Garden Decor

   Can you fit a pond or flowing stream into your lawn and garden decor?  If not, a birdbath, or two or three, will do.

    Give birds a drink and water for clean feathers.  Clean feathers are a must for optimum flight. But wet feathers make for a slow bird.  Place each birdbath close to protection (within 6 to 10 feet) so wet, heavy birds can escape into a tree if surprised by a cat or snake. 

     Place your birdbaths in an area clear of ground shrubs and tall vegitation.  Snakes or cats can hide there.

     It’s for the birds!

A water wiggler isn’t just something with a name that’s fun to say.  It’s an ingenious addition to your birdbath, attracting the birds by keeping the water moving with an agitator much like that of a typical washing machine. 

The process of water movement can also prevent stagnant water in the birdbath, transmission of West Nile virus, and the ability of mosquitoes to lay eggs. A water wiggler can be used year-round if a birdbath is heated.

     Nestled deep in the woods of the Great Smokey Mountains lived three bears birds in a little Log Cabin Birdhouse.
     One day a little girl came along and peeked into the opening. She saw three little open beaks, and the little hairless bird chicks were just quivering! Being quite startled, she jumped and ran away.

The moral of the story…
Leave them alone, and mama will come home with treats for the quivery bird chicks!

Ok, I’m a tragic failure at story telling. But bird watching is great fun, and with birdbaths, and birdfeeders, and novelty birdhouses, you’ll have lots of bird company to enjoy!

The decorative birdhouses can be accentuated with the help of surrounding garden design.  A log cabin birdhouse will look great in a woodsy area. Using rocks to give the area the look of a mountainside will really make your log cabin birdhouse feel right at home.

If you’ve incorporated a sandy area for your birds, a lighthouse birdhouse will fit in perfectly there. A birdbath, also, is an ideal location for that lighthouse birdhouse. It’ll give your birdies a feeling of security while splashing around in their favorite birdbath!

Happy splashing, birdies!!

Birds need four basics: Food, Water, Protection, &  A place to raise a family.  A fifth important ingredient is Playtime! For this a sandbox is perfect.

Now, of course we don’t know if the birds are actually playing in the sand (probably not) or using the sand for cleaning feathers and eliminating lice and other critters. But it looks like play, and it is certainly fun to watch!

It’s a simple and inexpensive thing to provide. Buy a few bags of sand at your hardware store.  Mark off an area with large garden stones. Try to eliminate all vegitation with weed killer first. Perhaps cover the ground with plastic. Then dump on the sand! Add a few shells or pieces of driftwood for an aesthetic outdoor garden decor touch.

You could also just fill a birdbath or any container of your choice with sand for a unique garden decor point of interest.

If your bird ”sandbox” is where your birdbath isn’t (ie: sand in front yard, wet birdbath in back yard) then you may have a different array of birdwatching in each area. Placing a “sandbox” near large bushes makes it convenient for the birds that nest in those bushes. Some birds might just prefer sand to water for personal hygine. (My research is still pending in that area.)

Anyway, happy birdwatching all you bird lovers!

A Washingtonian. And a real screecher at that!
Found most commonly in Oceanic areas: the Pacific Northwest Coast, the Puget Trough, & the North Cascades.
They’re just summer visitors (late April to mid-September) in eastern Washington, except for in lowland riparian areas and in developed towns.  They reside year round in western Washington.

They feed and breed mostly on the ground.
Using a two-footed scratching method, kicking both feet backward at the same time, Spotted Towhees locate food under leaf litter.
The female Spotted Towhee builds her nest on the ground,  and sinks it into the leaf litter so that the rim of the nest cup is even with the litter surface.  When disturbed, she may run away like a mouse rather than fly!
 They may occasionally be seen sunning themselves, lying down on the grass with feathers spread.
 They often bathe in dew or fog drip on vegetation. A dripping birdbath may draw them into view.

 A group of towhees are collectively known as a “tangle” or a “teapot” of towhees.

   During a military expedition of 1819-1820 for the establishment of posts along the upper Missouri River, a gentleman named Thomas Say discovered this bird near the Arkansas River in Colorado. They called it a phoebe, because it called itself “fee-ah-bee!”

   The Eastern Phoebe tends to live separate from others of its kind except for brief breeding times; the female will even chase the male away from her nest. She builds her nest of mud and moss, forming a cup, then lines it with fine grasses.
   They nest on shelves: bridges, building overhangs, understreet culverts. You may attract a pair by placing a nesting shelf under the overhang of a building away from your house, like a garage.

   Phoebes build houses to last! Once you get a Phoebe family nesting in your yard, they will attempt to raise 2 - 3 broods every year at the same spot. Their children and grandchildrem may also come back to the same nest for many generations! (Successive generations of Phoebes were observed under one New England bridge for over 30 years!)

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Feeding Habits

When it comes to food, Bluebirds consume large amounts of insects. During spring and summer, their diet consists of about 80% insects, and 20% berries and fruits off of small trees and shrubs. You may place dried fruit and/or chopped peanuts on a platform type to entice them into your territory.

There are other ways to lure these birds, the best of which is to offer them mealworms in a tray feeder. Bluebirds are very fond of mealworms, and if they are presented alive, and in a tray feeder, there is a possibility of success.

Mealworms are inch-long larvae, with brown, crusty shells, and may be found in pet supply stores or online.

They also can be attracted to bird baths, particularly if the water is moving and makes splashing noises that they can hear at some distance.

According to the National Audubon Society, bird feeding can benefit birds and also provide great bird watching from the backyard. You can choose to feed birds just in winter when natural food supplies are scarce. But keep in mind a larger variety of species will visit bird feeders during the spring and fall migrations. And during summer while nesting, birds will appreciate a steady food source from a bird feeder.

To keep birds coming back to the feeders in any season provide them with the following three essential elements:

Variety of quality seed.
Fresh water for drinking and bathing.
Ample cover, preferably provided by native plants which also provide potential nesting sites and a source of natural food.

Attracting birds to your own back yard is the easiest method of bird watching.

Putting up bird feeders and keeping them filled with fresh bird food is an effective way to attract birds to your own yard. Do some reading to determine which type of feeds will attract any birds you are particularly interested in observing. Sunflower seeds will attract quite a few varieties and might be nice to start with.

You can install a bird fountain. Most things that can hold shallow water will do! Running or dripping water especially interests birds, also.

Check with local universities or parks to see if they offer classes or walks for birding instruction. Learn as much about common birds in your area as you can. You will soon be identifying birds by their appearance, habits and songs or calls.