More on Birds and Bugs


 > My friends who are more into birds than plants have told me that birds
> need a balanced diet and that you should put seed out year round for
them.  I
> still don't do it because I want them to protect my plants.  In years
past when
> I put out birdseed in the summer I had more insect problems.  So my birds
> are working birds and have to earn their keep here. And they do!  --Janis

So sorry to beat this subject into the ground, but I do have something to
add to it.  Sometimes it's not a matter of attracting beneficial birds with
food, it's attracting beneficial birds with appropriate housing. 

When I moved here 5 years ago I never saw much of the Wrens.  Never saw
them, never heard them (or so I thought).  Last year, on a whim, I grew
some Birdhouse Gourds, not knowing if they would prove to be worth the
trouble or not.  Winters are full of free time here, so I took the
opportunity and sanded, shellacked (sp?), and drilled holes into about 20
of these gourds.  They looked really cool when I hung them up in the trees,
which is all I was concerned about (I'm a "city person", so looks are
important to me <ggg>). 

I was thrilled when the native Wrens took up residence in the gourds; just
plain goofy about it, as a matter of fact.  I keep a constant watch on
them. BUT.....and this is why I'm boring you to death here,the Wrens are
NOT seed eaters.  They eat nothing but bugs.  Which is why I'm planting
more and more Birdhouse Gourd seeds, just to keep the little buggers happy.

Okay, here's the part where most of you "info-starved" folks might wanna'
take a hike, cause I'm going to get cute here.

One of the happiest moments of my life involved a Wren.  

I had a long, terrible day.  I pulled into my driveway, thinking of nothing
but taking some antihistamines and going to bed early.  As I came into the
house, through the garage-end of the house, I heard loud chattering as if
the stereo was turned up too loud on the Audubon channel. Quite frankly, I
was pissed.  I was in no mood for "happy and mirthful".

 I staggered my way to the rear of the house, near the kitchen, and
encountered my Significant Other on the phone, discussing stock moves (my
least favorite subject).  This is where the chattering was the worst;  I
wanted to grab whatever the hell it was making the mirth, and, quite
frankly, kill it.  Then I noticed the source of the racket.  It was a tiny
Brown Wren, perched on the Shepard's rod that holds up a Hummingbird
feeder,  which is two feet away from the kitchen sink, warbling, strutting,
scraping, hollering, yowling and yodeling it's little life away.   But, I
can assure you,
all-that-were-so-bored-with-their-own-lives-that-they-would-read-this-rubbis
h-so-far......that I was trasfixed by this tiny mickjagger of a scamp. 
Never have I been forced to feel so small..... in the presence of something
so minute.

Oh, yeah, the point is that since I've attacted Wrens to my propery, I've
noticed that the little devils are marvelous at eating insects.  BUT, they
don't eat seeds out of the feeders.

Sermon over.

Keith, WNY, zone 5

---------------------------------------------------------------------
To sign-off this list, send email to majordomo@mallorn.com with the
message text UNSUBSCRIBE PERENNIALS
Other Mailing lists | Author Index | Date Index | Subject Index | Thread Index