December 4, 2009 - 1
The fun-spirited dark-eyed juncos are being seen more often in the backyard these days. The recent cool temperatures are probably responsible for sending the festive little juncos to look for food under the feeders instead of choosing whatever natural food sources they might usually find. A typical ground feeding bird, the juncos have even been seen inside certain open air type of feeders in this backyard. Meanwhile, the recent rains have helped vicariously with the backyard chores by filling the pond quite nicely this week. It's surprising how the birds and other wildlife will consume so much water from the pond each day that it sometimes requires frequent re-filling, especially during the colder or drier times of the year.Backyard Tip of the week:
Have you ever had problems with an unwanted shrub or tree that that just wouldn't go away no matter how many times you've tried cutting it down? Here's an interesting trick for eliminating those pesky plants. Try pouring hot or boiling water on them. Just pour the hot water over the base or roots of the plant. If you can expose the roots that works all the better. As an eco-alternative to expending energy to boil water simply for this purpose, you may consider using the hot water from a pasta dinner or, maybe after a barbeque, you could use the grill to make hot water while the charcoals are still hot. Be careful not to pour hot water on or near any shrubs or trees that you do want to keep. But do feel free to employ this hot water method as an excellent alternative to chemical use for eliminating any pesky unwanted plants that are just too tough to dig up by hand. Try it, you're sure to love it!
Backyard sightings for last week:
Including northern cardinals, dark-eyed juncos, blue-jays, brown creepers, song sparrows, tree sparrows. Carolina wrens and Carolina chickadees, catbirds, mockingbirds, house finches, goldfinches, purple finches. Red-bellied and downy woodpeckers, yellow-bellied sapsuckers. Northern flickers, white-breasted nuthatches, tufted titmice, mourning doves, crows, grey squirrels, red squirrels, skunks, a few white-tailed deer, and a bull frog in the pond sometimes on the warmer days.
Continued on next page...
December 4, 2009 Part 2 - Cool Sightings
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