Winter Report 2002
Fall Migrating Birds, Alabama Gulf Coast 2002, Up Close Before Flight to Latin America for Winter
October Report 2002:
Fall Migration Continues
Some Stay-At-Home Birds
Trees and Shrubs for Fall Planting
End of Season with One Last Slurp before flight to Yucatan. Ruby-throated Hummingbird in Michigan bulks up for 1700+ mile journey to winter safety. Click to see map of where migrating birds go; And click to see table for which birds.
"I'm not moving." - American Barred Owl.
(Photograph William S. Cassilly, Glendale, Missouri). Click to see article.
Some Other Stay-At-Home Birds
- - The White-tailed Ptarmigan. (Pronounced "P" as in pneumonia; "g" as in grouse.) Expert camouflage in all seasons.
- The Yellow-headed Blackbird. Beautiful year-round resident, related to the Meadowlark but less- than- zero capacity for song. Who needs it? A polygamist.
Plant Now For Next Season
Hardy native fruits for wildlife and humansWe have no financial connection to any of the following sources.
This list of Conservation Fruits Worth Trying comes to us from Southmeadow Fruit Gardens (P.O.Box 211, Baroda, Michigan 49101. Phone 269-422-2411. Fax (269) 422-1464.
Which birds are attracted to specific trees and shrubs? For starters, visit Pineridge Gardens, a small native plant nursery in Arkansas happily serving a 10+state area. www.pineridgegardens.com
Useful Book: Native Trees & Shrubs, Vines -- A guide to using,
growing, and propagating North American woody plants, by William Cullina, New England Wild Flower Society, Houghton Mifflin, Boston,
New York, 2002. ISBN 0-618-09858-5. $40.00
September Report 2002
Photo courtesy J. J. Meriwether, Wildwood, Missouri
"It's tough! but you don't get options on their bird food...." |
Update: Red-Wing Blackbird Poisoning Delayed
| | Hummer Alert: | Hummingbirds Heading South After Nesting. Put Out Feeders |
| | Bird Garden Information: | BIG SECRET FOR A SUCCESSFUL BIRD GARDEN (besides shelter, green food and water) IS - peace and quiet
Your more interesting birds won't show up without it. |
Protection From Mosquitoes, and For Our Birds.
Other News: Ivory-billed Woodpecker Dead or Alive - update.
August Report 2002
WEST NILE VIRUS NOW KILLING BLUE JAYS AS WELL AS CROWS
Requiem for some small friends:
There are creatures in this world who, when we slow down to know them, are dear to us as children.
A plague is killing some of our birds here in the United States - West Nile disease - carried by a mutual enemy, the mosquito. Imported by humans.
Eliminate Stagnant Water.
And please, if you can open your hearts, give these most intelligent of birds your charity while they are under siege.
The American Blue Jay - Cyanocitta cristata
Corvus Brachyrhynchos - The All American Crow
July Report 2002
Thinking Outside the Box: Blue Jays go "anting."
June Report 2002
USDA to Poison Six Million Red-wings
Growing Fruit Trees in Small Spaces
Another Reason to Save Old Growth Trees
March 20th will be the official 1st day of Spring in the Northern Hemisphere, marked by the "Vernal Equinox". That is when the sun aims directly at the Equator on earth and is seen overhead at noon. Day and night will be nearly equal. This happens only twice a year.
An avian migration that is thousands of years old has begun for 2-5 billion birds from tropical Middle America, South America and the Carribean to the North. Over 340 species of landbirds, waterfowl and shorebirds migrate each Spring between the Americas for Spring and Summer food and nesting. How to see them?
Take a car trip to one of 400 national wildlife refuges under the US Fish and Wildlife Service at http://www.fws.gov/ Or,
click on our list of birding centers. Keep an eye on your local parks and public gardens. In March, look for robins, phoebes, kinglets, blackbirds, finches, some owls and hawks, and ducks in courtship display. They mostly fly at night and rest during the day. April will bring a stupendous flight homeward.
Start your garden
May Report 2002
Here Comes the Sun!
"Clay Pot Man" - Dawn di Lorenzo
© Copyright 2001 Longboat Key, FL
Time To Start Your Bird Garden - Basic garden elements from world famous Missouri Botanical Garden. Adaptable.
CATS IN THE GARDEN!!! - How the Gray Catbird got its name.
A Bountiful Backyard Bird Garden - or Front Yard - With some easy how-to books.
FREE TREES FOR PUBLIC LAND, i.e., Your Neighborhood.
The National Tree Trust has grants for plants and is accepting applications until May 31 for grants to support tree planting on public land. Applicants must agree to use volunteers to plant tree seedlings. The grants consist of tree seedlings. For more information, visit www.nationaltreetrust.org or call 800/846-TREE.
April Report 2002
Is the Ivory-Billed Woodpecker Really Extinct?
Coming Home! Our birds of spring and summer risk their way home - in a huge trans-continental migration.
- Here come the "Lilliputians in Feathers." Hummingbird feeders should be out this month. Start your garden.
- Click here for Clemson University Bird Radar
- Click here for national wildlife refuges under the US Fish and Wildlife Service, or click our list of birding centers.
A Frog and a Pail - A Timely Warning About Trees
Photograph courtesy Pat Moore, President, Clayton Garden Club No. 4, St. Louis, MO.
HAPPY EARTH DAY!
March Report 2002
March Crocus
Things Worth Knowing:
How Did the Robin Get Its Red Breast?? - A myth you may have missed.
Did You Know Most Blue Jays Out West Don't Have Crests?
Coming Right Now:
February Report 2002