wildlife  ~  birds  ~  butterflies  ~  bats

Bluebirds in the Lakeyard !

by Dara Dobson - Walton Co. Master Gardener

The Eastern Bluebird population has been threatened in the past decades by loss of open fields and natural habitat due to increasing urbanization and the use of pesticides like DDT. The North American Bluebird Society has played an important role in rebuilding the bluebird population by encouraging the use of man made bluebird nesting boxes. Since bluebirds have more than one brood a year, boxes may be put up successfully at any time of the year. Boxes can be purchased or you can build your own. (for plans type Bluebirds in your search engine)

Bluebirds eat insects and spiders. They are very beneficial to farmers because they eat many of the crop damaging insects. In the fall and winter their diets change to fruits and berries. During fall migration they depend on dogwoods, viburnums and holly berries. Typical winter foods are fruits of Virginia creeper, Eastern red cedar, sumac bayberry, honeysuckle and other berry producing shrubs and vines.

Bluebirds are members of the thrush family. They measure six to eight inches in length. They have large eyes and roundish heads. The male has a bright blue back with a reddish brown breast. The female is very similar but the colors are somewhat muted. The blue plumage of a bluebird is so exquisite that you just want to keep staring at them, and as a bonus they have  beautiful short chirping songs.

When a pair of bluebirds settle down, the female usually makes the final decision about where to nest. Sometimes the male will show her a variety of homes before she is satisfied. Then she will take about a week building the nest with soft dry grass. She will shape it into a deep cup and line it with finer grasses and hair. Most eastern bluebirds lay 5 pale blue eggs. The eggs are incubated 12 to 14 days by the female, but both male and female take care of the young once they are hatched.

The DeFuniak Springs Garden Club has been planting bluebird attractant Florida native plants and trees around the DeFuniak Springs Library in and surrounding the Library Reading Garden. The clubs Bird Chairman, Gloria Kokowicz, spearheaded a new bluebird project in March. Ten new bluebird houses were installed around the Lake DeFuniak. Ace Hardware generously donated the metal poles and caps. Don Harrison donated 4 houses and the club purchased the rest. The City of DeFuniak helped by installing the poles. Two older existing houses were left up because there were already birds inhabiting them. They will be changed out later this year. Now there are a total of 10 houses up. All the houses have birds nesting in them and 8 nests already have had eggs. Some of the babies have already hatched out. The Garden Club plans on adding more bluebird houses and also some other types of bird houses in the coming year to help develop a bird friendly environment around the lake for the public to enjoy. Free literature on bird friendly plants will be available in the white information mailbox at the front of the Library Reading Garden.

For more information on this project call Gloria Kokowicz 892-0480 or Dara Dobson 850-0096.

• Attracting Hummingbirds to your garden.

• Getting Hummingbirds to stay!

• Wintering Hummingbirds

• A List of Native Plants to Attract Birds

by Dara Dobson - Walton Co. Master Gardener

As if by magic, hummingbirds arrive almost as soon as you provide the right plants or a red hummingbird feeder. One can attract and feed hummingbirds with feeders alone but you will find that combining hummingbird attractant plants will be a very rewarding effort. In Florida you can have something in bloom the majority of the year, which will feed the birds. One of the great things about Florida plants is the abundance of nectar, fruit and cover they provide. The nectar attracts butterflies, birds and bugs. Bugs are a good thing because many birds require insects for food. Hummingbirds must feed their babies insects.

Blooming season is important if you want to keep hummingbirds around your home. Nesting hummingbirds will need nectar from March to September. Plant a variety of plants that bloom during different times of the year (especially spring and fall), and plant them in masses. It is important to keep your plants free of pesticides. Pesticides destroy the insect food base vital to hummingbirds and their offspring, and may also contaminate the nectar they drink. Nesting hummingbirds are very aggressive and territorial around their food source. Having more than one area with attractant flowers and feeders will allow several hummers to feed at the same time.

It is thought that the hummingbirds have a binocular type vision that can spot a red flower or feeder from 3/4 of a mile away. Their favorite colors are red, orange and pink. Flowers that are tubular or in loose drooping clusters are best. Some of their favorite native plants are Coral Bean, Firebush, Red Star Hibiscus, Swamp Azalea, Coral Honeysuckle, Trumpet Vine, Cross Vine, Butterfly Milkweed, Red Basil, Cardinal Flower, Obedient Plant, Scarlet Morning Glory, Cypress Vine, Standing Cypress, and Tropical Sage. Hummingbirds frequently seek out willows for nesting sites.

There are also a variety of hummingbird attractant non-native plants that thrive in our zone. Some favorites are Red Bee Balm, Pineapple Sage, Four o’clock, Shrimp Plant, Geranium, Cigar Plant, Firespike, many Salvia varieties, Gingers and Butterfly Bushes.

