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How to Attract Fascinating Woodpeckers
Red-headed Woodpecker
Mdf, GFDL
Want to attract woodpeckers to your wildlife porch, patio, deck, or balcony?
If a species of woodpecker is in your area, the easiest way to attract is to provide their preferred food in certain feeders.
The Struggle to Blog: Upcoming Blog and Personal Changes
On a personal note --
I started this blog after some radical life changes last summer (I married, quit my job, moved two states away, sold the old house, and became pregnant).
My hopes were to stick with several articles a week for the blog, but I may have to downgrade my posting frequency yet again for this summer.
The baby is due anytime in the next few weeks, and we move into our own home at the end of June
I'm going to try to stack up several feature articles to take care of you, my reader, while I'm fighting sleep deprivation and changing diapers.
Hang in there! I'll be back full-force as soon as life allows.
Profiling the Flashy and Fascinating Cardinal
Male Northern Cardinal (WikiMedia)
Are you fortunate enough to live in an area where you see cardinals?
Are you interested in trying to attract cardinals to your porch, patio, deck, balcony, or other small outdoor space?
A link to Cornell's information on the Northern Cardinal.
Another field guide entry on the Northern Cardinal. It includes audio of the cardinal's voice, as well as audio for similar-sounding species.
Cardinals belong to a group of birds called "grosbeaks", meaning that they have a thick bill especially adapted for cracking open and eating seeds
Cornell's All About Birds profile on the cardinal that lives near the Mexican border.
I'm Back! Stay tuned for more articles and links
Well, I'm recovering and ready to start writing again. I'll try to have my Friday feature ready to go at the usual time, and it will definitely be done by Friday COB regardless.
Thanks for hanging in there!
If you're missing today's post -- I'm taking a sick day
A little under the weather folks -- see you tomorrow!
Book Review: Attracting Butterflies and Hummingbirds to Your Backyard
Sally Roth's book, Attracting Butterflies & Hummingbirds to Your Backyard
Summary
Sally Roth covers not only nectar, water, and other butterfly edibles, but also plants -- host plants, nectar plants, and garden design.
She also offers a look not only into the behavior of hummingbirds and butterflies, but a very useful gallery of the common butterflies and hummingbirds in the United States.
Sprinkled through the pages are gorgeous pictures, useful sidebars of top 10 plants and tidbits, and instructions for small projects.
3 Great Deals on Plants to Attract Wildlife Simply and Inexpensively to Your Patio, Deck, or Balcony
Once a month I like to try to find a few quality products on sale. I search places like Duncraft.com or Wayside Gardens so you won't have to.
This month, it's plants on sale. Two of three attract butterflies, and the lovely columbine attracts hummingbirds.
Stuck Growing Wildlife Plants in a Small Outdoor Space? Try One of These 8 Forums
Trying solve a problem about gardening on a porch, patio, deck, balcony, or other small outdoor space?
What is Safflower Seed and What Kind of Wild Birds Does Safflower Attract?
Safflower (WikiMedia)
Ever wonder what safflower seed is?
Or what kind of wild birds it will attract or discourage from your feeders?
Site Roundup: Top 3 Free Plant Databases
Want to identify a plant? Find out where it grows? Determine what kind of growing conditions it needs?
This week's roundup may help. I'm covering the top 3 free plant databases.
Want to know more about a particular plant? Its distribution? What it looks like?
Look it up in this plant database.
HortiPlex is part of the vast, highly active GardenWeb. Entry quality varies and is based on user remarks, photos, and ratings.
Want to know more about a particular plant? Its distribution? What it looks like?
Look it up in this plant database.
Want to know more about a particular plant? Its distribution? What it looks like? Look it up in this plant database.
The USDA plant database tends to be more scientific, with less specific growing information for the home gardener.
It's Spring -- What Will You Do to Attract Wildlife to Your Small Outdoor Area This Year?
It's springtime - what will you do to attract wildlife to your porch, patio, deck, or balcony this year?
If you've got a plan, let me know (see the contact link at the top of the page).
Otherwise, check out the following ideas:
New Posting Frequency
Because of some upcoming personal life changes, I'm reducing my posting schedule by dropping Thursday's posts. In a few weeks, if necessary, I'll drop Tuesday's posts.
I expect to reinstate the four-posts-a-week schedule sometime this fall.
However, Monday is still reserved for administrative notices like this one, while Tuesday remains the day for reviews, briefs, or series. Friday will still bring my feature articles to light.
As always, please contact me (see the link at the top of the page) if you have any questions.
Tiger Swallowtail: A Large, Colorful Butterfly to Brighten Up Your Day
Eastern Tiger Swallowtail (GNU Free Documentation license)
Want to attract a bright, colorful butterfly of impressive size?
Today I'm profiling the tiger swallowtail - a large, colorful butterfly typically with a yellow and gold pattern.
10 Surprising Facts About Birds, Butterflies, and Squirrels
Here's a few things I didn't know about wildlife:
Product Roundup: Stock Up on These 10 Bulk Birdseed Products
Does springtime make you want to attract birds with seed? If so, perhaps it's time to stock up.
The following birdseed products come in bulk with free shipping, saving you money - and giving you higher quality birdseed.
4 Reasons You May Not Attract Hummingbirds
Black-Chinned Hummingbird (GNU Free Documentation license)
Even if you try to attract hummingbirds with feeders or plants, you may not see any hummingbirds (or only a few vagrants) for several reasons.
9 Stunning New Plant Varieties from the National Gardening Bureau
Want to try plants that are new and beautiful, yet still attract wildlife?
New plant cultivars appear on the scene all the time. However, these varieties from the National Garden Bureau are especially stunning.
12 Ways to Avoid Birds Crashing into Windows
Are birds crashing into your windows? And injuring themselves?
Collisions can be prevented.
Bonus Link Roundup: 5 Dragonfly Links
This week's link roundup topic is the dragonfly. Hope you enjoy these links!
You don't necessarily need a large pond to attract dragonflies. "I've got friends whose 'pond' is a wooden half barrel," says Biggs, "and fork-tailed damselflies still come and breed in it. One of my grad students reared damselflies in plastic wading pools." Whatever the size, place your pond where it will be protected from wind and will get midday sun.
If you want dragonflies gallivanting through your garden, get rid of any electric bug zappers, which kill dragonflies as easily as flies and mosquitoes. Over time, the dragonflies will do a great job of keeping the insect population in check without any help. After all, more than 90 percent of their diet consists of people-pestering mosquitoes!
Building your own dragonfly water garden can be easy and fun. A dragonfly watergarden can be any size from as small as a backyard garden with a barrel for the pond to as large as a 20 foot diameter pond in the middle of the Big Apple.
Dragonflies and damselflies are a lot more likely to partake of nuisance bugs like mosquitoes and gnats, making them welcome visitors on summer afternoons. They are, in turn, preyed upon by swallows, kingbirds, redwing blackbirds, small hawks, spiders and mantids.
