t it a a G r a WATER Basic Number 1 BIRDS HUMMINGBIRDS BUTTERFLIES er a

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1 Jnine White Creting Wild life H b Cheri Melton, Cochise In creting ny hbitt grden, there re four bsic components: Wter, Food, Shelter, nd Plces to Rise Young. It is essentil to possess some knowledge of these components nd their importnce to ttrcting, feeding, offering shelter nd nesting opportunities for diverse ssortment of living cretures. The following offerings re methods to ttrct nd keep wildlife long with some personl experiences in creting n enjoyble hbitt for wildlife nd humns. WATER Bsic Number 1 BIRDS Wter is strong ttrctnt for birds. Mny birds not ttrcted by seed feeders or plntings will visit wter. And some birds do not drink wter; insted they get their wter requirements from the foods nd insects they et. A shllow 1-2 inch dish will be enough to ttrct birds. Plce wter source on level ground ner shrubs or trees to ccommodte ground dwellers, for preening nd evding predtors. Birdbths do not hve to be fncy, but remember tht whtever vessel you choose to use be sure tht the birds hve sure footing underneth. Plcing couple of clen rocks in the bottom of the vessels works well nd plcing some lrge clen rocks in lrge or deep fountins for esy ccess to the wter is gret ide since the fountin cn be fr too deep for birds to wde in. Nothing ctches bird s ttention like the sound of moving wter, so consider instlling t lest one wter feture such s fountin or birdbth equipped with mister or dripper. To conserve wter, run these fetures only when you re home nd cn enjoy the birds they ttrct to the grden. Two of the best times to wtch birds is from sunrise to 10 m nd from 4 pm to sunset. G t it r ste M y t Coun n e rd nd er den r G vid p lnt enthusist If you decide to use birdbths, dishes or fountins, frequent clening is essentil to prevent the risk of disese trnsmission. Mny diseses cn be spred in birdbth or feeding re. Trichomonisis, bcteri tht cuses 'choking disese' is common in the southwest nd is esily spred. To prevent diseses, wter sources (with the exception of ponds which contin plnts tht promote n ecologicl process tht is sfe to drink from) should be scrubbed out once week with vinegr or soy-bsed clener. When nighttime tempertures fll below 55 Fhrenheit, the weekly clening is not necessry, but chnging the wter dily is still essentil. Birds keep their fethers clen to sty live. Mny birds mke dily visits to sfe, clen, nd consistent wter sources for the ll-importnt tsk of preening. Some birds such s quil nd towhees prefer to bthe in dust insted of wter so spce where they cn clen their fethers in dirt or snd is welcome ddition to the grden. HUMMINGBIRDS A misconception is tht feeders provide hummingbirds with ll the wter they need, but hummers lso enjoy wter fetures for bthing nd drinking. Unfortuntely trditionl birdbths re not well suited for this purpose. Hummingbirds prefer running, shllow wter nd smll fountins tht mist or splsh gently. Hve you ever noticed tht hummingbirds seem to enjoy flying though our summer rins- it's the idel birdbth for them! Wet soil or res round ponds re frequent sites mle butterflies visit - behvior clled 'puddling,' in which they extrct sodium nd other nutrients needed for mting. Butterflies seem especilly ttrcted to soker hose lid on top of the vegetble grden. The wet soil combined with the humusenriched soil provides them n idel plce to 'pull up spot t the br.' A dish filled with dmp snd/ntive soil nd mnure my ttrct butterflies. 15

2 FOOD Bsic Number 2 BIRDS Supplementl Feeding: Bird feeders re n esy nd effective wy to feed birds. Feeders should be clened thoroughly once week to prevent disese trnsmission. The grdener will find mny types of bird foods on the mrket to include suet, nectr solutions, feed blocks, nd vrious ssortments of seed. Purchse the highest qulity of product tht you cn fford. Mny products contin fillers nd the birds won't et these fillers, not to mention it being wste of money. If you purchse seed mixes tht contin sunflower seeds in their shell you will need to rke up the feeding re regulrly nd dispose of the seed hulls. They cn ccumulte over time nd spred diseses s well s become n unsightly mess in the grden. Becuse seed is usully sold by the pound, good choice is to purchse no-mess blends - the hulls hve been removed from the seeds nd the result