Birdfeeding: Friends of a Feather Flock Together

June is National Pollinator Month. The most famous pollinators are butterflies and bees. However, other animals such as bats and rodents also serve. Among birds, the best known are hummingbirds (North and South America), but sunbirds (Africa) and honeyeaters (Australia) are important too. Also bear in mind that caterpillars are nature's hot dogs, so attracting butterflies and moths will also feed birds. It takes about 10,000 caterpillars to fledge a clutch of chickadees! Here are some ways to celebrate National Pollinator Month ...

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Today is sunny and mild, a beautiful spring day.  :D

I fed the birds.  I've seen a flock of grackles and several house finches.

I put out water for the birds.

I moved the seedlings back outside.

Lots of bees are out, mostly in the dandelions.

EDIT 4/12/25 -- I planted the first 8 Asian lilies around the telephone pole.  There are two more bags of 8 left to go.

EDIT 4/12/25 -- I planted the second 8 Asian lilies around the telephone pole.  That leaves one bag of 8 to go.

EDIT 4/12/25 -- I planted the third 8 Asian lilies around the telephone pole.  That batch is done.  \o/  I still need to mulch that whole flowerbed.

EDIT 4/12/25 -- I spread a whole bag of mulch over the lilies around the telephone pole, trying to leave the taller-sprouted ones more exposed.  So that whole project is done.  Yay.  Yay.

EDIT 4/12/25 -- I did a bit of work around the patio.

I watered the lily bed.

EDIT 4/12/25 -- I planted 10 naked ladies around the apricot tree.

EDIT 4/12/25 -- I planted 2 red plum seeds in pots on the old picnic table.

EDIT 4/12/25 -- We picked up sticks in the ritual meadow in preparation for esbat tonight.

EDIT 4/12/25 -- I planted a mayapple in the forest garden, then watered it and the naked ladies.

I am done for the night.

EDIT 4/12/25 -- While out driving, I saw two skunks in different places.

Today is sunny and warm, a beautiful spring day. :D It was 71°F outside last I checked.

I fed the birds. I've seen a small mixed flock of sparrows and house finches, as well as cardinals flying around the yard.

I put out water for the birds.

I also set out the crosne knotroots to get some sun.

I walked around the yard a bit. More miniature irises are blooming now, including a couple of the almost-black ones. :D Bees, flies, and other tiny insects are swarming the flowers.

EDIT 3/13/25 -- I made the measurements of the new posts, along with size comparisons of fixtures and supplies I already have, as part of working on plans for the potting bench.

I've seen a flock of blackbirds.

EDIT 3/13/25 -- I put the two translucent tubs over the pot trays on the new picnic table.

I took a few pictures of miniature irises that are now blooming in more colors, plus a bumblebee.

EDIT 3/13/25 -- I did a bit of work around the patio.

Squirrels have heavily excavated the ground in the forest garden. It looks like the face of the moon.

EDIT 3/13/25 -- I raked leaves from the front of the log garden and hauled them to the savanna for mulch.

I've seen several mourning doves, assorted blackbirds, and a male cardinal.

EDIT 3/13/25 -- I started raking leaves from the tulip bed and hauled them to the savanna for mulch.

I saw a squirrel jump from the house to the forest garden and then groom itself. :D

EDIT 3/13/25 -- I raked more leaves from the tulip bed.

EDIT 3/13/25 -- I finished raking leaves from the tulip bed. \o/

*goflopnow* I am done for the night.

Today is another beautiful day, sunny and warm.

I fed the birds. I've seen a small mixed flock of sparrows and house finches, several blackbirds, and a male cardinal.

I put out water for the birds. I watered the seed pots.

I set the two pots of crosne knotroots outside to get some sun.

More crocuses are blooming, including the purple striped ones. :D Honeybees are swarming them.

EDIT 3/12/25 -- I took some pictures around the yard.

EDIT 3/12/25 -- The mulch pile in the south lot is all but completely gone. I managed to rake up a small pile of wood chips in hopes of attracting detritivores to cluster there. I found a flat slab of tree trunk near the log garden. It already had a centipede, a millipede, and several tiny beetles living in it. I put that over the little mulch heap, then watered both the mulch and the wood. The small globe terrarium is too small for me to add predators purposely, but the bigger cylindrical one could probably support a millipede. Mostly I'm hoping to get pillbugs, and I'd love to get springtails although they're so tiny that they're hard to see -- about 1/16 to 1/8 inch long.

EDIT 3/12/25 -- A package came in at the post office, so we went out to get that and lunch. It's a bag of seeds. :D

While we were out, we checked Rural King for compost. They don't have it either. WTF even. >_< But they DID have a big area marked FREE WOOD that contained whole pallets along with loose boards, posts, and other stuff. I grabbed a bunch of the loose posts (round, half-round, and oblong) to use for my potting bench plans. So that just saved me a ton of money. :D 3q3q3q!! I'm starting to suspect that the Universe feels guilty about the crapsack world here, so when I start mulling over ideas to build something, it's throwing materials at me because that's something it can do. A potting bench may not save the world, but it'll make my job easier, and I am actually working to salvage what I can of the biosphere, so that's sorta the same thing. \o/

On the way home we stopped at the Charleston Food Forest. It's already starting to wake up! I think the green shoots in front are chives or garlic chives. The cherry and plum trees have buds swelling. The strawberries are just starting to leaf out. The asparagus isn't up yet. The garlic chives and Egyptian walking onions are up. The French sorrel is leafing out and almost harvest size. The hardneck garlic is not only up but has a bunch of plants seeding into the path where they will be in the way. I want to go back and dig up some of those, if I get there before someone else nabs them. And there's a bit of moss at the edge of the parking lot that I may pick up. Sadly, no pictures as this was not a planning visit there, but I'll try to bring the camera for next time.

