Backyard Bird Secrets for Every Season: Attract a Variety of Nesting, Feeding, and Singing Birds Year-Round - Softcover

Roth, Sally

Softcover

ISBN 10: 1594869111 ISBN 13: 9781594869112

Verlag: RODALE PR, 2009

Inhaltsangabe

Shares numerous tips for attracting birds throughout the year, in a guide that explains how an understanding of seasonal aspects can help to attract more birds, from offering crushed eggshells during laying times to creating hospitable environments for mating and migratory periods. Original. 15,000 first printing.

Über diesen Titel

Über die Autorin bzw. den Autor

SALLY ROTH, author of numerous birding, nature, and gardening titles, spends much of her time watching birds and enjoying nature across the country. She currently lives in New Harmony, Indiana.

Auszug. © Genehmigter Nachdruck. Alle Rechte vorbehalten.

part 1

Secrets for Spring

SPRING: A TIME OF TRANSITION

Long before the first daffodils trumpet the season, weeks before the vernal equinox that marks the start date of calendar-year spring, our yards are full of signs that the season has shifted. Early spring is all about anticipation, as anyone who's ever kept an eye on her daffodils knows. I watch for the swelling brown buds of pussy willows, growing fat before they burst out in sleek silver fur. I listen for the froggie chorus of spring peepers and watch for toads out and about on rainy nights. And I listen hard for the first love song from a chickadee--the two-note fee-bee that means a couple is courting. Watching for these early signs helps me enjoy the anticipation of the coming season, which brings so many fabulous birds to the foreground.

Once the changes of spring get underway, things happen fast--especially with the birds. Migration is the big news of the season, and the changeover from winter regulars to spring birds in our backyards makes us really sit up and take notice, as our old faithful friends are joined by a bunch of bright new characters.

In the bird world, spring runs mainly from February through April, with a few early birds showing spring changes as early as January and some latecomers spilling over into May. The actual dates will vary depending on where you live. Those 3 months will bring big changes in your backyard, with courtship and migration happening all around. In this section, you'll learn how to target your efforts toward the birds of this season and their springtime habits.

chapter 1

Birds on the Move

Migration is the headline news of spring. The cast of characters in our backyards shifts dramatically during this season. Instead of the same old faces day after day, we suddenly notice new friends at the feeder, new voices in the trees, and new colors in the yard as robins, wrens, tanagers, and other spring birds migrate north. Old winter reliables, like the juncos and white-throated sparrows that have added life to the backyard scene for the last several months, will be moving on, too.

Meanwhile, our year-round friends are shifting places, too. Many "year- round" birds do relocate with the seasons, though perhaps by only a few hundred miles or less, rather than by the thousands of miles that many migrant species put under their wings. The jays we've fed all winter may move on to nesting territories, while other jays move in to scout our yards for possibilities. It's the same with cardinals, goldfinches, and other birds we think of as year-round residents.

Changing Faces , Changing Places

My good old dog, Duke, has eaten pretty much the same thing, day after day, for all of his 14 years. Dry dog food can't be very exciting, but he doesn't complain. Still, just rustle the bag of treats or let him get a whiff of that cheese sandwich, and all of a sudden old lay-about Duke comes to life. With all 70-some £ds of his wriggling body, he lets me know that he's ready for something new. Oh boy! Excitement! Something different!

Migrating yellow-rumped wood warblers may turn up just about anywhere-- including at your nectar feeder!

spring secret That blue jay you're feeding in December may not be the same individual that visits in spring. "Year-round resident" is more accurate as a description of a species, not of a particular bird.

That's how I feel, too, when spring arrives. While I love my winter birds-- what a gray day it would be without chickadees to brighten breakfast time-- the anticipation of what spring has in store makes me start to wriggle, too.

Spring, to me, is all about the old adage for brides: Something old, something new, something borrowed, something blue. Since anticipation is the best thing about spring, let's start by taking a look at that "something new" first.

Something New

"Let's go on vacation for a couple of weeks this April," a friend suggested many years ago. We'd go to fabulous places, see exotic things, eat unusual food, have a ball.

"Sounds great," I told him, "but no thanks. That's when the warblers are coming through."

Warblers? Birds? How could I say no to an exciting trip to stay home and watch birds?

Talk about excitement. Foreign places can't compare to the thrill of migration, as far as I'm concerned.

Watching for the first robin is still a big deal to lots of us. But that's just the start.

Vivid indigo buntings often drop in at feeders during migration, before they move on to nesting territories.

spring secret Bone up before the birds arrive. Review a field guide (may I recommend The Backyard Bird Lover's Field Guide, by yours truly--see Sources, on page 320, for info) so you have an idea of who's who before the real thing arrives.

Does "scarlet tanager" make your little heart go pit-a-pat? How about the thought of a rose-breasted grosbeak in full tricolor glory? An indigo bunting? A dozen indigo buntings? A dozen lazuli buntings? A hundred goldfinches? Now we're talking. And let's not forget those wondrous wood warblers--dozens of tiny mites traveling through the trees.

After a winter of mainly gray and brown birds, with a dash of jays and maybe a sprinkling of cardinals, the cheerful color of spring birds is a delight worth staying home for. Many of these orange, red, green, or blue beauties are, sad to say, only temporary pleasures. Their visits last from a few days to a few weeks, either because they're just passing through or because they will soon be moving away from our yards and feeders and back to their natural nesting and feeding grounds. Since I never know how long any of these visitors might stay, I spend a lot of time looking at my feeders when the season shifts.

spring secret Technology has provided you with some bird-watching aids that old-timers (like me) didn't have. Try the bird ID cards with embedded microchips that play a snatch of birdsong (such as the "Identiflyer"; you'll find sources on page 320), or download audio files to your MP3 player or cell phone, if it's capable of playing them, for quick access in the field. You'll find a sampling of Web sites with recordings in the Sources section on page 320, or you can do a search for them on your computer. Or do what I do, and follow your ears to the singer.

Just as Duke hurries to see what goodies are in my hand, I rush to the feeder window on spring mornings to see who's new. Then it's a quick glance around the yard to check for surprises under the bushes or in the trees. Finally, it's time to get dressed, start the coffee, and go outside to fill the feeders with treats that will tempt any birds that might be flying by. My feeder menu changes in spring, along with the cast of characters, because I want to make sure I have something that will please them all. (You'll find tips on spring feeding, so you can do the same, in Chapter 3.)

Spring Treats

The high point for most of us bird lovers is not birds in the bush, but birds at our feeders. What a thrill to spot a flash of sapphire from the first indigo bunting, or the flaming red of a tanager. Even those sunflower hogs, the evening grosbeaks, are a welcome treat in spring.

Here's a sampling of the newbies you might see at your feeder in spring-- and you could add others to the list, since even birds that were previously standoffish about visiting feeders seem to be getting more used to the idea of investigating them. Check a comprehensive field guide, such as The Sibley Guide to Birds (see Sources on page 320) to see which ones have a possibility of passing through or alighting in your area.

Male birds, like this Audubon's warbler, migrate first, with the duller females following a week or two later.

Something Old

All of that excitement over the new and different means that some old...

Details zur Ausgabe

• Verlag: RODALE PR
• Erscheinungsdatum: 2009
• Sprache: Englisch
• ISBN 10: 1594869111
• ISBN 13: 9781594869112
• Einband: Taschenbuch
• Anzahl der Seiten: 337
• Kontakt zum Hersteller: Nicht verfügbar
• Verantwortliche Person: Nicht verfügbar