Julie Zickefoose et al. - Backyard birding : using natural gardening to attract birds

Backyard Birding

Backyard Birding

USING NATURAL GARDENING
TO ATTRACT BIRDS

JULIE ZICKEFOOSE

AND THE EDITORS OF BIRD WATCHERS DIGEST

SKYHORSE PUBLISHING

Copyright 2011 by Bird Watchers Digest
Illustrations copyright 2011 by Julie Zickefoose
Published by arrangement with Rodale, Inc.

All Rights Reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any manner without the express written consent of the publisher, except in the case of brief excerpts in critical reviews or articles. All inquiries should be addressed to Skyhorse Publishing, 307 West 36th Street, 11th Floor, New York, NY 10018.

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Skyhorse and Skyhorse Publishing are registered trademarks of Skyhorse Publishing, Inc., a Delaware corporation.

www.skyhorsepublishing.com

10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data is available on file.

ISBN: 978-1-61608-266-6

Printed in China

For DOD, who always said
Id forget about chasing birds when
I discovered horticulture. You were
right now I let them come to me!

Contents

1 THE BEST PLANTS FOR BIRDS
Fruit, Nectar, Seeds, and Shelter

Plant It, and They Will Come

A weekend in May, and I find myself in Chicago. Its high migration time, and as I explore the city on foot and by bus, I find warblers everywhere, sitting dazed and confused on the hard sidewalks of the concrete canyons. Other people dont seem to notice this phenomenon; they step over the tiny birds as they would candy wrappers, but Im scurrying everywhere, trying to help. These avian migrants have arrived here at night, having been drawn in by the skyscrapers lights. Theyve bumbled about in confusion, and daylight has found them in unfriendly territory. I see a tiny yellowthroat being blown about in the backdraft of a city bus, and I pick it up; its exhausted but unhurt, its eyes bright and defiant in its black bandit mask. Smiling, I slip the little bird into a coat pocket. Ive got a plan.

THE MAGIC HEDGE

Theres a park on a little peninsula that juts out into Lake Michigan, and in that park is a row of bushes thats called the Magic Hedge. Bird watchers have given it this name because any species is likely to turn up in it at any time. Its nothing special botanically, mostly privet, but its the last real cover migrant birds can use to feed and rest before they make the great flight across Lake Michigan on their way north in the spring. In the fall, exhausted migrants plummet into the hedge after theyve flown the length of the lake on their way south. The hedge is essential, and it doubtless saves many small lives. I would hate to be a caterpillar in the Magic Hedge.

I disembark the bus and make my way to the lakefront and the hedge. I barely get my pocket open before the little yellowthroat slips out and dives into the hedge; hell make it now. Glowing with satisfaction, I scan the privet bushes with my binoculars and see the first sedge wren of my life, as if in reward for the small service Ive done. Other birders stand quietly, appreciating wave after wave of birds that pass through the hedge.

The Magic Hedge quietly gives its gift to birds and birders alike every season. I reflect on the interrelationship of this simple planting, intended merely as a windscreen, and the hoards of migrant birds and bird watchers who have learned to exploit it. Yes, its importance is enhanced by its unique location, but there are Magic Hedges everywhere. Weve only to plant them or to stand back and let them develop.

BIRDS: NATURAL GARDENERS

When my husband and I bought our 80-acre, southeast Ohio property in 1992, the grounds were devoid of trees, shrubs, or flowers. The big meadow, mown three times each summer, was mostly orchard grass and not very botanically interesting.

In the 8 years since then, weve done a dance with the property, planting here, mowing there, letting this and that go. Weve planted butterfly gardens, hummingbird gardens, and seed gardens for the finches. Our efforts, while colorful and pleasing, pale in comparison to the intricate tapestry nature has woven around the edges of our lawn. Birds like edges; they perch a lot where woodland meets meadow, and they naturally sow the seeds of the fruits they enjoy there. Black raspberry, sumac, dogwood, sassafras, tupelo, aster, goldenrod, fortail, deetongue, spicebushits a glorious tangle, one we could never dream of or plant ourselves.

A WEALTH OF HABITATS

This book is a celebration of gardens, planned and unplanned, and the myriad ways they enrich our lives. It sprang up when the editors at both Bird Watchers Digest and Rodale decided to bring the wealth of natural gardening information in the magazines features to a larger audience. Paging through to a larger audience. Paging through the book, youll find meadows and hedgerows, berry patches, ponds, and shrubby coverthe habitats that experienced birders know shelter the most birds. Why not bring one or more of them to your own backyard? Imitate nature with your plantings, and youll welcome nature nearby. The dividends pay out in birds, small mammals, reptiles, amphibians, and insects, all riches beyond measure for the naturalist in each one of us.

Whether youre about to plant a hummingbird garden, install a water feature, create perches from dead snags, start a feeding station, or simply let a corner of your property run wild, youll find inspiration and information on every page of Backyard Birding: Using Natural Gardening to Attract Birds. Let it help you welcome nature, in all its carefree disorder, into your yard and your life, and forge a deep and joyous connection to all things wild and wonderful. The view from your windows will never be mundane again.

Julie Zickefoose
Whipple, Ohio

THE BEST PLANTS FOR BIRDS

SOME OF THE LOVELIEST GARDENS to human eyes may not appeal to birds and beasts at all. Birds may shun a well-pruned garden of exotic plants and prefer to hang out in the overgrown and weedy abandoned lot down the street. How could they desert your lovely rose beds for what seems to be the low-rent district in the neighborhood? Simple. Birds need what nature producesfruit, nectar, and seeds to sustain them, and overgrown tangles to provide shelter. If you want to live with the birds, let the plants they love thrive in your yard. Well-chosen plants will welcome the local birds and will signal to migrating birds that your gardens are bountiful and safe.