Herself’s Houston Garden

Many people have argued that feeding birds, especially in the winter will harm them. People have argued that it disrupts the migration pattern or that birds will not go to or learn to find places that have native food. Nature is reporting an article this week that shows that feeding the birds, especially in the winter benefits them.

. . . The study is the first to show such a long-term effect of providing bird food. Previously, domestic wisdom held that nibbles such as nuts and seeds helped birds get through a lean spell — as well as giving you something to look at from your kitchen window — but that the benefit of such snacks was probably only temporary, and would not last past the winter.

Unlike migrating species that must build up large fat reserves before heading abroad for the winter, species such as blue tits and great tits that stay in cold climes are thought to live on a more hand-to-mouth (or claw-to-beak) basis, explains Stuart Bearhop of the University of Exeter, UK, who led the study.

But Bearhop and his colleagues found that, surprisingly, the benefits stretch into the spring. Birds with ready access to peanut-stocked bird-feeders from November until early March began laying eggs roughly 2.5 days earlier than birds without access to supplemental feeding, even though their breeding season does not begin until April.

What’s more, the researchers also found that birds that had been fed had, on average, almost one extra chick that reached maturity. Bearhop and his colleagues describe their results in the journal Biology Letters 1. . . [ read more Winter bird feeding helps spring breeding ]

*Turns out this little guy is a downy woodpecker. They or one of there cousins makea a ring of holes in your pine tree so the sap leaks out and keeps predators from climbing the tree and getting into their nests.

Do you think it’s been raining enough? Everything is soggy and the plants are wilting from all the water. The cats are thoroughly grouchy. Every time I open the back door I can smell mold and there is nothing like a moldy cat to kick off those allergies and a dash for the Sudafed.

The Crepe Myrtles are beginning to bloom and shed their bark. My black timor bamboo has its first new spike coming up through the ground. It grows about 3″ a day! The mother in law’s tongues I moved late last spring have new leaves pushing up as well.

I’ve a young woodpecker who comes by one of the humming bird feeders several times a day for a drink. She has quite the sweet tooth. There is fresh water not a few feet from the feeder. I don’t know how much longer she’ll be able to get his beak into the feeder so that should straighten itself out with time.

I have several lizards running around the yard missing tails. I suspect Kazoo is responsible for that. Fred keeps showing up at the back door with frogs and toads hanging out of his mouth.

There is little pruning or weeding to do this time of year. It’s a good time to take in talks. I heard one on butterflies this week, the notes are scheduled for posting July 4th.

The mealy bug did show up on the roses. I cut off those sections and gave all the roses a good spray of orange oil.

See also:
Crape Myrtle

I have one Bird Feeder that has gone two years with out the squirrels getting in to the feed at all.

So I was feeling my oats and purchased a nice copper one at Smith and Hawkins, thinking maybe these squirrels weren’t so bad. I hung it from a tree, added a squirrel baffle and waited. Three months go by all is well. Well almost well. It is a messy feeder and squirrels were collecting on the back porch despite those lazy cats.

Friday, I came down in the morning and low and behold if there isn’t a suburban rat sitting in the feeder pigging out. A cup of coffee later and the feeder was down and cleaned and heading for the garage.

But the birds really missed that feeder so I thought I’d give it another try.

So Saturday we made a trip to HD and picked up a 10′ section of copper pipe, a 2′ section of copper pipe, 2-90′ elbows and a cap for the pipe. As you can see in the picture it turned out well and wasn’t but a few minutes work. There are holes drilled and set screws inserted into the elbows to keep things from sliding. The feeder had a loop which we just slipped over the pipe. The squirrel baffle is now mounted under the feeder instead of over it.

I put some grease on the pipe anyhow. I don’t think they can climb the pipe but sliming the little devils is not such a bad deterrent. However, the grease all melted and ran down the pipe. Some things work better up north than down here.

So far it is holding its own, time will tell if it is truly squirrel proof or just another step in the arms race against them.

More information:
All Squirrels Must Die!

I’m noticing more hummingbirds around the feeder than I did a month ago. The tufted titmice and black headed chickadees have been hanging out in groups of a half dozen or so as well.

I’ve two pairs of cardinals here. They and the cat spend most of the chatting to each other.

Last weekend we stumbled across a bunch of heron and egret rookeries. It’s amazing. They had about 30 nests spread between 3 pine trees most of them so close the birds could walk from one to another.

The local expert on hummingbirds has told me this is the book to get if you want to know more about Texas hummingbirds: Hummingbirds of Texas: With Their New Mexico And Arizona Ranges (Tam Nature Guides)