sad truth is that it took less than two hours for the squirrels to rip the thistle feeder out of the tree and gnaw a hole in the sack. It took two days for them to knock the peanut feeder off its hook. They chewed the green plastic base beyond recognition. But we have had a steady flurry of bird visitors: chickadees, juncos, titmice, cardinals, song sparrows — and my favorite, Carolina wrens. I'm still waiting for the pine siskins that Thompson promised.

Favorite Recipe:

Suet Dough Bird Feed Recipe

Ingredients:

1 cup melted lard

1 cup peanut butter

2 cups quick oats

2 cups yellow cornmeal

1 cup all-purpose flour

Directions: Melt lard and peanut butter together in the microwave or on a low burner. Remove from heat and combine with dry ingredients. When cool, store in jars; no refrigeration needed. Offer crumbled in an open dish or packed into a suet log.

Winter is a great time to enjoy watching birds at the feeder

Seasonal Tasks - Tips To Attract Birds

Provide cover, seed and suet to attract a variety of birds.

Place your christmas tree near the birdfeeders to provide cover from predators.

Fill onion bags with chuncks of suet and hang outdoors for insectivores.

Thread raisins or cranberrries onto waxed dental floss and hang for birds.

Hang bundles of dried corn, sunflowers, wheat and millet for an attractive feeder.

Additional information can be found on Our Blog and weekly tips on Facebook

"Martin" Shaw has a degree in "Gourd-iculture"

Creek Indians in America used gourds for centuries as Purple Martin Bird houses as well as for storing and protecting their corn from the animals. Purple Martins eat flying insects captured in flight, including many larger flying insects which has led many farmers and rural homes to make Purple Martin gourds to attract them. The Creek Indians realized this and for centuries they grew large kettle shaped gourds for the purpose of housing Purple Martins for insect control. Once Purple Martins have adapted a suitable nesting ground, as long as their homes are taken care of, cleaned or replaced yearly, they will return along with the next generation. Some Purple Martin lovers literally have an annual nesting of 100's to 1,000's of Purple Martins.

One of the most interesting aspects of Purple Martins is they are the only bird in North America that has developed a total dependency on Humans for their existence. Without humans providing nests for Purple Martins, they would rapidly become a rare, if not extinct bird in America due to a loss of their nesting places. Before humans provided them nesting homes, they used old woodpecker nests, but woodpecker nests are normally only found in standing dead trees which which now are generally cut down and cleared by man for new growth or for fire wood.

Digital Gourds chart © Dan Dunkin 2003
This chart is used courtesy The Gourd Reserve