Half A Year Is Not Enough

By Bernice Maddux

Spring arrives on hummingbird wings;

Of this I have no doubt,

When they arrive, I know it’s time

To put sweet nectar out.

I realize they’ve traveled far

To spend six months with me.

So I will do my very best

To make their visit worry-free.

I’ll cultivate sweet blossoms,

Filling beds and pots with red.

They will supervise the job

As they buzz high above my head.

They ask so little, give so much,

Adding sweetness to my days.

Half a year is not enough

To behold all their winning ways.

I have been attempting since I bought this home five years ago.  I have documented 36 different varieties of birds, including “fly bys”, feeding just black oil sunflower seeds, niger, suet, and providing water.  I also grow plants that encourage the birds, butterflies, and bees

I have hung bird houses made of straw, grass, recycled material,

Flower Top Bird House

functional wood designs, and even ornamental.

Starlings chose to raise a family in the eave which was protected by a fairly large evergreen.  They never returned.

A sparrow had a nest in the laurel hedge which I discovered when I trimmed the hedge, exposing the nest with two babies, which the Ferrell cat found soon after.  I felt so bad!

A pair of house finches started a nest in ornamental bird house by my back door, laid two eggs, and then abandoned the nest.

Mini Wren Bird House

A second pair of house finches started to build a nest in a house I had hung from a tree branch but again they abandoned the process.

I am learning the reasons for my failures and would welcome any ones input!

1. My yard is small and I am outside a lot on my days off.  They start a nest while I am at work, stay with the process a couple of weeks, and then determine my presence is too disruptive.
2. There are natural settings of trees and shrubs in the deep gully and swamp in my back yard, so there are safer more distant settings available.  Now I have moved my bird houses into those tees and let’s see what happens this year and next spring!
3. Because I have such a wide variety of birds coming to my feeders, my small yard is far too busy for birds to attempt to raise a family.  Nesting birds need space!  They do not want to fight off other birds from their nest.
4. If I have a nesting family in my yard, I have to stop feeding the other birds until the fledglings are on their own.  Since only 80% of baby birds survive, it is well worth supporting the nesters!
5. I keep my two cats indoors, but my neighbor allows his cat out and is happy when it has killed a bird!  My pleadings have not changed his attitude or actions.  There are some other Ferrell cats in my neighborhood, which seem to be diminishing in number.

Western Columbine

Columbines (Aguilegia spp) are a great plant to grow for their intricately shaped flowers, good color ranges, frilly fern like leaves, and some have a long bloom period.  They are perennial and will reseed easily.  Columbines rely on hummingbirds to pollinate them so there is a good symbiotic relationship.

The nectar is secreted in the long tube of the flower and collects in a bulge at the base, making it the ideal source for humming birds.  Plant them en masse for extra effect along walk ways and patios.

You can find them in seed catalogs and as plants at high quality nurseries in the early spring.  I like to get starts and seeds from friends.

There are seed catalogs that focus on native plants which contribute to their hardiness and accessibility by hummers.   Four to experiment with are:

1. Aquilegia Canadensis, Canada or wild red columbine.  Native from Manitoba and Saskatchewan to Ontario and
   

   Canada Columbine

   Quebec south through much of the eastern United States.  The flowers are red and lemon yellow in midspring to midsummer.  Plants grow two feet tall and one foot wide.  Wild red columbine is also a larval food plant for the columbine dusky wing butterfly.

2. 

   Rocky Mtn Cloumbine

   Aquilegia carulea, Rocky Mountain columbine. Erect blooms are bicolor in lovely shades of blue and white.  Plants grow 1 to 2 feet tall and bloom from June to August.  This is the state flower for Colorado and includes the mountains of southwestern Montana and central Idaho to northern New Mexico and Arizona.

3. Aguilegia chrysantha or golden or yellow columbine. The horizontal-facing canary
   

   Yellow Columbine

   yellow flowers look like little rockets.   They have a long bloom from April to September making them especially appealing.  Plants grow 2 to 3 feet tall with a nearly equal spread.  They grow in mountain canyon seeps in the Sonoran and Chihuahuan desert regions, and are found from west Texas, southern New Mexico, southern Utah, and Arizona and Mexico.

4. 

   Western Columbine

   4. Aquilegia Formosa, western columbine.  Formosa means beautiful.  It reaches 1 ½ feet tall and bears dangling yellow and red blooms in late spring through early summer.  The spurs are only about ½ to ¾ inch long and point upright, making them ideal for hungry hummers.  They are found in meadows and damp areas of western mountains, the Pacific Northwest, and Alaska.

5. Aquilegia longissima, Long Spur Columbine, relies on the sphinx moths with their
   

   Long Spur Columbine

   extra long proboscises to effect pollination; hummer tongues are too short for them to successfully feed on this plant.  This species has particularly large flowers with spurs that are 4 to 6 inches long which makes them inaccessible to hummers.   They are native from west Texas to southern Arizona and northeastern Mexico.

Bluebird with mealworms

Most years Bluebirds start to nest during late January and February in many area of the United States.  The winter weather this year in much of the country has been too cold and food sources too short to all the females Bluebirds to get into body condition to reproduce. If there has ever been a year to help the Bluebirds with supplement feeding, this is it!  One of the favorite things that Bluebirds

Mealworms Value Tub

love to eat is mealworms. Dried mealworms are a great convenient way to feed them to your feathered friends. They can be purchased in small packages or in a value tub, which is a good buy.

