President’s Letter from Barb North

House Finches are beginning to sing in my

backyard; I’ve heard Black-capped Chickadees,

Red-breasted Nuthatches, Northern Flickers, and

American Robins. I am happy to hear them,

even with snow on the ground and cold

temperatures. 

I have been thinking about enhancing my

yard for birds; I know lots of you want a hand in

this respect. First of all, I am no plant expert.

Nor can I give you a fabulous list that will solve

all your problems at once.

What I am willing to do is give you some

ideas to assess your own yards and begin the

process. We can consider what birds need, then

how we can meet some of those needs.

If you have questions, send me a note via

email or to the PVAS PO Box 32. I can try to

incorporate your comments into the next couple

of months letters.

What do birds need? Food, water, shelter,

and space are what all organisms need to live.

What do I provide now; what could I easily

provide in the next year that will enhance the

experience of birds in and visiting my yard?

How can I keep my yard attractive to birds

during the whole year?

Selecting species or families would help

narrow down my process, but I could also

generally add items that would help. Before I

get too far with this track, I should make a

couple of other assessments.

How large is my yard? What types of soil

do I have for growing; can I enhance my soil to

grow plants better? How much water is

available and can I enhance this? How much

shade vs sunlight dominates my yard? Are

surrounding yards similar to mine or is mine an

oasis? What sort of shelter do I provide

near my feeder(s); what sort of predators or

dominant wildlife visit my yard? I am

thinking deer and pocket gophers

specifically.

The presence of deer can drastically

affect what plants will be successful. Pocket

gophers can also wreak havoc with my

plantings. Domestically I have to deal with

prowling neighbor cats, one roaming,

unwelcome dog, and squirrels.

What do I already provide? How

successful is it? What type of feeders &

waterers do I have? Do I need baffles for

the feeders? Is my water enhanced with

dripping, to attract birds? Considering all of

these questions should help me prepare to

make some changes that will have greater

success than if I hadn’t tried.

Sally Roth, an author with lots of

experience in gardening for birds (Attracting

Songbirds to Your Backyard, among many

other titles,) suggests lettuce is a great

plant to attract birds for the whole growing

season. The tender leaves are eaten, along

with the insects it attracts, and the seed

head when it goes to seed. I think I will try

this, though I don’t know yet if deer like

lettuce.

I hope I have given you something to

think about, to help enhance your bird

habitat. Recently I have added

buffaloberry, and serviceberry bushes.

Canadian cherry is a hit. Flax and bachelor

buttons are fabulous for Lesser Goldfinch

and American Goldfinch.

My biggest goal is for variety of as

many natives as possible—trees, bushes,

flowering plants.

Happy Birding and Gardening

-Barb North

May 2, 2021

 We have returned from seven weeks in Palm Desert, CA and I am now hard at work in the yard raking and trimming.  The deserts of California make for very interesting birding during the cool months of winter and there are lots of avid birders to hang out with when there is not a pandemic raging.  Scout and I did not go down until we had both of our inoculations.  Our best bird this winter was an Abert's Towhee, a lifer for us and a nice looking bird.  My two favorite birds in the area down South are the Vermilion Flycatcher and the Northern Mockingbird.  But now that I think about it the Boat-tailed Grackle is a fascinating creature in flight.

The big news here at the cottage is that I cashed out the cryptocurrency I forgot I had and used some profits to purchase a Vortex  Razor HT spotting scope.  An extravagance expenditure I would have never made if it had not been with done with  essentially “free” money.   The clarity and extreme ease of use make this optic a real joy.  I hope to share it with all of you on future bird outings.

Our bird feeders here in AF are very popular with various goldfinches, chickadees, nuthatches and juncos.  It looks as though spring is well underway.  We have been out owling a couple of times but so far have had no luck.  It is rainy today, so I may go out again today.

I hope you are all well and putting your binos to good use!

-Good Birding