Feathered friends need food help in winter
A pair of lesser goldfinches dine at a mixed-seed feeder. Birds need more energy in winter to survive the cold. Kathy Morrison
Gardening is turning me into a birdwatcher.
In the 10 days since I hung my new bird feeder in the backyard, I’ve identified an oak titmouse or two, several dark-eyed juncos, some lesser goldfinches, the punk-looking white-crowned sparrow, one gold-crowned sparrow and some house finches, looking so festive with their reddish feathers.
These have joined the neighborhood regulars: the scrub jays, mourning doves, Bewick’s wrens and hummingbirds that frequent our trees and shrubs. I also have heard the northern mockingbird pretty often, but haven’t had a visual identification.
I’m thrilled to see all these little birds enjoying their seeds and exhibiting bits of personality, too.The juncos are the earliest risers, hopping around on the ground and in containers of the potted roses. Then finches and sparrows arrive at the feeder in bunches, the goldfinches shoving each other out of the way to get to the mixed seed selection. The small cherry tree nearby has become the birds’ waiting area, so I hung a bell-shaped seed cake there to augment the offerings – though it might not survive long against the neighborhood squirrels. (The feeder is on a hook the squirrels can’t reach.)
Winter can be a tough time for resident birds, since insects are dormant and many plants are, too. They also need more energy to stay warm. I’ve been working to make the garden more friendly to all natives – insects and other pollinators as well as birds: planting more natives, eliminating the back lawn, keeping some of the ground bare, letting leaves lie where they fall, and avoiding use of pesticides and herbicides. (A gentleman who came to repair the back fence called my garden “a mess,” but what does he know? It’s living and lively.) And now the bird feeder is open for winter business.
These sustainability practices, I discovered to my delight, are not only great for the natural environment, they also make my yard eligible to become a Certified Wildlife Habitat. I have a little more work to do but am looking forward to the day I can display the sign from the National Wildlife Federation. That will be a gift for all of us.
By the way, the Audubon Society has this list of ways to make your home more bird-friendly.
And if you’d like help identifying birds in your yard, I can recommend the Sacramento Audubon Society’s online list of Sacramento area birds as well as the Cornell Lab of Ornithology’s Merlin app. Merlin allows you to record on your phone the call or song of a bird you can’t see – which is how I got the northern mockingbird identified. I’m still a beginner in this area, but it is great fun.
P.S. Mark your calendar for the Great Backyard Bird Count, coming up Feb. 17-20, 2023.
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Food in My Back Yard (FIMBY) Series
FALL
Nov. 11: Prepare now for colder weather in the edible garden
Nov. 4: Plant a pea patch for you and your garden
Oct. 27: As citrus season begins, advice for backyard growers
Oct. 20: Change is in the autumn air
Oct. 13: We don't talk (enough) about beets
Oct. 6: Fava beans do double duty
Sept. 30: Seeds or transplants for cool-season veggies?
Sept. 23: How to prolong the fall tomato harvest
SUMMER
Sept. 16: Time to shut it down?
Sept. 9: How to get the most out of your pumpkin patch
Sept. 2: Summer-to-fall transition time for evaluation, planning
Aug. 26: To pick or not to pick those tomatoes?
Aug. 19: Put worms to work for you
Aug. 12: Grow food while saving water
Aug. 5: Enhance your food with edible flowers
July 29: Why won't my tomatoes turn red?
July 22: A squash plant has mosaic virus, and it's not pretty
July 15: Does this plant need water?
July 8: Tear out that sad plant or baby it? Midsummer decisions
July 1: How to grow summer salad greens
June 24: Weird stuff that's perfectly normal
SPRING
June 17: Help pollinators help your garden
June 10: Battling early-season tomato pests
June 3: Make your own compost
May 27: Where are the bees when you need them?
May 20: How to help tomatoes thrive on hot days
May 13: Your plants can tell you more than any calendar can
May 6: Maintain soil moisture with mulch for garden success
April 29: What's (already) wrong with my tomato plants?
April 22: Should you stock up on fertilizer? (Yes!)
April 15: Grow culinary herbs in containers
April 8: When to plant summer vegetables
April 1: Don't be fooled by these garden myths
March 25: Fertilizer tips: How to 'feed' your vegetables for healthy growth
WINTER
March 18: Time to give vegetable seedlings some more space
March 11: Ways to win the fight against weeds
March 4: Potatoes from the garden
Feb. 25: Plant a fruit tree now -- for later
Feb. 18: How to squeeze more food into less space
Feb. 11: When to plant? Consider staggering your transplants
Feb. 4: Starting in seed starting
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Garden checklist for week of Nov. 16
During breaks in the weather, tackle some garden tasks:
* Clear gutters and storm drains.
* Prune dead or broken branches from trees.
* After the storm, seed wildflowers and plant such spring bloomers as sweet pea, sweet alyssum and bachelor buttons.
* Set out cool-weather annuals such as pansies and snapdragons.
* Lettuce, cabbage and broccoli also can be planted now.
* Plant garlic and onions.
* Plant bulbs at two-week intervals to spread out your spring bloom. Some possible suggestions: daffodils, crocuses, hyacinths, tulips, anemones and scillas.
* Save dry stalks and seedpods from poppies and coneflowers for fall bouquets and holiday decorating.
* Rake and compost leaves, but dispose of any diseased plant material. For example, if peach and nectarine trees showed signs of leaf curl this year, clean up under trees and dispose of those leaves instead of composting them. Do leave some (healthy) leaves in the planting beds for wildlife and beneficial insect habitat.
* Give your azaleas, gardenias and camellias a boost with chelated iron.
* For larger blooms, pinch off some camellia buds.
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