is pure food without the mess - which mens more seed for the money. The no-mess blends lso seem to ttrct the lrgest vriety of birds to grdens. Another benefit of no-mess blends is tht popultions tht cnnot crck seeds very well like woodpeckers, Curve-billed Thrshers, Cctus Wrens, nd Pyrrhuloxi increse gretly in your hbitts. Suet is fun nd ttrcts mny birds. In the het, some suet's cn melt so purchse suet dough tht cn withstnd high tempertures. A couple of suggested fvorites re Fruit Cke nd Clcium Cre. Mny birds love fruit. You cn mke your own fruit feeder simply with n eight to ten inch piece of 2x4 wood nd couple of nils pounded in the sides (grind off the nil hed to mke shrp point so it is esier to put the fruit on it.) Drill hole on the top nd screw in closed eyebolt nd hng this on hnger from tree or grden structure object. You cn mke fruit feeders tht hng verticl nd horizontl. Bird Feeding Plnts: Plnts re fun wy to provide seeds, berries, fruits nd nectr for birds nd other wildlife nd unlike supplementl feeding, they re much sfer, esier, nd enhnce the lndscpe. Try selecting vriety of plnts tht will provide food throughout the yer. Choosing ntive plnts provide beuty nd require less cre, fuss, nd wter. Need more resons to plnt regionl ntive plnts? Regionl ntive plnts: Work in hrmony with the nturl lndscpe nd Mother Nture Provides food nd shelter tht locl wildlife re fmilir with Conservtion nd diversity of ntive flor & 16 Bckyrds Beyond Long term cost svings nd incresed enjoyment due to less intensive mngement: Self-perpetuting - helps keeps costs low by replnting volunteer plnts Wter little or none required Fertilizer little or none required Pesticides not needed HUMMINGBIRDS Supplementl Feeding: Mowing not needed except for wildflower nd grss medows Sugr Solution Recipe: four (4) prts wter to one (1) prt tble sugr - boil on stove for 2 minutes nd let cool. Extr solution my be stored in the refrigertor. If solution 'gums' up in feeders during hot wether try incresing the rtio to five prts wter to one prt tble sugr. Hummingbird feeders usully hve red prts on them to ttrct hummers do NOT use honey or red food coloring in the solution. Choose feeders tht hve red prts on them nd tht re esy to tke prt nd clen. Clen feeders every 2-3 dys with hot wter nd brush for stubborn mold use white vinegr. Plce feeders ner hummingbird grden flowers in your hbitt. Use different kinds of feeders round the grden t ltering heights to ccommodte different hummingbird species preferences. A misconception is tht hummingbirds live on sugr wter nd nectr lone. Smll insects such s gnts, phids, nd fruit flies re vitl prt of their diet. Butterfly Feeding Plnts: Cterpillr Food Plnts lso known s Lrvl or Host food plnts - The best wy to ttrct butterflies is to grow butterflies by plnting food for cterpillrs. Steven Love

3 Nectr Flowers for Adult Butterflies Groups of plnts will be more enticing thn one plnt here nd there in the grden. Diversify the plette so there is lwys something in bloom from spring to lte fll. Mny butterfly species feed on smll, inconspicuous plnts tht most grdeners would consider 'weeds.' If possible llow n re of the yrd to become 'scruffy' you'll be mzed t the insects these res will ttrct thus bringing birds, lizrds, tods nd others to the grden! SHELTER Bsic Number 3 Animls need shelter to escpe from het, wind, rin, nd predtors. As you crete nd provide shelter, you will lso crete plces to nest nd rise their young. Recommendtions will vry s to being pproprite for vrying sizes of wildlife environments. BIRDS & HUMMINGBIRDS Clustering plnts into thickets will shelter birds nd nimls ginst wind, wether, nd predtors. Ntive shrubs nd trees tht do not provide food do provide vluble plces for nesting, roosting sites, song perches, nd hunting perches. If possible, construct brush piles, rock piles, nd crete medow ptches for cover nd shelter. (Brush piles my not be suitble for smll yrds). Ded logs nd trees re clled 'sngs' nd provide res for birds to Rock piles nd brush piles re gret plces for shelter. et wood boring insects s well s provide nesting cvities for birds. If spce llows try to hve one or two evergreens tht will provide yer round cover. During the hot wether birds nd other ground dwelling nimls will grvitte to the shde provided by mesquites, pines, nd desert broom. You my wnt to erect couple of nesting boxes. When not in use for