Song Sparrow Nest

Song Sparrow Nest on the Ground

A first for me is to find a bird nest on the ground with eggs. It was camouflaged in a patch of weeds I was dispatching. I initially thought it might have fallen out of a nearby Hydrangea, but now have learned that Song Sparrows do commonly nest on the ground if they have cover.

One lesson I learned from this is that the common practice of planting one flower at a time in it’s own isolated location won’t be a good practice for these type of song sparrow nests. They need plants close together to provide privacy and cover.

It appears that the Brown-headed cowbird has also laid eggs in this nest, although I can’t tell which is which.

Damage to a Tree – Could be a Yellow-bellied Sapsucker

If you have holes in your trees it could be the work of a bird instead of a bug according to Dan the hort man.

The Yellow-bellied Sapsucker drills into the tree to apparently eat the phloem and drink the sap. The orange hardened substance in some of the areas is the sap which has dried.

Below is a nice video of the YBSS in action.

Help from Hawks

Almost daily I have visits from hawks in my garden. They know that with all the seeds I have, that mice and voles will certainly be visiting.

This one likes to perch on telephone poles and watch the action below.

Happy Days Are Here Again

May 11th – the garden is filling up with it’s usual residents. Monarchs are laying eggs, hummingbirds are nectaring and the goldfinch are eating the aphids on my red honeysuckle. Since we never did get a late frost, everything looks great.

Goldfinch and the Butterfly Garden

One of the bonuses of a butterfly garden is that you also attract loads of goldfinches.

Lantana and Berries

I’ve noticed recently that certain lantana plants (Irene is shown) produces lots of berries and that the Mockingbird seems to like them.  Up north the seeds won’t sprout outdoors, but it’s nice to know that lantana is providing nectar for the butterflies and food for the birds.