One hummingbird may need nectar from hundreds of blossoms every day to maintain its body weight. Hummingbirds can lick at a rate of 13 times per second, and their stomach is capable of holding about .18 ounces of nectar at one time. For their size, hummingbirds have the largest appetite in the bird world. They feed every 10 or 15 minutes from dawn to dusk. Just before dark they eat as much as they can to help them survive the hours they cannot feed. During the night their heart rate and body temperature drop to conserve energy. If they did not go into this sort of daily hibernation stage, they likely would starve.

Providing artificial feeders will help you supply the large amount of nectar they require.

Getting Hummingbirds to come and STAY!
by Dara Dobson

The best way to keep hummingbirds in your yard is by adding trees and shrubs for perching, feeding and nesting. If you only supply feeders, flowers, and water you may attract a few hummers, but they will not stick around. Why not plant some of the native flowers, shrubs and trees that are the natural and historic food of the ruby-throated hummingbirds. The following are some of the species native to the Panhandle and available commercially. 

*Trumpet Creeper (Campsis radicans)

*Coral Honeysuckle (Lonicera sempervirens)

*Cardinal Flower (Lobelia cardinalis);

*Indian Pink (Spigelia marilandica)

*Red Columbine (Aquilegia canadensis)

*Red Buckeye (Aesculus pavia)

*Mountain Laurel (Kalmia latifolia)

*Florida Pinxter Azalea (Rhododendron canescens)

*Florida Azalea (Rhododendron austrinum)

*Pineland Hibiscus (Hibiscus aculeatos & Hibiscus moscheutos)

*Red Basil (Calamintha coccinea)

*Adam’s Needle (Yucca filamentosa)

*Coral Bean (Etyhrina herbacea)

*Scarlet Hibiscus (Hibiscus coccineus)

*Spanish Bayonet (Yucca aloifolia)

*Swamp Hibiscus (Hibiscus grandiflorus)

*Standing Cypress (Ipomopsis rubra)

by Dara Dobson

Many people in the Florida panhandle enjoy Ruby-throated hummingbirds during summer and fall but are not aware a hummingbird might spend the winter in their yard. People take down their feeders during late fall because of the mistaken idea that feeders will entice hummingbirds to remain and then succumb to cold weather. When it is time for Ruby-throated hummingbirds to migrate, they will depart with or without your feeders. Most Ruby-throated hummingbirds are genetically programmed to migrate to the tropics by the middle of November. However, a few Ruby-throated hummingbirds do stay for the winter, and small numbers of several species of western hummingbirds migrate east to spend the winter in the eastern United States.

Hummingbird banders working with the Hummer/Bird Study Group (HBSG) have banded thirteen different kinds of hummingbirds in the eastern United States: Ruby-throated, Black-chinned, Rufous, Allen’s, Anna’s, Calliope, Buff-bellied, Broad-tailed, White-eared, Green Violet-ear, Magnificent, Broad-billed, and Green-breasted Mango. HBSG suggests you leave a feeder up all winter, and you may have one of those types of hummingbirds spend the winter with you. Those hummingbirds are cold hardy and will not be harmed by the mild winter weather in this area.

You should put your feeder where it can be observed and maintained easily. It is not necessary to buy ready-made nectar, since the birds get all the vitamins, minerals, and protein they need from natural nectar and insects they eat. Partially fill your feeder with a mixture of one part table sugar to four parts water, but do not use food coloring. Do not use honey or artificial sweeteners because they are harmful to hummingbirds.

Wintering hummingbirds are not lost birds. They often demonstrate great site fidelity and spend the entire winter in one location. Some return to winter at the same home year after year and are considered family members. A Rufous hummingbird has returned to a home near Montgomery, AL for five winters, and a Buff-bellied hummingbird has spent seven winters at a home in Pensacola, FL.

The Hummer/Bird Study Group has a continuing research project to document wintering hummingbirds. If you have a hummingbird at your feeder between 15 November and 1 March, please contact Fred Bassett of Montgomery AL. You can reach him by email at fhound@aol.com or telephone 334-244-0227. Mr. Bassett will come to your home to identify, band, and photograph your hummingbird. He will let you release the bird back into your yard and send you photographs of your special bird. Banding will not harm your hummingbird or cause it to leave your yard.

The Hummer/Bird Study Group is a non-profit organization founded by Bob and Martha Sargent to study and preserve hummingbirds and other neo-tropical migrants (songbirds). Tax-deductible membership fees and donations help fund banding and research efforts and educational programs. Membership entitles you to four newsletters each year, which include reports of all banding activities and tips for attracting and feeding hummers and other birds. For information about membership, contact HBSG P.O. Box 250, Clay, AL 35048-0250. Email hummerbsg@aol.com or telephone 205-681-2888.

Fred Bassett is a federally licensed master bird bander who specializes in documenting western hummingbirds wintering in the eastern United States.