rising young, birds will roost in nest boxes t night for shelter. Sunshine Butterflies re solrpowered so locte the grden in sunny re. Butterflies re ctive on wrm, windless, sunny dys when tempertures re between 65º to 95ºF. Wrm rocks provide res for bsking. Shde Butterflies will seek shdy res of the grden when dytime tempertures rise bove 95ºF. Windbreks Sheltering the butterfly grden helps butterflies so they re not cooled by winds nd will not hve to extend extr energy serching for food, mtes, nd lying eggs. A horseshoe-shped grden is n esy nd fun wy to provide sunshine, shde, nd windbreks! PLACES TO RAISE YOUNG Bsic Number 4: Our grden hs been host to mny young including Cctus Wrens, Gmbel's Quil, Curved-bill Thrshers, Cnyon Towhee's, Ldder-bcked Woodpeckers, Rodrunners, Blck-chinned Hummingbirds, Western Kingbird, Desert Cottontils, Round-til Ground Squirrels, Gopher nd Grter Snkes, Horned Tods, nd over 15 species of butterflies. More importntly is the host of insects in the grden it is fun to wtch every evening s prent birds scour the grden nd bring insects to their young. This young rering ctivity results in hving no problems with so-clled pests nd never hving to spry the grden. BIRDS & HUMMINGBIRDS Birds build nests in mny plces on the ground, in trees nd shrubs, nd even in mn-mde structures. As previously mentioned, consider building or purchsing nesting boxes birds tht use nest boxes include bluebirds, cctus wrens, woodpeckers, owls, nd kestrels. Fethers, dried grsses nd flower heds, smll twigs nd other objects re used to construct bird nests. Femle hummingbirds build, incubte, nd rise the young on their own. Nests re mde out locl mterils such s downy fibers, niml hir, plnt mterils nd re woven together with spider webs - spider webs re very importnt to hummingbirds! Meliss Rth 17

4 Mcie J Bogcz Butterflies re cool to wtch in the grden. Their life cycle is clled complete metmorphosis. Successful butterfly grdening requires plnting grden tht supports ll phses of the butterfly life cycle: egg (mting) cterpillr (lrv) chryslis (pup) dult (butterfly) The femles hve very short life nd their min purpose is to find mtes nd ly eggs onto host plnts. If ll the grden hs to offer is nectr plnts, butterflies will come to fuel up for energy, but will soon deprt looking for plnts to deposit eggs. Butterflies use their two ntenne to find food (usully flower nectr), s well s finding mtes nd voiding predtors. Butterflies use their feet for tsting, letting the butterfly know if something is good to et or not. Some femles lso tste plnts in order to ccurtely locte specific host plnts for egg lying. Consider the following verge life spn of the butterfly lifecycle: egg: 4-10 dys cterpillr: 3-4 weeks chryslis: 7-14 weeks dult: 2-3 weeks As you cn see most butterflies spend the mjority of their life cycle during the egg, cterpillr nd chryslis stge thn the dult stge! Don't deprive yourself of the plesure of locting nd wtching these three stges in your hbitt grden. When the hbitt grden mtures, you will see other wonderful nd perhps unsettling things hppening. The evolution will result in the ppernce of predtors everyone hs to et including humns. Don t be dismyed when you see tht Rodrunner et tht young bird or lizrd or the Owl prey on mice nd rts. When this hppens be proud tht your grden hs come full circle nd is complete hbitt grden! plnning your Wildlife hbitt grden The best pproch to hbitt grden is DIVERSITY. Select vriety of plnts tht will provide fruits, berries, seeds nd nuts, nectr nd pollen, ttrct insects, nd offer shelter nd nesting opportunities throughout the yer. Diverse hbitt types & 18 Bckyrds Beyond include medow here, woodlnd re over there, n re where tll grsses, weeds, nd wildflowers re llowed to go to seed, row of shrubs ner the fenceline, brushpile out bck, etc. (Be sure to check with your locl zoning regultions on wht is llowed in your re.) These different types of ecotones crete 'edges' nd will ttrct wide ssortment of birds, butterflies nd other cretures. Here is your homework: Assess the grden: Wht worked well in the grden lst yer nd more importntly, wht didn't work. If plnts re not thriving - why? Is it due to lck of wter - then perhps it needs to be relocted to spot where it would receive n dequte mount. Perhps the grden hs mtured nd plnts tht were once in sunny spots re now shded by lrge shrubs nd trees resulting in