Create a Garden That Gives Your Favorite Fliers Plenty of Natural Places to Hide.
B eyond the flurry of activity at the backyard feeder, there’s a never-ending performance happening throughout your bird-friendly garden. It’s the way birds position themselves within your space when they’re not at the feeder, rapidly moving from limb to branch, ground to tree, and back again. These behaviors, a way to ensure survival, offer hours of fascinating observation.
A bird’s sole life purpose is to produce offspring, so all of its movements are driven by natural instincts to find food, water, shelter, protection and safe nesting sites. Backyard habitats offering a variety and quantity of shrubbery, trees and structures provide those life essentials.
Hiding places
The most bird-friendly landscapes have plants at every level, from the ground to the treetops, to give birds plenty of places to hide from predators. Use trees, shrubs, vines and ground covers that thrive in different seasons.
Diese Geschichte stammt aus der August/September 2018-Ausgabe von Birds & Bloom.
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Diese Geschichte stammt aus der August/September 2018-Ausgabe von Birds & Bloom.
Starten Sie Ihre 7-tägige kostenlose Testversion von Magzter GOLD, um auf Tausende kuratierte Premium-Storys sowie über 8.000 Zeitschriften und Zeitungen zuzugreifen.
Bereits Abonnent? Anmelden
Sense or Nonsense? - Why some birds can taste and smell - but others can't
Does a porcelain berry taste like a blueberry to a gray catbird? Does a block of lard smell like frying bacon to a northern flicker? The short answer is no. While some avian species do have a well-adapted sense of taste or smell, they can't distinguish between flavors and odors the way humans can. They're not picking up every ingredient in the suet you put out, says José Ramírez-Garofalo, an ornithology researcher at Rutgers University in New Jersey and the director of Freshkills Biological Station in Staten Island, New York.
Maple Mania - Amazing facts about this fall foliage mainstay
Amazing facts about this fall foliage mainstay
Food-Focused and Fierce - Meet Canada jays and learn why they eat almost anything they can find
Even if you haven't heard of Canada jays, you've heard of their relatives. Members of the corvid family, they belong to the same group as American crows, blackbilled magpies, and jays including blue, Steller's and scrub. "Unlike many of the other jays, a Canada jay doesn't have a crest of any kind; it just has a rounded head," says Dale Gentry, director of conservation for Audubon Upper Mississippi River.In 2018, the Canada jay's name was changed from gray jay, but Dale thinks the former adjective was fitting. "Most of its body is shades of gray with some white," he says. "There are different subspecies that have different physical traits, but most of them have some lighter coloring on their foreheads, upper breasts and throats, each with a darker streak that starts at each eye and goes back."
IN GOOD COMPANY
BIRDS OF A FEATHER MAY FLOCK TOGETHER, but what about other collectives of critters-and what do you call them when they do?
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Birds approach the challenges of migration in surprising ways. Learn about how they walk, swim or take the scenic route during their travels.
Autumn Wonders
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Distinct sounds help separate these similar species
Embracing the Darkness
From black plants to moody decor, Gothic garden elements can offer a unique outlet to express your dark side
Red-Hot Plants
Scarlet-hued berries add a pop of color to any garden
