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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Flowers in My Back Yard Series
Aug. 25: Crape myrtles, Sacramento's unofficial tree of summer
Aug. 18: Pollinators adore scabiosa, aka pincushion flower
Aug. 11: Hardy hibiscus adds big tropical impact
Aug. 4: Dianthus a deceptively hardy flower
July 28: Naked Ladies put on summer show
July 21: Thank Luther Burbank for these long-lasting beauties (Shasta daisies)
July 14: How to keep hydrangeas happy
July 7: Grow these bright cosmos for bees and butterflies
June 30: Agapanthus adds blue fireworks to the garden
June 23: Easy-care gazanias fill those hot corners
June 16: Daylilies are perfect for water-wise gardens (and a lot more)
June 9: Grow coneflowers for pollinators -- and yourself
June 2: Sunflowers capture Sacramento's summer attitude
May 29: Are your roses going 'blind'?
May 26: Zinnias are the summer flowers every garden needs
May 19: Plant dahlias now for late-summer flower power
May 12: Know your coreopsis from your bidens
May 5: Mums the word on Mother's Day weekend
April 28: Majestic Matilija poppy is worth a look
April 21: Celebrate roses, America's favorite flower
April 14: Small flowers with outsized impact
April 7: Calendulas do double duty
April 3: Make Easter lilies last for years to come
March 31: In praise of a pollinator magnet (small-leaf salvias)
March 24: Azaleas brighten shady spots
March 17: The perfect flower for beginners? Try zonal geraniums
March 10: Keep camellias happy for years to come
March 3: Fruit tree blossoms are a fleeting joy
Feb. 27: Are your roses looking rusty?
Feb. 24: Treasure spring daffodils now and for years to come
Feb. 17: How and why to grow wildflowers
Feb. 10: Let's talk Valentine's Day roses
Feb. 3: Why grow flowers?
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Garden checklist for week of Aug. 16
During this break in the heat, feed your garden. Make sure to water before and after applying fertilizer.
* In the garden, direct seed beets, carrots, leaf lettuce and turnips.
* Plant potatoes.
* Harvest tomatoes, beans, squash, pepper and eggplants to prompt plants to keep producing. Give your plants a deep watering twice a week, more if planted in containers. Also, give them a boost with phosphate-rich fertilizer to help fruiting.
* Watch out for caterpillars and hornworms in the vegetable garden. They can strip a plant bare in one day. Pick them off plants by hand in early morning or late afternoon.
* Feed citrus trees their last round of fertilizer for the year. This will give a boost to the fruit that’s still small.
* Mulch can be your garden’s best friend – it conserves moisture while blocking out weeds. But don't let mulch mound around stalks, stems or trunks. That can promote rot.
* Camellia leaves looking a little yellow? Give them some chelated iron. That goes for azaleas and gardenias, too.
* Pick up after your fruit trees. Clean up debris and dropped fruit; this cuts down on insects and prevents the spread of brown rot. Then feed fruit trees with slow-release fertilizer for better production for next year.
* To prolong bloom into fall, feed begonias, fuchsias and container plants. Always water before fertilizing.
* Fertilize fall-blooming perennials, too. Chrysanthemums can be fed until the buds start to open.
* Prepare for a fall full of flowers by paying a little extra attention to your garden. Cut off spent blooms from roses, annuals and perennials, then give them a boost of fertilizer. Make sure to water plants before feeding. Roses will rebloom about six to eight weeks after deadheading.
* Indoors, start seedlings for fall vegetable planting, including bunching onion, cabbage, broccoli, cauliflower, kale, radicchio and lettuce.
* Sow seeds of perennials in pots for fall planting including yarrow, coneflower and salvia.
Contact Us
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Food in My Back Yard (FIMBY) Series
Lessons learned during a year of edible gardening
WINTER
Is edible gardening possible indoors?
Hints for choosing tomato seeds
Why winter is the perfect time to plant fruit trees
When to plant? Consider staggering your transplants
How to squeeze more food into less space
Plant a fruit tree now -- for later
Win the weed war by tackling them in winter
Tips for planting bare-root trees, shrubs and vegetables
Time to give vegetable seedlings some more space
Ways to win the fight against weeds
FALL
Add asparagus to your edible garden
Soggy soil and what to do about it
Plant artichokes now; enjoy for years to come
It's late November, and your peach tree needs spraying
What to do with all those fallen leaves?
Prepare now for colder weather in the edible garden
Plant a pea patch for you and your garden
As citrus season begins, advice for backyard growers
We don't talk (enough) about beets
Seeds or transplants for cool-season veggies?
How to prolong the fall tomato harvest
SUMMER
How to get the most out of your pumpkin patch
Summer-to-fall transition time for evaluation, planning
To pick or not to pick those tomatoes?
Enhance your food with edible flowers
Why won't my tomatoes turn red?
A squash plant has mosaic virus, and it's not pretty
Tear out that sad plant or baby it? Midsummer decisions
How to grow summer salad greens
Weird stuff that's perfectly normal
SPRING
Help pollinators help your garden
Battling early-season tomato pests
Where are the bees when you need them?
How to help tomatoes thrive on hot days
Your plants can tell you more than any calendar can
Maintain soil moisture with mulch for garden success
What's (already) wrong with my tomato plants?
Should you stock up on fertilizer? (Yes!)
Grow culinary herbs in containers
When to plant summer vegetables
Don't be fooled by these garden myths
Fertilizer tips: How to 'feed' your vegetables for healthy growth
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