Bird Visitors to Winter Gardens

A few days ago a friend who lives in northern Rensselaer County mentioned  that he's noticed different kinds of birds now are showing up in and around his garden, and he was wondering what he might be seeing.  So, you can blame him for inspiring  this post.

Snowy Owl - Common visitor from the North

It is common for some birds from more northern ranges to move just a little south into our neck of the woods for at least part of the winter. Not all species undertake long migrations, and local newspapers bring attention to these visitors by  posting pictures from their readers of the larger species - snowy owls, snow geese etc.  Pine Siskins, Snow Buntings and  various Grosbeaks usually don't get as much attention because they tend to hangout   in secluded woody or shrubby areas.

Although gardeners living in the suburbs and rural areas will probably see more species, even in my urban backyard setting I have occasionally seen Lapland Longspurs and Cedar Waxwings. A few backyard gardeners might even be surprized to learn that some  of our regular Rensselaer County feathery friends such as Bluebirds, Gold Finches and Robins actually  are  wintering over in sheltered areas all around us.  

If you are wondering about what kind of birds are being seen in the Capital District, the best website may be the one maintained by the Hudson-Mohawk Bird Club. Many club members post their daily sightings year round, and anyone can take a look. On the club's homepage look for the heading, HMBirds, and click on the link labeled, To see the latest sightings. 

For gardeners who feel they could use help  with identifying birds,  Cornell's Laboratory of Ornithology  offers the free app, Merlin, for  smartphones or tablets.  This app guides users in selecting  important identifying characteristics and then offers suggestions with photos of the bird(s)   fitting that criteria.  Merlin covers about 3,000 species in North America; and once you confirm what you are seeing on the app, the sighting data  enters  the lab's database that compiles information about species ranges and migration patterns. - I never go for a walk without Merlin!

For  gardeners who might be looking for something more to do when not in the garden or while just waiting for the new seed catalogs to arrive, there is also   Cornell Lab's website, eBird.org. In addition to identifying birds, you can a find out about current research, create a lifelist of personal sightings, participate in a citizen science program by entering your daily sightings of even common birds into the Lab's  database, and  monitor ongoing migratory movements.

Another option is the Audobon Society's North American Bird Guide available through its website as well as via a mobile app.  From the website look for a drop down menu labeled, Birds. You can limit your searches to a region, but you do have to know a little something about the character of the bird you are attempting to identify.  The society's webpage  also offers extensive information about environmental and political developments impacting birds. And, in case you haven't heard of it or have been silently ruminating  about it, there is still time to get involved the Audobon Society's 119th Christmas Bird Count this year.

For those gardeners with more  traditional print-based propensities, there are a slew of handbooks for identifying birds. The leading ones continue to be the guides authored by Roger Tory Peterson, Donald & Lillian  Stokes (of NH) and David Allen Sibley. These authors also offer various web resources.  All   emphasize   educational topics  for both beginning and experienced birders.  Stokes offers an excellent birding blog; Peterson, in additionl to promoting his many publications,  offers podcasts, and Sibley seems to  focussing on developing  online  tutorials.

And remember:

"I value my garden more for being full of blackbirds than of cherries,

and very frankly give them fruit for their songs." - Joseph Addison, Essayist

Garden Preparation - December

Oh... No... December! For those of us without green houses, almost all our outside gardening work  in Rensselaer County, NY is past.  I still do have some curly leaf kale persisting in the garden, but that's all.  My other plants have succumbed to killing frosts. However, if you were conscientious last month and actually covered your carrots, beets and parsnips with a deep layer of straw, you may still may be harvesting. I hope you are.

In the mean time while you are waiting for next season's seed catalogs to start arriving in the mail, here are a few gardening related items you might consider doing to exercise that green thumb.

Culinary herbs

• Start a few culinary herbs indoors: The basic ones include chives, parsley, rosemary, thyme and basil. If you have space there is also oregano, cilantro, mint and lemon balm.  And, if you have even more space, you might want to try bay laurel (aka bay leaf) - actually a shrub that will work in a container.

• If you garden soil is still not frozen, check your carrots, and other root veggies. If they look alive, there is still time either to mulch them for later harvesting or you can simply dig them for storage indoors. If mulching, be sure to add a sheet of  plastic blanket over the mulch to help insulate the veggies from freezing.

• Don't wait any longer. Writing holiday cards can wait and get a jump on an early New Year's Resolution. Start that garden diary while you still remember a little bit of what you planted and how it did this year. You might even enter a note about what you want to do different next year.

And remember:

"The garden season officially begins January 1st and ends December 31." - Marie Huston, gardener and artist