An Introduction:

[mistressofmuses]

Hi there! :D

Username: mistressofmuses
Your other online venues: I'm really most active here. I'm on tumblr under the same username.
Your approximate location: Colorado, USA

What are your interests in birds? I love birdwatching, and trying to identify which birds I see.
How big is your yard / balcony / etc. if any? I'm unfortunately in a balconyless studio apartment, though I fortunately live near several small parks and green spaces that allow for birdwatching. My mom lives nearby and loves to feed birds, though her HOA recently ruled that birdfeeders are no longer allowed, which she is very angry about.
What is your general habitat / climate zone? We're mostly considered "high desert." We're in between the mountains and the plains, so get a nice variety on the birds that show up here.
What do you do to attract birds, if anything? Not able to do much, since we don't have any outside access from our apartment. My mom, despite the HOA rules, still has one small feeder hidden on her patio, and also plants sunflowers and things to attract birds, plus still has birdbaths out as a water source.
What are some birds you often see in your area? We see hawks (mostly redtails) daily, plus songbirds (finches, goldfinches, sparrows, occasional others), corvids (ravens, crows, magpies, occasional blue jays or Steller's jays), and a lot of different ducks and geese on our nearby ponds. Also pelicans, which are SO BIG.

What is your blog like? Mostly public, not really themed around much. I post about a lot of daily life stuff, which means sometimes interesting things and sometimes not.
How active is it? Pretty active! I've posted every day for the last two years, and so far every day this year.
What are your most common topics? Writing, walks and hikes, work griping, things I'm reading or watching.
What kinds of friends would you like to attract? People who are active on DW and interested in the same things I am.

Comments

Welcome!

[ysabetwordsmith]

>> Colorado, USA <<

Woohoo! Now we have a mountain state! \o/ I have added a "location: Colorado" tag for you to use.

>>My mom lives nearby and loves to feed birds, though her HOA recently ruled that birdfeeders are no longer allowed, which she is very angry about.<<

That sucks. From what I've seen, HOAs do a lot of harm by banning things which are good for conservation (like birdfeeders), climate change (like clotheslines), or survival (like gardens).

As an alternative approach, one could plant lots of native species to attract birds. One could also make seed bombs with local wildflower seed and chuck them everywhere.

https://www.westernnativeseed.com/highdesertwildflowermix.html

https://www.applewoodseed.com/product/native-colorado-mixture/

https://www.applewoodseed.com/product/mountain-native-wildflower-mix/

https://www.applewoodseed.com/product/high-plains-native-wildflower-mix/

https://shop.stoverseed.com/products/high-plains-native-pollinator-wildflower-mixture

https://www.seedstrust.com/wildflower-mixes/wildflower-mix-rocky-mountain

https://www.naturesseed.com/wildflower-seed/regional-wildflower-mixes/rocky-mountain-wildflower-mix/

>>Pretty active! I've posted every day for the last two years, and so far every day this year.<<

That's good to hear.

Your situation makes me think that we could really use more wildlife parks. Even a pocket park is plenty big enough for one oak guild or fruit tree guild, a feeding station with a water source, and a bench or few for human visitors. You could add birdhouses and other fixtures if desired. Given that birds make people happy, it would be a fast and affordable way to improve a neighborhood.

I haven't seen much of that in this world -- anything aimed at wildlife tends to be more of a wilderness refuge -- but I have described examples in my Terramagne setting with entries like "Oak Guilds" and "Caterpillar Park."

Re: Welcome!

[mistressofmuses]

Thank you for the location tag add!

HOAs are the WORST. They got on her for a while about planting flowerbeds, though they dropped that part for now at least. But yeah, all of the above - birdfeeders, gardens, clotheslines - are things they're opposed to.
While her house is limited to mostly container gardening, she does try to plant a lot of things that suit native pollinators! She also plants things that have edible seeds, as well as things that attract some insect-eating birds to come hang out and pick off caterpillars and things.

Though I really like the seed bomb idea - there are a couple nearby open fields that don't get mowed too often, that could be excellent spots to try that.

And very much agree about the wildlife parks! I'm really quite lucky that my city has a lot of small parks... but quite a lot of them try to keep animals *away* rather than welcoming them in.
I was pleased to discover some really thriving insect populations at one nearby, because it was more diversity of them than I'd expected to see! It was encouraging that they don't seem to be spraying pesticides.

