Backyard Birds and Squirrels

All summer long I enjoy watching my wild birds and squirrels in the back yard. They can be a lot of fun and very entertaining to watch and figure their hierarchy of who gets to eat first.

I did have some problems with the squirrels getting into the bird feeders instead of eating their own food but, they were pretty entertaining at that. I posted pictures on my website.

Then I also realized that the larger birds, the Crows and Jays, were scarfing down the squirrel food so the squirrels were getting into the smaller birds food. Some squirrels actually got inside the one feeder so they could eat in peace and be protected from the rain too!

I thought that squirrels hibernate in the Winter and that birds flew South, but that's not necessarily true. So I did a little research on squirrels and bird feeding and found these things:

1. 1. Ground squirrels, like chipmunks and prairie dogs, hibernate in their tunnels in the Winter. Tree squirrels are active all year long. I have tree squirrels, so I will keep feeding them.
   
   2. Crows and Jays prefer peanuts in the shell - unsalted and roasted, not raw. If you provide those, they will leave the other food for the squirrels and smaller birds alone.
   
   3. Birds will hang out all year long if you give them food and may even begin to depend on your services.
   
   4. It's okay to feed breads but most probably don't have all the nutrients the birds need so be sure to supplement your breads with actual birdseed.
   
   5. Most birds that feed in feeders prefer sunflower seeds and will "brush away" all that other stuff that is in the mixed seed, which usually ends up all over the ground and eventually will grow if the birds (or mice/rats) don't eat it up.
   a. Black Sunflower seeds are among the most versatile of all bird foods. Small and easily cracked, the seeds have a high fat content that many birds seek. Chickadees, nuthatches, finches, blue jays and cardinals will all come out in number for black sunflower seeds.
   b. Cracked Corn is ideal for drawing in large, ground-based birds. Starlings and quail are two species that adore cracked corn.
   c. Millet, the small, yellow pellets, are popular in bird seed mixes and will be eaten by a large variety of species, including wrens, sparrows and doves.
   d. Thistle is a small and thin black seed that is so narrow it requires special feeders. A thistle feeder will bring finches out in great numbers
   e. Safflower, with its thick shell, is particularly well-suited to larger birds and those with tougher beaks. Safflower should be fed in open trays, so the birds will have room to crack open the tough outer casings. Safflower is popular with doves, sparrows and cardinals.
   
   6. They make bird baths with "heaters" in them so the birds can have water all year long. (I have a heated dog water dish that I will fill with water and put out of reach of the dogs so the birds can get a drink in the snowy/icy times. It worked great for the dogs but since they spend most of their time inside instead of outside, they don't use it any more.)

Also, before nesting time, put out pieces of lint, hair from your hairbrush and the like so the birds can use it for nesting material. You can put it in a suet cage so it's easier for them to find and use, plus then it's not scattered all over the yard.

The dogs have gotten used to all the birds and squirrels in the backyard. Even the ever-vigilant Luke doesn't chase or try to scare away as often as he used to, although he will go to the trees and bark at the squirrels and the squirrels chatter back at him - probably taunting him since he can't reach them! LOL I have to admit that I like it when I open the back door and hear all the birds chirping away from the bushes, it, at times is quite noisy out there! I've gotten so used to their songs, that when I open the door and hear nothing... it's kind of eerie!

Okay, that's all I learned but I wanted to put the info somewhere that I could find it again, which is the main reason I started a blog to begin with! LOL If you have any other tips or information to share, let me know and I'll add it or start a new blog.

Gardening Ideas

There are 10 plants that are top picks for providing bird seed to your feathered friends. Growing a combination of these flowers will not only be a pleasing sight for the gardener, but provide seeds for the birds from Summer through Fall.

They are:
Autumn Joy Sedum, Black-eyed Susan, Blazing Star, Coreopsis, Cosmos, Goldenrod, Mexican Sunflower, Purple Coneflower, Purple Majesty Millet, and Sunflower.

