Great Backyard Bird Count

black-capped chickadee

Looking for something fun to do this weekend?  Even if your garden is covered in piles of snow or ice, you can still participate in the Great Backyard Bird Count (GBBC) February 14-17.  This annual event originated in 1998 as a collaboration between the Cornell Lab of Ornithology and the National Audubon Society.  It's a citizen based effort to count and identify wild birds.

All it takes is 15 minutes of observation, any day of the event, any place in the world.  Then submit your information and follow the tally.  The GBBC website has everything you need to get started, including lists of birds that you are most likely to see in your location.  Need help with bird ID? There's an app for that!

It's fun, it's easy, and it's an important means of collecting data about bird populations and the world we live in.

Last, but not least, some great facts — myth busters! — from the GBBC e-newsletter:

• Feeding hummingbirds does not stop them from migrating. In fact, leaving your feeders out longer may help provide that last bit of energy they need to make their migration successful.
• Birds do not choke on peanut butter, but you can add some grit or corn meal to yours to keep it from clumping just in case.
• Birds’ feet are not likely to stick to cold metal perches.
• Birds do not become dependent on bird feeders.
• Birds do not die from eating uncooked rice.

Wordless Wednesday 2.12.2014

snowbirds

Garden Tour with a Twist

I love me a good garden tour, so when I heard about the Chicks on the Ridge tour in my own little city/suburb of Wheat Ridge, Colorado, I was pretty excited. I have a couple of neighbors that live close enough that I can occasionally hear the buck-buck-buck of their small flocks, but I was curious to see what the trends were — if any — in the new era of chicken owners. (As a kid, I spent many enjoyable hours feeding, chasing, gathering eggs etc., of chickens, ducks, and other fowl on my grandmother's farm. So, I do "get" it.)

She's a classy classic --- Rhode Island Red

A total of eight homeowners opened their backyards for the tour and were excited to share their chickeny passion.  Most of them had built their own chicken coops and chicken runs, many choosing to repurpose materials, including this headed-for-the-dump armoire:

Ta-daaaa!

the rectangular door in the back slides open for access to the enclosed run area during the day

Most of the owners view their chickens as family pets, and chicken-keeping as a good activity to share with their children.  They enjoy owning a variety of different chicken breeds, like this fancy, feather-footed dame:

Who needs a feather boa when you can have feathered feet?

With a couple of exceptions, egg production to supplement the family food cupboard was the goal, not sales.

these "Easter eggs" are from Amerucanas

My favorite chicken abode was this one; an all-in-one, covered and enclosed unit for coop and run.  It's nicely finished — not too big, and not too small:

It features easy access to the nesting boxes, and a large back door for airing the coop and cleaning.

All of the chicken owners that I visited understand the connection between chickens and gardens; they're actively raising veggies and putting their chicken waste to good use as part of their compost/soil improvement regime.

Isn't this Barnevelder a beauty?

I was surprised to hear most of the tour participants say that they consider their chickens to be low maintenance and easier to care for than they'd anticipated.  But I suppose if one is chasing around after young children all day, taking care of a few birds would be a piece of cake!

Thanks, again, to all the chicken wranglers who welcomed us to their coops, and Wheat Ridge 2020/Live Local  for their sponsorship.

Wordless Wednesday 7.04.2012

My favorite dragonfly is here to celebrate . . .  happy Independence Day!

Friend or Foe?

fox squirrel enjoying my Fraxinus americana 'Autumn Purple'

This American Red Squirrel  Fox Squirrel is one of many that call my neighborhood home. I enjoy watching their antics in the garden, but don't appreciate their persistent attacks on my bird feeders!

Are squirrels a part of your garden's ecosystem? Do you consider them friends or foes?

ETA:  Thanks to Connie who correctly identified this squirrel species!

Stop & Look

Once my heart stopped pounding from the shock of almost stepping on this big fat guy, I grabbed my camera for a few quick shots.

a hornworm of some sort...

 As often happens, I couldn't really see the details of the beautiful color patterning on his skin until I downloaded the images onto my computer and gave them a good cropping.

The ideal mix of formal and informal rhythm that we often strive for in our garden designs.

If this were a fabric...

Wordless Wednesday 6.29.2011

Gotcha!

Gilded Visitor

Look what I found or, rather, what found me: 

Can you believe the beautiful iridescence and bits of gold? When in flight around my little pond, the spotted wings of this species of dragonfly are their dominant feature.

This guy looks like he's contemplating his next move. 

Unfortunately, I don't think he's going anywhere...

Wordless Wednesday

Engaging the Children

A snakeskin, spruce cones and flicker feathers.

An owl "barf ball" (my term!), animal jaw bone and sand-cast tracks...all part of a "treasure chest in a wagon" that was just the right height for little eyes and hands to explore.

