Mocking birds, crows, cowbirds all share our garden and birdbath. They used to share the LARGE dog water bowl until we bought th bath. have to flush it out every day or two - they use it both as bath and comode.
They seem to love the chili pequin, too. I was hoping they would work on the other garden insect pests, and they probably are, but the robins and bluebirds REALLY like the tomatoes - have to keep netting over the cages all the way to the ground.
I gave up growing tomatoes because of the birds, it just was too agravating, now I grow peppers and greens like Kale.
Dear konkreteblond-
A tip on wasps and bird houses. After cleaning the birdhouse (needs to be done every year) rub the "ceiling" of the house with soap.
It won't bother the birds but it will keep out the wasps. Different birds need houses at different heights and with different size openings. There are lots of sights which will tell you where you need to place them. I don't have my Favorites list here but you'll find them with a seach engine.
Best luck!
Do you use a bar or liquid soap? That is such a great idea, I had given up on the birdhouses due to the wasps.
hope you don't mind a floridian sticking her nose in here. just a quick comment on your birdbath. a friend brought us one like yours. i couldn't get one bird to have anything to do with it. they are made too deep and the sides are too sloped. stick with a flat, very shallow bath.
I wonder if that is why they also crack so easy in a freeze. The water is too deep. I have a really old shallow concrete one that the birds use. The water will ice solid but it has never cracked. I pour hot tap water on it to defrost it on those mornings.
Hey Tracks, good to see you in Texas! Thinking of you and Bosco daily, give him some love'n from me.
I have noticed that my deeper dishes don't last as long. As long as they don't crack in half, I reuse them as planters. I was excited to see this last Summer Lowe's was selling the tops separate from the bases. I was able to restore some bases I've been dragging around for years.
I bought deeper dishes because the water seems to evaporate so quick in the Summer, but I put small piles of stones in the center. So the the birds can find a comfortable depth...plus it just looks so artsy.lol
ever the ar tist , cocoa! lol thanks and i will give bosco a big kiss from you. the texas forum is such a friendly bunch; i have to wander through occasionally.
This morning I looked out the window (habit) and saw about 7 little doves, some sparrows and another new bird pecking around on the ground. Then I realized the fluffy ball of feathers was actually made of fur! lol So, the field mice are back again. But really, is there even any way to avoid them? They've just got too many places to hide and too much food in the flowers. Maybe I just notice them out in the open in the winter.
Tips from all states are welcome! :) My birdbath really isn't as deep as it might look in a picture. It can easily evaporate in a day in our heat! I keep 2 small flat stones in it too. Hmmm...maybe the stones are bothersome? I swear, the birds (which are sparrows and finches) used to splash away in it. Maybe I'm just missing bath time? I've wanted to do a mosaic picture in the center of it for years. If I ever get it done that would make it even less shallow.
That's a great tip about the soap! I'm glad I'm not the only one who gave up on them too. I've got a small little ornamental "house" in my tree that paper wasps have made a nest in. I'll try it in that too.
My dh and I have been talking about "our" mockingbirds. Where do they go in the fall?? It took us a few years to get used to their noise but now we love them! This afternoon tho, I think I saw one. I caught a glimpse of a long tail in the feeder and then saw a silhouette on a roof of a MB. I was happy to see it!
Re: soap & wasps,
just rub bar soap over the inner roof. Wasps won't attach to it. I also tried it in the corner eave of my patio where they seem to nest year after year. Worked there too.
Paige, you might want to visit the "ornamental gourds" forum if you're looking for feeders or purple martin houses. Lots of great stuff.
I SHOULD have a ton of birds but the builders (gggrrrrrr...) took out every single tree when they developed this area. I've planted quite a few, but it will be years before they can shelter birds. I only try to attract birds to the front as my cats go out back, though I put up 7 hummingbird feeders in the back last year and had TONS of those little beauties.
I think you're doing a great job. If you build it...
