AT EVERY LECTURE I GIVE (and often in comments here, too), I’m asked: “What can I use to get rids of garden ‘bugs’?” My advice: Don’t waste money on something in a spray bottle, but shop instead for plants that attract bug-hungry birds, to make a garden that’s hospitable to them (including a water feature that remains unfrozen all 365 days, or at least a seasonal one). Don’t kill off critical soil life with chemical fertilizers or nasty weed-and-feed, either. Love your soil, and nurture that precious bottom of the food chain, where all the little guys who are our checks-and-balance system of life reside. My 101 on making a bird garden, plus some garden-sanitation tips (as good in spring as fall). The real “news,” as doodler Andre Jordan well knows: Birds (and frogs, and snakes) are environmentally friendly.
bird sh-t
More than 60 kinds of birds visit my rural garden in New York State, near the Berkshires of Massachusetts, and the garden was begun with them in mind: no chemicals, water year-round, lots of fruit- and seed-rich plantings, plenty of cover.
doodle by andre: gardener’s best friend
birdnote q&a: nest boxes 101, or which birdhouse?
EVER WONDER ABOUT nest boxes–about which design is best, or where you should place them in the garden to attract bluebirds, perhaps, or some other species? Ellen Blackstone of BirdNote, the daily public-radio show, will once again be our guide for exploring what’s going on as we look skyward, in Part 6 of our ongoing series. [read more…]
birdnote q&a: what senses do birds use to hunt?
INSTALLMENT NUMBER FIVE in my series of answers to your bird questions centers on how birds who hunt locate their prey, and also some important tips on when we humans choose to feed birds. Ellen Blackstone of BirdNote, the daily public-radio show, will once again be our guide for exploring what’s going on as we look skyward. [read more…]
birdnote q&a: how long do birds live, and do they really mate for life?
THE FOURTH INSTALLMENT in my series of answers to your bird questions centers on bird lifestyles: Do birds really mate for life, and how long do they live? Ellen Blackstone of BirdNote, the daily public-radio show, will once again be our guide for exploring what’s going on as we look skyward.
[read more…]
birdnote q&a: birds who dare—small ones mobbing big ones, and woodpecker drumming (ouch!)
WEEK THREE IN MY SERIES of answers to your bird questions is about when birds display daring behavior: such as when a mob of small birds chase after a bigger one, or when a woodpecker drums on my house (doesn’t that hurt, guy?). Ellen Blackstone of BirdNote, the daily public-radio show, will once again be our guide for exploring what’s going on as we look skyward at what appears to be birds being bold and brave.
[read more…]