The Audubon Society of Greater Denver participated in the recent gardening showcase "Echxpo"at Echter's Nursery and Garden Center. The ASGD is a non-profit environmental conservation organization founded in 1969. Their primary focus is the birds, wildlife and habitats of the South Platte River basin. They offer filed trips, classes and programs at the Audubon Nature Center at Chatfield State Park.
From my own booth across the isle I observed the Audubon staff engage young (and some very young) children, again and again, with patience and care. For many families this was just one quick stop in a busy weekend, but hopefully it will spark their interest in learning more about the natural world around them.

Kyoto Update #2

It's time. Kyoto has been in quarantine now for over two weeks. Despite daily dosage with a "prescribed" medication, he has not shown much improvement.
In fact, he has gone into deeper stress,
as evidenced by the reddening along his sides here, just behind the gills:
So it's back to the pond for Kyoto, to be with his pals. Good luck, Kyoto!

PS As of this morning, Kyoto has been back in the pond for three days and is not showing any sighs of deteriorating health; he's hangin' in there!

Fox Scat

Base of birdfeeder
Something unusual happened in the garden last week. I thought it was interesting, so I've decided to share it with you here---not for the "gross out" factor, but because I enjoy observing and learning from the animals that choose to visit my garden. Read on if you wish...

I was sitting at my desk early one morning - it was still fairly dark outside - when I noticed a
red fox trotting through the neighborhood, which is fairly common. But then he came right up to the bird feeder, not 10 feet from my window, and pooped. I'd never observed a fox do that! He was probably marking his territory, and since foxes do eat small mammals and birds, that spot was likely a good choice. Afterwords, he headed off down the block to continue his predawn circuit.

Call me crazy, but I was very curious to see what that scat looked like. Very cat-like scat, in my opinion. Now that I know what to look for, I'll be able to use it as a clue to the foxes' activity in my gardens once the snow - and their tracks - are gone.
Fox scat photo (30 hour delay)

Kyoto Update

It's gotten a wee bit colder since our koi, Kyoto, went into quarantine last Friday (see previous post). We had a couple of days of light snow - about 4" - and last night it dipped down to 14 degrees F. There's a thin sheet of ice on both the pond and the isolation tank. As you can see from the photo below, the water in the tank is partially open and well oxygenated.
Kyoto continues to get a daily dose of medicine and seems to be on the mend. Yea!

Just a reminder, be sure to visit my Facebook page (become a fan!) for more details and registration links for upcoming events. Will I see you in Fort Collins this Saturday?

Quarantined!

Gathering the tools
We recently realized that one of our koi, my favorite in fact, had a wound that was not healing. We've been pretty lucky with our fish over the years and have never had to take drastic measures. A few times a fish has died for no apparent reason, the rest of the time they all seem healthy and happy. Once we realized our 20 year old koi*- Kyoto is his name - was in trouble, we consulted with our friends at True Pump & Equipment and decided to isolate and medicate this special pet.

A pump with temporary fittings fills the isolation tank quickly


This small pump will be used as a bubbler to keep the water oxygenated.

Now that Kyoto's temporary home is ready, it's time to nab him. This fish net is 20" in diameter.

This time of year the water is very cold and the fish's metabolism is quite low. Essentially, they are hibernating for the winter. They move slowly and are much easier to catch!

Jim eases Kyoto into the net and walks him carefully over to the tank.


Here is a closeup: see the green leaf stuck to Kyoto's side? The green spot to the left is the wound area where algae has started to grow. Yeah, gross...

This is the medication we'll be trying. Kyoto will get a dose every day for a week.

Here's Kyoto with his pals in happier (and warmer!) days. Please send him your good wishes for a speedy recovery!

*We purchased Kyoto in 1990 right after we built our pond. He was about 4" long then, now he's nearly 2 feet long! The yellow fish at the top of the photo, Yoshi, is his "brother."

Note: this is not a paid endorsement of any company or product

Happy New Year!

The new year came in bright and chilly, perfect for a walk around Sloan's Lake for a bit of birding. Binoculars and ID book in hand, we headed out. A walking / biking pathway encircles this popular urban lake in an easy, three mile loop. Most of the water is frozen over, but there were a few open areas where water fowl congregated.

Of course we saw the ubiquitous Canadian goose doing what they do best, chewing up the grass and crapping everywhere.
Jim has great binoculars, so we were able to see and identify a number of different water birds (a telephoto lens for my camera is on my wish list with a capital W!). There wasn't anything too unusual to report, but we did see: mallards, common mergansers, hooded mergansers (stunning!), northern shovelers, and American coots, which are oddly chicken-like.
A piece of sculpture on the SW leg of the lake has an "eye" for viewing the lake (looking to the north-west.) I love looking through to the more focused vista beyond.

A fun and invigorating start to the new year. Now on to the couch and the football games!

Tracks

Fox tracks this morning now nearly obliterated by a very curious cat!