For many birds evergreen shrubs actually provide more shelter than trees. Many birds prefer to build their nests low; mockingbirds for example.
When I say evergreens I mean plants that stay green all year (not pines & furs!). Evergreens provide shelter from cold, wind and predatory cats. So... you may not have a canopy of tall trees now but a midlevel of shrubs can be aven more advantageous.
Happy wildlife gardening!
Great comments! Check the closest chapter of the Native Plant Society of Texas to find out what native plants in your area will provide shelter and food for birds in your yard. I just moved to an area NW of San Antonio from the Gulf Coast. I felt like I had moved to another planet, the climates are so different! In order to figure out the best wildlife friendly, water-wise plants, I contacted NPSOT and connected up with a local chapter. They have newsletters, plant sales, local seminars, etc.. I'm working hard to choose plants that will require little care but will attract the most birds and make my yard beautiful!
CB
Beautiful garden konkrete and loved the swallows. I'd love to attract some of them.
I have a mockingbird that eats beautyberry shrub berries. Comes right up to the plant near my kitchen window. Those birds seem to love nesting in thick shubbery.
We finally have tons of birds. Our place was clear cut when we bought it and I planted with birds in mind. Takes a little while but so worth it.
There is an "ornamental gourds" forum?! wow! I have one gourd hanging in a tree but don't think anything has ever even looked at it.
I'm fixing to start going thru lists and books of native Texas plants to get some ideas. I've got the 2 Wasowski books that I like coming from the library to start my planning. I'm just going to have to go thru my beds again and start giving away the things that aren't really impressing me so that I can make room for a couple of shrubs.
The only evergreen shrub that I have is a glossy Abelia, and there's no telling how big it would be if I hadn't cut it back yearly! Anyone have any suggestions? (something that can live in clay)
Just some of the possible wildlife friendly shrubs for your zone (taken from the "Texas Wildscapes" book)-
Agarita- evergreen (e), hard to find,flowers, berries, cover, nesting
Texas honeysuckle (Lonicera alba) -deciduous (d), flowers, berries
Coral berry- d, drupes, cover, needs some shade
Bee brush- can be e, flowers, drupes, cover, nesting
Coralbean- can be e, flowers
False indigo- d, flowers, larval host
Red barberry- e,flowers, berries, cover, nesting
Flame acanthus-d, flowers, b'fly nectar & larval
Butterfly bush (Buddleia marrubifolia)- d, flowers
Creosote bush-e, flower, cover, nesting
Cenzio-e, flowers, cover, nesting, larval host
Fragrant & Little leaf sumac- d, flowers, berries, drupes, larval host
Skeleton-leaf golden-eye- d to e, flowers, cover, nesting
American beauty berry- d-e, berries
Paige, I'm partial to Yaupon Hollies and Burford Hollies. You'd be hard pressed to find anything easier to grow ... and the birds love the berries.
Carla
I always do that - it is great and wonderful - not to mention fun to boot!
Lint? Wow, I could have had a ton saved from blankets this month! I never get anything that uses a suet feeder so I could stick it in there.
Hollies do have some beautiful berries! They've never been my favorite but maybe I'll change my mind. I used to hate Crepe Myrtle's too, but now I have 3.
I have 4 big Nandina's that get berries. I don't know if any bird likes those or not. ?? My parents have quite a few and I don't recall birds being in them or eating the berries. The Cedar Waxwings love the rows of ligustrum trees that my grandparents planted tho! I couldn't believe it when I learned that those "doo-doo birds", that could trash your car in minutes, were the CW! lol But...I don't want those ligustrums.
Paige, for whatever it is worth I must tell you that both the Ligustrums and the Nandinas are on the Texas Invasives list along with a lot of other plants. Here is the link;
http://www.texasinvasives.org/Invasives_Database/Results/SN_Results.asp?offset=0
I am taking all my Nandinas out little by little, it is very hard and a lot of work.
