Garden Decor

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.

Bird watching and feeding go hand in hand and any outdoor living space becomes lively with the company of birds. Birdfeeders attract birds and help bring them closer to enjoy and watch throughout the day. Birdfeeder types can be very important in not only matching your outdoor garden decor, but also ensuring that you have an accessible birdfeeder for your birds, and one that can detract from your areas predators or nuisances. As much as all nature enthusiast enjoy the company of squirrels they certainly can cause messes when gaining access to birdfeeders.

Window Birdfeeders:

Tube Feeder:

Hopper Birdfeeders:

The American Goldfinch typically begins nesting in August in the eastern United States. Thistle seed becomes more plentiful as July is coming to a close, so there abundance for feeding the young.

The Goldfinch builds her nest in a bush or tree between 4 and 20 feet from the ground. The nest is woven into a cup shape from vines, weeds, thistle disperses and caterpillar webbing filaments. It may be tight enough to hold water!

They prefer open areas, and are often found in back yard areas. When the nest is completed, both female and male Goldfinches desert the area for up to 14 days. But they return and the female begins laying up to 14 light blue eggs.

She then incubates them for 12 to 14 days, during which time the male attends to her, bringing her food, so that she can stay on the nest almost 24/7.

After hatching, the male attends to the hatchlings for the next 11 to 15 days, when they fly away! While the male is tending the young, the female may go and build a second nest, thereby producing a second brood of fledglings in a single season!

Keeping seed in your Bird Feeder & water in your Bird Bath will make your Goldfinches very happy!

The American Goldfinch begin their mating ritual long before the nesting season begins. Several males must compete with each other for one female. They may chase her through the air for 20 minutes or longer.
Generally, the birds are fairly quiet until mating season occurs, in late July, August, and early September.

They are really fun to watch, and you can see them a lot with a bird bath and bird feeder in your back yard.

The American Goldfinch is about 5 inches long and goes through a significant change in plumage as the seasons change and its mating and nesting habits begin.

In winter the male appears as a yellowish brown, with light yellow on the face and chin; its wings are black with white bars. In summer, the male has a very visible bright yellow body with black cap, wings and tail.

The female goldfinch is yellowish green with black wings and tail during summer. In the winter she is a grayish brown with very little yellow; her wings are dark brown with white bars.

Attracting this bird to your backyard in winter can be as easy as placing a feeder filled with nyjer seed or hulled sunflower seed. Be sure to keep your Bird Feeder stocked all year round so that you can see the bright yellow of the male during spring and summer.

Birds are attracted to water in your yard. They need it to drink, of course. But they are especially attracted to birdbaths, or even shallow dishes of water where they can bathe.

Photographers know that a great way to bring birds closer is to set up a system with water dripping into a pool. You could use a garbage can lid for the pool, and a large tin can with a small hole in the bottom for the dripping water. Photographers set out a few bare sticks for birds to perch on as they approach. When the birds land on the stick, the photographer can take a fantastic close-up picture of the bird. Position some green plants or leaves behind the stick to make the photograph appear more natural.

There are some commercially available systems if you want water running all the time. In northern climates, you may need a bird bath heater to keep the water from freezing. Using heaters in the bath is perfectly safe. The most important thing to remember is to use a Ground Fault Circuit Interrupter (GFCI) outlet. Outdoor outlets in homes built in approximately the last 15 years are required to be GFCI-protected.

If possible, place birdbaths on the south side of your home in colder climates. But ice and water together is not a problem at all for the birds. Be sure to clean your birdbaths each week.

If you have the space, a small farm pond with some natural vegetation around the edges will bring in an amazing number of new birds. You can stock the pond with fish to attract Herons and other fish-eating birds. Put up a Wood-duck box and see if anyone moves in!
(from: Using Water to Attract Birds at WildBirds.com)

Feeding birds is lots of fun. There are many types of bird feeders and each will attract differentbirds. The bird seeds and food you put out will also determine which birds (an animals) will come to your feeders.

Have you ever thought of putting out peanut butter in a pine cone? How about half an orange? You will be amazed at the birds that show up!

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When a bamboo flowers, as most of us know, it is in danger of dying. Flowering bamboos do not always die; although many do — especially in the case of gregarious flowering. Even an individual plant that suspends growth of new culms and foliage for the exclusive production of flowers may die.

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Abstract

When bamboo flowers it dies! Anyone familiar with bamboo has probably heard this. Although this sometimes happens it is not inevitable. This phenomenon can often be an opportunity in disguise.

Many of the bamboos in cultivation were introduced as single propagates leaving us with but one clone of that species. There may be hidden in the genes of that plant useful characteristics that may of use to the grower. New seed grown clones may be more vigorous, more hardy, more resistant to disease or insects, or perhaps more ornamental. Who knows what new traits may be found.

Few have the knowledge or skill to create bamboo hybrids. But, we can select among the natural seedlings for plants with desirable characteristics.

It is a good idea to try to save the flowering plant as well as trying to grow new plants from seed. Clones with special characteristics are often not reproduced when grown from seed, so it is important to try to conserve them vegetatively.

Various methods have been suggested to revive flowering bamboo. More study needs to be done with this. Some have been effective in some cases, many have not. Often when a bamboo flowers the gardener will see it decline and rip it out without any effort at reviving it, or if it is not a visible eyesore just abandon it to the forces of nature. Bamboos treated so often perish, with proper care they might be saved.