Jan's Restaurant is Open

I like feeding the birds.  It is always amazing to me that as soon as a put fresh seeds out the bird begin to flock to the feeders.   It is as if someone turned on a flashing neon sign - "Jan's Restaurant is OPEN."  I keep the feeder full all year and don't mind the visits from the squirrels.

• Our Lubbock home is virtually new construction so there aren't any trees, shrubs or flowers.   I will starting from scratch.   What a perfect opportunity to create a bird paradise - assuming there are songbird birds in Lubbock.   All I have seen so far are crackles and a few house finches.

Ideas for a bird-garden -- plant is and they will come:

• Evergreens: Evergreen trees and shrubs such as pine, fir, cedar, spruce, yew, hemlock, juniper, and others. These  offer winter shelter, summer nesting sites, and escape cover. In addition some birds feast on the seeds and sap.
   
• Nut and acorn trees: In addition to providing shelter, nut and acorn trees are a source of food.
   
• Summer-fruiting plants: Blackberry, blueberry, cherry, chokecherry, honeysuckle, raspberry, serviceberry, mulberry, elderberry, and wild plum, as an example, will attract birds throughout the year.
   
• Fall-fruiting plants: Fall-fruiting plants are essential for birds to build up fat reserves.  Examples are dogwood, mountain ash, snowberry, sea buckthorn, buffalo berry, and cotoneaster.
   
• Winter-fruiting plants: Winter fruits include black chokecherry, snowberry, sumac, highbush cranberry, many varieties of crabapple, barberry and hawthorn - just to name a few. Birds especially enjoy them after they have gone through several cycles of  freezing and thawing.
   
• Grasses and flowers: Tall grasses plus annual and perennial flowers attract all kinds of birds. These not only provide cover but also supply seeds and nectar.  Not to mention they are hosts for insects.
   
• Nectar-producing plants: Nectar-producing plants, especially those with with red tubular flowers such as trumpet vine, columbine.  These plants will attract hummingbirds.
   
• Grow Your Own Feeders – Plant sunflowers and let nature provide your seeds.  A patch of sunflowers is beautiful and provide nectar for bees & beneficial insects.  In the fall, simply cut the flower heads and hang them in the yard as home-grown bird feeders.  I leave some in tack.  It is a joy to watch the bird maneuver around on the seed heads.
   
• Go Native – Native plants provide birds with the foods they’ve been eating for thousands of years.  These plants will thrive in local soils and weather.  Native plants also attract insects and therefore more birds.
   
• Make sure there is water all year.   The birds need it for a drink and to wash up.  In Thornton I rigged a drip station using the sprinkler system.  Water dripped into a pie plate each time I turned on the underground sprinkler system.   Birds prefer moving water.  Source for dripper, misters and water wigglers.
   
• No Insecticides – Pesticide will also kill the birds.  Your feathered visitors are a "nature" insecticide.  Let them do their job and eat those unwanted bugs.
   
• Buy in Bulk – It certainly is cheaper to buy seeds in bulk.  Watch for sales and stock up. Avoid seed blends which often have “filler” seeds that most birds toss aside and feed black-oil sunflower seed, which all feeder birds relish. 
   
• Store your seed in a cool, dry place - Use a metal trash bin to store your seeds.  I used a plastic one outside and it became a feeder for mice. 
   
• Clean your feeder and birdbath - At least once a month (twice a month is better), empty the feeder and wash it with a solution of one part chlorine bleach to nine parts water,  Scrub and rinse well. You prefer eating from a clean plate, don't you?   Well your feathered friends do too.
   
• ELIMINATE nuisance birds - Cutting back on their favorite foods. Pigeons, for example, are less of a problem if you do not offer cracked corn.  Check with your local extension office for more tips.

• Bird Pudding:  Heat 1 cup lard in a heavy saucepan over medium heat until softened, then add 1 cup bird seed, 1/2 cup uncooked oatmeal, 1/4 cup flour and 1/4 cup hot water and mix well.  Slather on pinecones or cardboard shapes, or to fill citrus shell bowls.
   
• Jan's Special Treat:  Heat 1 cup crunchy peanut butter in a heavy saucepan over medium heat until softened, then add 1 cup hulled sunflower seeds, 1/2 cup raisins, 1/4 corn meal, and 1/4 cup mixed nuts (no salt) crushed.  Pour over toasted stale bread or crushed crackers or vanilla wafers or any combination of these.     Put in various containers or citrus shells or watermelon shells.  Sometime I drizzled corn syrup over the concoction.

Flowers
Aster
Bachelor Button
Black-eyed Susan
California Poppy
Chrysanthemum
Columbine
Marigold
Purple Coneflower
Sunflowers

Small Trees
Bayberry
Cedar (Juniper)
Cherry
Crab Apple
Dogwood
Eastern Hemlock
Hawthorn
Plumb
Japanese Maple
Serviceberry
Sum

Shrubs and Vines
Blackberry
Boxwood
Elderberry
English Ivy
Grape
Holly
Honeysuckle
Juniper
Myrtle
Raspberry
Spicebush
Viburnum
Virginia Creeper
Witchhazel
Yew