Josephine.
Thanks Josephine...I did know about these two tho. I learned several years ago that the ligustrums are because whenever I'd get leaves from my parents I'd end up with little trees/bushes. I was a little surprised to learn about nandinas but have started noticing that they do occassionally pop up in my bed. I'm not sure how they become invasive elsewhere tho when I've never seen anything eat the berries. I may end up joining you and removing mine eventually. I think Sandy and I are planning on joining the Native Plant Society next month, which will give me lots more info too! :)
Paige, I have never had the Nandinas spread in my yard, but after going to a few nature preserves and seeing them growing in the forest, I realized that they do spread, I am sure by birds dropping the berries. They are beautiful plants, but they don't belong in the oak forests.
Josephine.
Be careful about that dryer lint being offered as nesting material. Some people include this as suitable bird nesting material. Others recommend against it because it is porous and dries out poorly if it's rained on in the nest. Still others warn that wet dryer lint dries into a hard mass, providing poor nest insulation, however this may happen only if it contains laundry detergent or fabric softener residue. For these reasons, I don't offer dryer lint as nesting material.
Carla
I think Vitex would grow in your zone. I planted two of them two years ago - and they are about 15 feet tall already. They attract bees of all kinds and the hummingbirds love them. Right now the goldfinches are using the pruned back branches (they were taking over!) to sit on while they wait to use the thistle feeders. The purple flowers produce little round seeds, but unfortunately I pruned them off before I could see if the birds would eat them. Has anyone seen if birds will eat them?
Great information here! Glad to hear about the soap repelling red wasps. They are a scourge on my b-fly cats. I have a bluebird house this year for the first time and will put it up soon.
I also had swallows nesting on my front porch the past two years. So much fun to watch! My indoor cat is also an avid "bird watcher!"
Loonie1 - I've read the same thing in several different sites (on bird forum for sure) about dryer lint. I have 2 shelties who produce enough extra fur for the neighborhood - I've read pet hair is ok.
My sister has two indoor cats and brushes them to prevent shedding. She had sat out on a upstairs deck with the cats while brushing and laid the brush down on the railing. Later while in the house, she saw birds picking pieces of cat hair out of the brush to make their nests. Pretty fun to see and a good idea. I don't see how it could hurt. Animal furs shed water fairly well.
Yes - they do shed water. That's why I read that pet hair is a good nesting material - repelling the water and not getting mushy. I'll do that in the coming months.
I never can figure out how the swallows come up with the right kind of mud to make their nests! My 2 year old nest is still on the front porch, and I hope they return in March to have the next generation.
Birds do eat vitex seeds, but I haven't noticed much of that action. Maybe it's on their list to eat last.
I planted a small vitex last year (yay!) and I just went out and looked at it today. It got kind of crowded out by milkweed and I had almost forgotten about it. Right now it's still in a bush form, not a tree.
That's very interesting info about the dryer lint. Whodathunk? I've got 2 cats that will definitely need some brushing soon so I'll put that hair out. Talk about recycling! lol
I've never seen a Goldfinch! I put out the thistle feeder one year, but nothing. :(
Time to go look thru the Native Plants of Texas book and get more ideas!
Your vitex will get really big and pretty quickly, too! You can prune up the bottom limbs so as to make a tree-like shrub. That's really what mine looks like - not a single trunk. Mine were about 5 feet when planted two years ago and in huge need to pruning this year. You'll love it as it grows.
If I don't need to prune it so much next year, I'll see if they eat the seeds, antiquedrose. Maybe if they get really hungry they'll try it!
I didn't know we had goldfinches here (right now I'm north of Houston while our house is remodeled) - they came to my tube feeder that had mostly sunflower seeds so I was a really surprised! I think they prefer those over the thistle seeds.
Anyone know where I can purchase a nice yet reasonably priced Purple Martin house/pole??
No idea, but always check Wal-Mart!