Awesome outing. \o/

EDIT 3/12/25 -- I planted the Cascade Gold raspberry in the patch along the south fence of the ritual meadow. Then I mulched around it and watered it. While I had the can, I watered the hollies and the Colorado blue spruce. Naked lady lilies are sprouting leaves. :D

EDIT 3/12/25 -- I planted the Marionberry Blackberry in the patch at the west end of the prairie garden. I mulched around it and watered it.

As it is getting dark, I am done for the night.

Today is mostly sunny and cool.

I fed the birds.  I've seen several sparrows, a starling, a mourning dove, a male cardinal, and a male downy woodpecker.

I put out water for the birds.

Another yellow snow crocus is blooming, this time under the walnut tree.  And I saw a honeybee!  :D 3q3q3q!!!

Today is sunny and mild, a beautiful fall day.

I fed the birds.  I've seen a mixed flock of sparrows and house finches, a tufted titmouse, and a downy woodpecker.

I put out water for the birds.

I watered the septic garden and the notch in the prairie garden.

Bees are mobbing the water stations again.

I've seen a big yellow butterfly at the zinnias in the prairie garden.

 

Today is sunny and warm.  The harvest of fields near our house has begun.

I haven't fed the birds yet.  I've seen a few house finches.

I planted 2 lavender-and-pink 'Florentine Silk' irises in the purple-and-white garden. 

EDIT 9/16/24 -- I fed the birds.  I've seen a pair of cardinals and a very phlegmatic fox squirrel who didn't leave the hopper feeder until I was almost in arm's reach.

I put out water for the birds and watered a few plants.

Honeybees are mobbing the water stations.

EDIT 9/16/24 -- I planted 2 lavender 'Feed Back' irises in the purple-and-white garden.  This finishes the second bag of irises from the current batch of fall bulbs.

EDIT 9/16/24 -- I put mulch around all of the newly planted irises.

EDIT 9/16/24 -- I watered the new irises, patio plants, picnic table, and septic garden.

A very phlegmatic fox squirrel was drinking from the bowl under the forest garden while I was out watering irises, probably the same one from earlier.

EDIT 9/16/24 -- I watered the seedlings in the savanna and the notch in the prairie garden.

EDIT 9/16/24 -- I did some work around the patio.

EDIT 9/16/24 -- I watered the telephone pole garden and grass patch.

EDIT 9/16/24 -- I picked up a fallen branch and broke it up to put in the firepit.

Cicadas and crickets are singing.

As it is getting dark, I am done for the night.

Today is cloudy and mild.

I fed the birds.  I've seen a flock of house finches, two gray catbirds, and a female downy woodpecker industriously drumming on the corncob.  One of the house finches was at the thistle sock too.  I've seen cardinals flitting around the lilac bushes, but not up in the forest garden.

I put out water for the birds and watered a few plants.  Honeybees are mobbing all the water sources again.

EDIT 9/12/24 -- I cut up an old sock to make soft ties for binding up the sunflowers in the septic garden, so that they don't all faceplant into the ground.  I have 'Autumn Beauty' volunteers and new plantings of 'Mother Garden Mix' and Arikara landrace sunflowers.  The volunteers are doing pretty well, and 'Mother Garden Mix' is outperforming 'Arikara' from the looks so far.

EDIT 9/12/24 -- I watered the patio plants, picnic table, and septic garden.

EDIT 9/12/24 -- I watered the seedlings in the savanna and the notch in the prairie garden.

EDIT 9/12/24 -- I watered the seedlings in the savanna, telephone pole garden, and grass patch.

EDIT 9/12/24 -- I watered the notch in the prairie garden and recently planted bulbs.

EDIT 9/12/24 -- I did a bit of work around the patio.

As it is almost suppertime, i am done for the night.

Today is sunny and mild, a beautiful fall day.  The first leaves are starting to turn.  :D

I fed the birds.  I've seen a flock of house finches and several mourning doves.

I put out water for the birds and watered a few plants.  Honeybees are mobbing all the watering dishes and flowerpots.

EDIT 9/10/24 -- I watered the patio plants, picnic table, and septic garden.

EDIT 9/10/24 -- I watered the patch in the prairie garden and seedlings in the savanna.

Goldenrod is in full bloom now, full of pollinators.  :D

EDIT 9/10/24 -- I watered the telephone pole garden and grass patch.

Crickets and other insects are singing.

As it is now dark,  I am done for the night.

Today is sunny and mild, a beautiful fall day. :D

I fed the birds. I've seen a flock of house finches and a juvenile cardinal.

I put out water for the birds.

There are honeybees on the metal tray feeder and also drinking from damp soil in the potted plants. I saw a black swallowtail female on the cup plant flowers.

EDIT 9/7/24 -- I started setting up the core of the next fire in the firepit.

EDIT 9/7/24 -- We hauled two piles of grass to the grass wall.

EDIT 9/7/24 -- I sowed more seeds of blue false indigo and yellow false indigo in pots that haven't sprouted.  Some of the other little pots have seedlings in them too, like the yarrow, bergamot, and mountain mint.  :D

EDIT 9/7/24 -- I watered the patio plants, picnic table, and septic garden.

EDIT 9/7/24 -- I did a bit of work around the patio.

I watered the notch in the prairie garden, telephone pole garden, grass patch, and seedlings in the savanna.

I've seen a lady cardinal at the hopper feeder.

As it is now dark, I am done for the night.