Backyard Habitat

February - May 2015   Improving urban biodiversity

I have been using a seed tube for over the past two years that attracts local birds year-around. I also have hummingbirds who come to the nectar feeder daily. But although the feeders get a lot of action, there are several species of birds that I know are native to my region that I never noticed in our yard. This spring I worked to increase the biodiversity of native plants, insects, and other foods that could attract birds to my yard.

A pano of our backyard from my balcony.

We already have a few native plants that our birds seem to like. There is an ash tree that many of the birds love when the berries are ripe in the fall time, and a large English laurel bush that produces black berries. We also have four rhodedendron bushes, some ferns, ivy for ground cover, and at least eleven trees--both large evergreen and various sizes of deciduous trees.

Miami University's Biology in the Age of Technology class required students to participate in a citizen science project. I thought these two projects would work well together, so I signed up with the Cornell Lab of Ornithology's Project FeederWatch. Their website has a lot of great images and information on native plants and local bird sightings for my area.

In addition to the Audubon and Cornell Lab of Ornithology, the article "Selecting Plants for Pollinators: A Regional Guide for Farmers, Land Managers, and Gardeners in the Pacific Lowland Mixed Forest Province" published by the Pollinator Partnership and NAPPC is particularly helpful. You can access the Seattle region version here. I believe they have others specific to other areas of the country.

Our suet feeder

After spending many hours looking around online, I decided to focus my efforts on keeping our existing birds happy, while attracting these birds to my yard: the Tree Swallow, Goldfinch, and Bewick's Wren.

Bird seed:
I  hung up a suet feeder on my deck because I heard that bushtits and insect feeding birds, like Flickers, would like it--and do they ever! It's a challenge to keep the suet feeder filled now; it's been getting so much activity. And the best thing is that it's currently hanging higher than our acrobatic squirrel can get to.  The squirrel-proof seed tube has held up to lots of abuse from them and is still in great shape, so I purchased another so the birds don't have to squabble over feeding perches. The feed that we're using has a variety of seeds, nuts, and berries to satisfy the tastes and nutritional needs of a variety of birds we have--including those I'm trying to attract.

winterberry (Gaultheria procumbens)

Fresh berries and native plants: 
Our local nursery was extremely helpful in suggesting some plants that were native, and several that aren't, that native pollinators like. I tried to purchase a good variety that produced berries at different times of the year, and ended up with a winterberry (Gaultheria procumbens), longleaf mahonia (Mahonia nervosa), and salal (Gaultheria shallon).  They're all doing very well, and have grown since they were planted in March.

Salal (Gaultheria shallon)

Becoming a caretaker:
Participating in Project FeederWatch has helped me identify birds and recognize illnesses they may be carrying. I have a greater variety of birds in our yard than I realized! For example, we have a lot of pine siskin coming to our feeder, and this is a new species to me. They have beautiful yellow details on their feathers, and tiny little beaks that get very messy from eating seeds.

Tending to our feeders and new plants is a responsibility that takes time.  I've diligently watered the plants to make sure they're established and will continue to develop. The bird feeders need frequent cleaning and refilling.  And, with all of these little creatures coming to our home for food, I also feel responsible for their health.

In early April, I submitted an image of a sick pine siskin to Project FeederWatch.

At first, I thought this was a pregnant bird, because she looked puffed up and was very protective of the feeder. She was also accompanied by other pine siskins, but didn't seem very friendly with them either. She was very bold, and didn't get scared easily by my presence. I noticed her eyes looked a little sick, so I looked up illnesses online and found an article from the Cornell Lab of Ornithology that it might be the signs of an ebola virus. They suggested that I remove the feeder, which I immediately did, and cleaned it with bleach. Sadly, it also suggested that I keep the feeder down for a few days, so I did.

When I put the feeder back up, and watched to see who would come, I think the sick bird may have gotten better. Not only are my counts of pine siskin the same, but it looked to me like one was in recovery from an illness and I think it's the same one. I hope so, anyways.

Success:

Bewick's wren (image from audubon.org)

Remember how I was trying to attract three specific species to my yard? This morning when I woke up, it still looked like I was 0 for 3. Yesterday, there was a funny little brown bird who hopped around and perched similarly to a nuthatch--for sure it was some variety, or perhaps a young bird without the adult colors yet? I looked and looked in my bird books and although the image of the bird was fading from my mind, I settled on "pygmy nuthatch" which are local in my area.

But this morning it came back around, and after studying it for as long as I had, I was able to identify it as a Bewick's Wren!  I had thought it was an insect eating bird that would never come to my seed feeder. I've been leaving small piles of leaves and grass around on my deck in hopes that it would come to my deck surface instead. Whoo hoo!  I get to officially say that I had some success in attracting one of my target species!

Future Plans: 
Our backyard still doesn't have a water source. This summer we might invest in a birdbath for the backyard, if our condo association approves it. The association might also approve the planting of some native huckleberry plants in the backyard too.

The fact that we don't live any large open-fields or bodies of water is why I don't expect to see a swallow in our yard. I'm still hoping to attract the goldfinch though with some new seed.

I've extended my participation with Project FeederWatch for another year, and earlier next spring I plan to install some birdhouses. Maybe we'll get a bat box up before then!