*This insert was taken from "Bird Notes" Cornell Laboratory Of Ornithology

This is a list of native plants that are especially good for attracting birds, either as a food or nesting source ... you can find these at several Florida native nurseries.

Creating a Garden for Birds

Few things are as interesting and beautiful as songbirds. They brighten up the darkest days of winter, adding music and color to our lives. What can we do to repay them? For starters we can make our yards more bird friendly. Never before has suitable habitat for birds been in such short supply. Urban areas are expanding constantly, altering or destroying natural areas. By creating bird gardens, we provide oases for birds in the heart of our cities. And not only will the birds benefit, but it you make your yard more attractive to birds, you'll have the pleasure of seeing an increasing number and variety of birds there.

Acacia farnsiana Sweet Acacia

Aesculus parviflora Bottlebrush Buckeye

Amelanchier arborea Serviceberry

Amyris elemifera Torchwood

Annona glabra Pond Apple

Aquilegia Canadensis Wild Columbine

Ardisia escalloniodes Marlberry

Asclepias tuberosa Butterfly Weed

Asimina obovata Pawpaw

Baccharis halimifolia Salt Bush

Bignonia capreolata Cross Vine

Bourreria succulenta Strongbark

Byrsonima lucida Locust Berry

Callicarpa Americana Beautyberry

Calyptranthes pallens Spicewood

Campsis radicans Trumpet Creeper

Canella winterana wild Cinnamon

Carpinus caroliniana Hornbeam, Blue Beech

Caryafloridana Scrub Hickory

Carya glabra Pignut Hickory

Celtis laevigata Sugarberry

Chamaecyparis thoides White Cedar

Chionanthus pygmaeus Pigmy Fringetree

Chionanthus virginicus White Fringetree

Chrysohalanus icaco Green Cocoplum

Chrysophyllum oliviforme Satinleaf

Cithannylum spinosum Fiddlewood

Coccoloba diversifolia Pigeon Plum

Coccoloba uvifera Sea Grape

Coccothrinax argentata Silver Palm

Cordia globosa Bloodberry

Cordia sebestena Geiger Tree

Cornus florida Flowering Dogwood

Crataegus aestivalis May Haw

Crossopetalum ilicifolium - Quail Berry

Diospyros virginiana  - Common Persimmon

Erythrina herbacea - Coral Bean

Eugenia confuse - Redberry Stopper (Eugenia sp

Euonymus americanus - Strawberry Bush

Exothea paniculata - Inkwood

Ficus aurea - Strangler Fig, F. citrifolia - Short Leaf Fig

Forestiera segregata - Florida Privet

Hamelia patens - Firebush H. patensCompacta

Hamamelis Virginiana - Witch Hazel

Hibiscus spp.

Hypelate trifoliate - White Ironwood

Ilex spp. - Hollies

Ipomoea rubra - Standing Cypress

Juglans nigra - Black Walnut

Juniperus spp. - Cedars

Lindera benzoin - Spicebush

Lobelia cardinalis - Cardinal Flower

Lonicera sempervirens - Coral Honeysuckle

Magnolia grandiflora - Southern Magnolia

Malus angustifolia - Southern Crabapple

Monarda punctata - Dotted Horsemint

Myrcianthes fragrans - Simpson's Stopper

Myrica cerifera - Wax Myrtle

Nyssa spp. - Tupelos

0smanthus americanus - Wild Olive

Ostrya virginiana - American Hop Hornbeam

Parthenocissus quinquefolia - Virginia Creeper

Persea spp.- Florida Red Bay and Swamp Bay

Prunus Spp. - Cherries and American Plum

Psychotria spp. -  Bahama Coffee, Wild Coffees

Quercus Spp. - White Oak, Southern Red Oak, Swamp Oak, Laurel Oak, Shumard Oak

Randia aculeate White Indigo Berry

Rhododendron austrinum Fl. Azalea

R.canascens Fl. Pinxter Azalea

Rviscosum Swamp Azalea

Rhus copallinum Winged Sumac

Rosa palustris - Swamp Rose

Sabal minor -  Dwarf Palmetto, Saw palmetto Sable Palm

Salvia coccinea -  Red Sage Salvia, Lyre Leaf Sage

Sambucus Canadensis - Elderberry

Sassafras albidum - Sassafras

Scaevola plumieri -  Inkberry

Schaefferia frutescens - Florida Boxwood

Serenoa repens - Saw Palmetto

Solidago spp. Goldenrods

Taxusfloridana Florida Yew

Ulmus spp. Winged Elm, Amer.Elrn,CedarElm

Viburnum spp. Viburnums

Blueberries, Deerberries, Sparkleberry, Grapes

Wisteria Frutescens American Wisteria

 

See the list of more things to do on
the Wildlife page...