There's a nice greenbelt that has a few bathouses along it, but I wonder if they'd consider some nesting boxes for bird species as well...

Re: Welcome!

[ysabetwordsmith]

>>Thank you for the location tag add!<<

*bow, flourish* Happy to be of assistance.

>> HOAs are the WORST.<<

People like that tend to be scared of documentation. So if you do something like document the falling number of birds, and then print out copies of articles on the relation between birds and human health, and birds and property values -- then it makes the HOA look very bad.

Don't just have one person do this. Go around the neighborhood with those documents, showing how they are costing people health and money. Get other people riled up. Lots of people love birds. Everyone is stressed and would like to have relaxing things such as birdsong to relieve stress. Nobody will be happy about losing property value.

And don't just do it with birdfeeders or gardens. Look at the rules and write down every one that undermines health, safety, environmental protection, climate change mitigation, etc. Print out the documents and walk the neighborhood with them.

Make sure you check for your city's goals or regulations too, because many places have "green town" goals, but people don't always cross-check when making up their own rules. Anything that crosses the city's rules, you may be able to get someone else to crush the HOA rule.

Basically, they can be pecked to death by ducklings.

>>Though I really like the seed bomb idea - there are a couple nearby open fields that don't get mowed too often, that could be excellent spots to try that.<<

That's perfect. There are many "low-mow" mixes that are meant to be mowed once or twice a year.

>>And very much agree about the wildlife parks! I'm really quite lucky that my city has a lot of small parks... but quite a lot of them try to keep animals *away* rather than welcoming them in.<<

You can use the same tactics to pester your city to welcome birds or other wildlife.
* Birdsong improves mental health.
* Which lowers expenses for health care and police action.
* Birds and other wildlife boost property values.
* It may qualify the city for federal aid if they meet certain targets -- the programs for green and wildlife initiatives are always changing.
* If they plant trees, that also lowers the heat island effect.
* Which reduces the need for expensive air conditioning, encourages people to walk more, and raises property values further.
* Compared to other options, these are extremely cheap techniques that give a lot of bang for buck. If they just plant native species in parks, it doesn't even need maintenance. In fact replacing lawn that needs weekly mowing with a low-mow or no-mow lawn or a wildflower meadow will greatly reduce costs for mowing. You can just make a walking path -- or if it's a prairie with grass and flowers, you can even mow a different meandering path each year to maintain fresh interest.

Put people in a position where they have to defend policies with clear disadvantages, and watch them squirm.

>>There's a nice greenbelt that has a few bathouses along it, but I wonder if they'd consider some nesting boxes for bird species as well...<<

That's a great idea. Many birds like greenbelts. Figure out local species that need help with nesting sites (which is most cavity nesters) and then consider the spacing.

If you have a local college, check to see if they have a deparment for environmental issues, zoology, or anything like that. You might be able to get them involved too. Students are always looking for project ideas, and professors can be ... tenacious.

Around here, I'm surrounded by farmers. Many of them are dumb, so they do things like leave their topsoil tilled and exposed. The last snowstorm we had included howling winds. As soon as the snow stopped falling, it turned beige, then brown, then black. Their topsoil was fleeing, to show up in my yard like little dusty refugees. Sure, we've got room for one more.

Re: Welcome!

[mistressofmuses]

I hate that her HOA has been SO reluctant to listen to things. Though it might be worth seeing if other people would be willing to sign off on pro-bird initiatives! There were a few people who'd previously complained about birdseed hulls "looking dirty" under the trees, but there are likely people on the other side who are happy to have birds around!

Our city does mostly have pretty good climate initiatives, though there've been a few points of contention. (They agree to plant x number of new trees per year! ...But cut down a ton of well-established ones for no clear reasons.) But still... it would be worth looking into ways to try and make certain areas more bird and other wildlife friendly. We have SOME parks where that's already the case, but others that could be far better!

Ugh. So frustrating when people largely make bad decisions on what they do with their land. We're in an area with a lot of contention between people who remember when this was more of a border between suburban and rural, who have bigger lots and no HOAs and keep chickens and feed the birds and grow a vegetable garden... vs. the people who moved here to buy a million-dollar huge house on a tiny lot, who want all the animals (both wild and domestic) gone because they smell bad and are "dangerous" or "gross", and are glad the HOA keeps up "standards". It's frustrating.
But uuuuugh, the poorly-farmed topsoil just blowing away reminds me of the more rural area I went to college in. That was a FREQUENT issue up there.