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Our winged friend, the butterfly, will appreciate it if you find a nice sunny spot in your garden for them that is protected from wind. Then give them plants in that area for all their stages of life.

The Caterpillar likes munching on Milkweeds, nettles, violets and passion vines. The adults enjoy drinking the nectar of marigolds, zinnias and daisies. The more variety in your plants, the more variety of butterflies you attract.

After a fine meal, much like a human, the butterfly loves to relax. They prefer to bask in the sun so give them a place to rest... like a brick or paving stone.

Butterflies sip water from small puddles so place a saucer in the garden and put a small branch or rock in it to give them an easy place to land.
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The hardy plants of the Prairie

Flowers that grow native in the American prairie endure searing summer heat, extended periods of drought and bone-chilling cold. Prairie flowers also attract birds, butterflies, and pollinator's. Prairie natives have unusually long root systems, some up to 10 feet or more! That's how they survive drought... they can get to subsoil moisture that other plants cannot.

First, determine what your soil type and moisture regime is and then buy the plants for those conditions.

For dry soil and dry climates:
Leadplant, Butterfly weed, Smooth Aster, Cream false Indigo, Purple Prairie clover, Pale purple coneflower, Prairie smoke, Dotted blazing star, Wild lupine, Large flowered beardtongue,Goldenrod, and Bird's-foot violet.
(Amorpha canescens, Asclepias tuberosa, Aster laevis, Baptisia bracteata, Dalea purpurea, Echinacea pallida, Geum triflorum, Liatris punctata, Lupinus perennis, Penstemon grandiflorus, Solidago speciosa, and Viola pedata, respectively)

For Medium soils in Average Rainfall climates:
Nodding pink onion, New England aster, Blue false Indigo, White false Indigo, Shooting star, urple coneflower, Rattlesnake master, Pririe blazing star, Wild Quinine, Yellow coneflower, Royal catchfly and stiff Goldenrod.
(Allium cernuum, Aster novae-angliae, Baptisia australis, Baptisia lactea, Dodecatheon meadia, Echinacea purpurea, Eryngium yuccifolium, Liatris pycnostachya, Parthenium integrifolium, Ratibida pinnata, Silene regia, and Solidago rigida, respectively)

For Moist soils and Moist Climates:
Wild hyacinth, Tall Joe Pye weed, Queen of the Prairie, Bottle gentain, Rose Mallow Dense blazing star, Cardinal Flower, Marsh phlox, Sweet black-eyed Susan, Ohio goldenrod, Tall iron weed, and a Culver's root.
(Camassia scilloides, Eupatorium fistulosum, Filipendula rubra, Gentiana andrewsii, Hibiscus palustris, Liatris spicata, Lobelia cardinalis, Plox glaberrima, Rudbeckia subtomentosa, Solidago ohioensis, Vernonia altissima, and Veronicastrum virginicum, respectively)

Top picks for Prairie grasses are: Side Oats Grama (Bouteloua curtipendula), Little Bluestem (Schizachyrium scoparium) and Prairie Dropseed (Sporobolus heterolepis)

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Some interesting ideas to help your backyard:
1. If slugs and snails are eating your garden, give them some thing to drink to wash it all down. Pour some beer in a saucer, fill the saucer, and put it where the critters appear to be entering the garden. They are attracted to the scent and taste of beer, crawl into the saucer, get drunk and drowned.

2. Bare patches in the lawn? Before putting down the grass seed, place some wet tea bags on the spots and the grass will get green twice as fast. For large spots, try dusting it with powdered iced tea mix and then light water to help it soak into the soil.

3. Reluctant to use chemical fertilizers? Sprinkle powdered Jell-O mix on the plant and flower seeds. The gelatin delivers nitrogen, which speeds sprouting and powers plant growth while the sugar feeds microbes in the soil that produce fertilizing nutrients.
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