Wildlife Refuge

Hummingbirds eat nectar and small insects.  

"If you feed them they'll come..."  That is true to most of nature.  Living things can sense the direction of the source of good things and tend to gravitate towards it.  Life was designed that way for survival.  In the case of plants, their roots grow toward moist areas and the leaves towards the light.  If plants that seem so immobile can get to the food how much more to those that are equipped with wings and legs?  

Yes, I'm referring to the birds and other small mammals that now seem to reside in our garden because we have been regularly giving them food.  In return they give us entertainment and they help with pest control by eating aphids, larvae, slugs and snails that have found their way to my garden.    

There are so many wild doves in the area but we got our resident ones.

All of these birds can be attracted to a garden depending on the plants growing around.  However, in the absence of plants they can be lured by providing them feeds and water.  During summer time, water is as important as the feed in attracting them to the garden.  

He's cute but he scares the birds from the feeders.

The other thing that make a garden bird-friendly is the presence of bushes that provide shelter and cover from predator.  In our garden, the boxwood hedges provide just that to the finches when the hawk tries to get to them.

Broken saucers can still serve as a feeder.

Old breads are not wasted.  

When the quails are around, they bring down the snail population.

If you want to make your garden more interesting this season, try attracting more birds into it. 

Even doves enjoy the hammock in the garden

Birds are good boarders, they pay their fees in terms of entertainment and pest control.

Hummingbirds and Succulent Flowers

Hummingbirds are attracted to aloe vera flowers

Hummingbirds love the flowers of succulents.  Alright, maybe they don't love the flower per se but the nectar is like a special treat for them.  It has been my observation that they would check on these flowers way before they open.  Once the tubular flowers crack slightly the birds begin to stake their claim.  Any other hummingbird trying to intrude on well defended flowers, would soon find out that it was not a good idea.  

Hummingbirds will linger where there are plenty of food.

Fortunately for the resident hummingbirds, we have many different succulents in the yard -- that is in addition to three hummingbird feeders. Different succulent species bloom at different times which prolongs the season for nectar harvest for these birds.  Earlier this year some of the aeoniums and echeverias opened up.  At this time the aloe veras are in bloom. 

Hummingbirds always return to their favorite flower.

If you want to attract these beautiful creatures in your yard, plant something they like.  There are many plants that are known to attract hummingbirds, but one thing is true - succulent are among the easiest to grow. 

Entice the hummingbirds to stay in your garden - plant succulents.

The Robin and the Worm

An American Robin (Turdus migratorius) gets the worm - early in the morning.

"I think we consider too much the good luck of the early bird and not enough the bad luck of the early worm."   Franklin D. Roosevelt

Baby Blue Jay

Baby Blue Jay

Blue jays (Cyanocitta cristata) seem to consider our garden as a prime location for building nests. Previously, they had a nest on the lemon tree and on the Cecile Brunner rose that was by our front door.  But the best so far was when they had a nest on a three-foot tall standard rose in the backyard.  My two older kids, who were then very young, looked at the eggs every day.  This year, our resident blue jays built another nest on the grape arbor.  My daughter (younger) watched them as they gathered twigs for the nest.  She observed every activity there - touched the three eggs and then heard the little baby blue jays claim their worm every feeding time. When the nest became too small for them and the mommy bird prodded them to fly but one of them was still too weak to take flight. It fell to the ground.  We put it back to the nest that night but soon we saw her in one of the bushes where she was safe.

Getting ready for the first flight.

It is amazing to watch the birds take care of their young - they are like humans in the way they teach their kids - one lesson at a time.  The other day I watched the parent blue jays teach the babies to splash water from the bird bath.  It was amusing.

Out of the nest for the first time.

 Attract the blue jays to your vegetable garden with corn or peanut seeds.  And they will eat all your tomato hornworms too.