Hiatt Jelly & Mealworm Stake Feeders are a good way to feed Bluebirds the worms. You can move them around your lawn or garden so you can view the birds. Should you get eaten out of house and home, try the Songbird Essentials Recycled Plastic Mealworm Feeder. This feeder keeps out unwanted birds while offering a safe exit for excited Bluebirds.

Meal Worm Feeder

Bluebirds live throughout the U.S. and typically Eastern Bluebirds are seen east of the Rockies. Western and Mountain Bluebirds are seen west from the Rocky Mountains. The Eastern Bluebird is the state bird of Missouri and lives there year round.  Bluebirds begin their courtships beginning in February in the areas of the United States where they live year round. So now is the time to get your Bluebird nesting boxes up and available.  Bluebird populations were declining from 1920 – 1970 due to a loss of nesting habitat and completion for nest sites from introduced exotic species, European Starlings and house Sparrows.

The Eastern Bluebird is shaped like a robin slightly smaller and they often travel in small flocks. The male is bright blue with a reddish throat and chest and white belly. The female has similar yet muted color pattern. Juveniles are spotted with blue highlights. Listen for their gentle whistles and chatters. They primarily feed on insects and small fruits like berries, especially in winter. Look for them in farmlands, parks, open country, roadsides, urban areas, with some trees and the edges of forests and woodlands.

Once a mated pair decides on a location, the female builds the nest in four or five days with minimal help from the male. The female incubates as the male does not have a brood patch. The brood patch is a patch of featherless skin on the belly that is used to warm the eggs. The male will occasionally “sleep over” in the nest box with the females. The key to attracting bluebirds to nest is having plenty of nesting locations along with food and water. If your yard is heavily wooded you may not be able to get Bluebirds to nest because they tend to prefer open areas mixed with trees.  Since they naturally use tree cavities, a tree trunk is an ideal mounting place for a Bluebird house. We also have pole systems at www.GardenAccentHeaven.com for mounting bird houses. Place the bird house four to eight feet high near open areas and preferable with the pole facing south or east for sun exposure.  Offer perching spots near the Bluebird house where they can scan the landscape for food items.

GardenAccentHeaven has several Bluebird houses, but the Songbird Essentials Ultimate Nest Box is the “ultimate” option because of the following features:

• _· Brass hinged doors on both sides for easy cleaning. One side has plexiglas to monitor the nest without the danger of chicks falling out, great for the kids.
• _· Predator protector of solid copper to keep squirrels and woodpeckers from enlarging the hole.
• _· Elevated mesh floor to protect nestling from Blowflies.
• _· Zinc chromate plated screws provide a sturdy, longer –lasting house then on built with nails.
• _· Made of natural cedar to last for years and resist insect damage.

The ideal floor size for the box is 4” X 4” with a 1 ½” hole. If you have problems with predators or woodpeckers trying to enlarge the hole size, attach a Songbird Essentials SE617Metal Bluebird Portal Protector around the hole. Many other house options are also available.

-          Copper Roof – looks good and lasts longer

-          Recycled Composite Plastic – longest lasting option.

-          Screen Top Model – Houses Sparrows do not like it.

The female lays four to five light blue eggs that hatch in 13-15 days. The male catches insects to feed the nestlings a high protein diet for their rapidly developing bones and muscles. The young will fledge in 15-20 days, so avoid the temptation to spot on the nest two weeks after hatching so the nestling don’t panic and fledge before they are ready. For two weeks after fledging the parents continue to feed the young while they learn to fend for themselves.  Bluebirds will often re-nest and attempt to raise a second brood. These family units often stick together until the following spring.

Nest boxes are easy to maintain because they really only need to be cleaned twice a year. Clean in October after the breeding season because birds may use the box as a winter roost to get out of the wind and weather. Clean again in January to get ready for nesting.

If another species is persistent in using the nest box, like a Tree Swallow, you can put up another Bluebird house right next to it. Swallows will not tolerate another swallow nesting nearby, but they will get along with Bluebirds establishing a neighboring nest. House Sparrows also like the Bluebird boxes. With the Songbird Essentials sparrow trap you can catch and relocate those pesky Sparrows.

Food and Water

The best way to attract and keep Bluebirds in the yard area is to offer food and water. Their preferred food item is high protein mealworms, and we have juicy ones that they absolutely love. If the live worms give you the heebie-jeebies, try the freeze-dried option. Bluebird Nuggets are another good option, which are chunks of suet and berries. Try planting berry bushes like American Bittersweet this spring to provide natural food for next winter.

Simple plates and trays will do for feeding, but non target species may rob the goodies before the Bluebirds get there. A more efficient approach to doling out your mealworm supply is a Bluebird Mealworm Feeder. These feeders have an entrance hole that birds must go thought to get the mealworms. Most birds are unwilling to enter enclosed spaces, but Bluebirds don’t mind so they end up being the primary mealworm beneficiaries. These feeders can be hung or pole mounted and also come in a very sturdy model made from recycled composite plastic. The Nova Mealworm Warmer keeps mealworms alive and wiggling, it plugs in like a Mealworm crock pot!  Try presenting the Mealworms in a variety of ways and locations to see what they like and to help the birds discover them.

Bluebirds often visit bird baths for drinking and bathing , especially heated units in the wintertime. Be sure to offer a perching spot near the bath where they can preen and dry off. Add a Water Wiggler, dripper or bubbler to the water to get their attention with the sound and movement of water. Moving water also means mosquitoes cannot breed!

Want to learn more? We have the Stokes Bluebird book, with in depth tips attracting Bluebirds, and a short Bluebird Book by Birdwatchers Digest. Also check out Birdman Mel’s video below.