Re: Welcome!

[ysabetwordsmith]

>>Though it might be worth seeing if other people would be willing to sign off on pro-bird initiatives!<<

Absolutely. Many people like birds.

>> There were a few people who'd previously complained about birdseed hulls "looking dirty" under the trees,<<

Some people need to get a life.

Also, one could just as easily say "bird feeders in back yards where others don't have to look at them" or "birdfeeders must be kept clean."

I'm kinda wondering how they got close enough to someone else's birdfeeder to see shells that are 1/4" long. :/ Creepy.

>> but there are likely people on the other side who are happy to have birds around! <<

Especially if you talk about the health and property value and other benefits.

Make the anti-bird crowd defend their choice to cost people health and money.

>>Our city does mostly have pretty good climate initiatives, though there've been a few points of contention. (They agree to plant x number of new trees per year! ...But cut down a ton of well-established ones for no clear reasons.) <<

Planting trees only counts if they increase the total number. In fact some places cut down trees to get incentives for planting new ones. So, organizations overseeing tree-planting efforts are catching onto that and putting in restrictions that block it, like limiting the number of trees that can be cut and/or subtracting cut trees from planted trees.

>>So frustrating when people largely make bad decisions on what they do with their land. <<

It's worse when people make decisions about other people's land, because that removes flexibility to find solutions. This is a leading problem in zoning, which is a key reason behind the housing crisis. People didn't like pretty much all the affordable housing options, so banned or limited them, and now they're whining about homeless people and high prices. *shrug* They got themselves into it.

>>the people who moved here to buy a million-dollar huge house on a tiny lot, who want all the animals (both wild and domestic) gone <<

That is all but impossible to achieve, and in fact, a terrible impact on human health if managed. Humans are more healthy the more nature they have. Nature deficit disorder does ruinous things.

>>But uuuuugh, the poorly-farmed topsoil just blowing away reminds me of the more rural area I went to college in. That was a FREQUENT issue up there.<<

For a while people did better, but now they are mostly doing dumb things again.

Re: Welcome!

[mistressofmuses]

>>I'm kinda wondering how they got close enough to someone else's birdfeeder to see shells that are 1/4" long. :/ Creepy.

RIGHT? To be fair, these are townhomes, so everyone is pretty much right on top of each other. BUT STILL. MIND YOUR OWN BUSINESS.
So now she keeps one small feeder that looks decorative on its own on her back patio, and just feeds safflower (to discourage the squirrels, since the feeder is so small). Still against their rules, but hopefully no one notices it.

>>Planting trees only counts if they increase the total number. In fact some places cut down trees to get incentives for planting new ones.

It's heartbreaking to see really nice, older trees getting cut down with NO good reason. Half the time the "reasoning," if they have it at all, is total garbage, like "well... sometimes the sap drips on cars in the parking lot..." Like... people park under the trees because they want a shady parking spot, and they're idiots if they can't figure out that they can either have sap and shade, or no sap and no shade.
Somewhat luckily, our last round of local elections came down mostly the way I'd hoped, and a few of our ward's new councilpeople put forward a lot of interest in supporting open space conservation and planting of new trees. We'll see if they follow through after winter is over. If so, great! If not... time to start attending city council meetings.

>>It's worse when people make decisions about other people's land, because that removes flexibility to find solutions.

SO true! That's one of the really frustrating parts with some of the newer housing developments.

>>That is all but impossible to achieve, and in fact, a terrible impact on human health if managed. Humans are more healthy the more nature they have. Nature deficit disorder does ruinous things.

THIS x1000! I feel like "wanting to get rid of all the gross nature stuff" is one of the worst symptoms of "not having enough connection to nature." It's extra frustrating, because Colorado has a fairly well-earned reputation for being outdoorsy and nature-oriented... there are people who move here because of all the lovely natural scenery, but then try to do everything they can to try and get rid of the "nature" because they think dirt is gross.

[narya_flame]

Hello! I am also a fan of walking and hiking - and I love pelicans. Nice to meet you!

[mistressofmuses]

Nice to meet you!