leggy plnts nd sprse blooms. Evlute nd mke list of chores tht need to be ddressed. If strting new grden, don't even think bout getting ny plnts until temporry or permnent irrigtion system is instlled. Drw mp: Drw mp of the grden to include ll hrdscpe, the house (mrk the window loctions for wildlife viewing from inside the house), nd ny future plns such s greenhouse, RV pd, vegetble grden etc. tht my be instlled t lter dte. Don't forget to mrk hevy trffic res. The mp doesn't need to be to scle but you cn certinly use grph pper to mke detiled mp to scle. This will help you see your lndscpe from 'birds-eye-view.' Tke inventory: Mke list the wildlife you would like to ttrct to the grden. Mke list of ll the plnts currently in the grden. Now divide the plnts into the following ctegories: 1. Plnts tht produce berries, fruits or nuts 2. Plnts tht provide nectr for butterflies nd hummingbirds 3. Plnts tht produce seeds for birds nd other nimls 4. Plnts tht ttrct insects nd bugs 5. Plnts tht provide shelter/shde for nimls 6. List ny fetures nd plnts tht you DON'T like in your grden Number six my seem strnge but I hve tlked to too mny grdeners who live with things they don't like! My belief is tht one should LOVE everything bout their grden. Focus on grdully replcing plnts nd fetures with things you would love to see in your grden. If the spirit moves you strt now by removing plnts or grden fetures you don't like. Bsic Design Ides The more types of foods nd hbitt niches you cn provide, the more wildlife you cn ttrct. Homework: Find out which wildlife species re in your re nd which plnts they use for food sources. There re regionl plnt differences, which cn determine how well they will thrive in your grden. Tke hike! Observe nturl hbitt nd recrete tht in your grden. Check with locl nture centers to locte locl Audubon or butterfly orgniztions most clubs hve informtionl meetings, workshops, nd field trips tht will increse your knowledge. Evlute your grden style or preference (informl vs. forml) nd decide how much time you wnt to spend mintining the grden. An informl grden will be esier to cre for thn forml one. Grden chores my include: Wtering Mulching & Weeding

5 Dedheding nnuls for continuous bloom Tip pruning host food plnts to produce new leves for cterpillr food Erly spring mowing of hbitt wildflower nd grss medows (optionl) Using your mp decide where you wnt to crete, dd, or retro-fit hbitt niches: Begin reserching wht plnts you wnt to dd to the grden. Select nd group plnts into plnt communities (thickets) ccording to wter requirements. Use wildflowers, shrubs, nd trees tht will provide berries, fruits, seeds, nuts, nectr, nd will ttrct insects from spring until fll. Wht! Attrct insects to the grden? YES! Birds consume insects for their protein needs. Insects re especilly importnt for nesting birds to feed their young. Remember tht it's not necessry to instll hbitt grden ll t once. Tke it slow nd plnt one re t time. Deep rock mulches cn be problem for wildlife. It's hot, difficult to wlk on, nd seeds nd insects cn 'escpe' into the grvel. If possible provide spce using 'living mulches.' Locte plnts so t mturity they will crete their own 'shde mulch.' This requires plnting nturl grden so plnts will grow into ech other ever so slightly but not so much tht unnecessry pruning is required. The rtio of the mture grden would be enough plnts to cover 1/2 to 3/4 of the ground spce s opposed to the wide expnses of grvelscpes with plnt here nd there so often seen tody. Use ntive grsses nd wildflowers to fill in the spces between plnts. This lso llows plnts to fertilize themselves with fllen leves nd ded plnt debris. Don't despir if you hve limited spce! Plnt grdens in whiskey brrels, lrge continers nd windowsill plnters. Incorporte wildlife plnts into existing ornmentl grdens nd vegetble grdens. Visit public nd privte bird & butterfly grdens, botnicl grdens, nd locl nurseries for plnt selection ides. These re lso excellent plces to observe nd get gret grden design ides REMEMBER! The blnce of nture will tke cre of itself reduce the use of pesticides they kill insects tht ttrct wildlife to the grden in the first plce. A beutiful hbitt grden cn nd should be hd without the use of pesticides. Too much netness nd tidiness my ctully mke your grden less ttrctive to wildlife. So hve bll nd let the grden get little wild! Order Form cls.rizon.edu/bckyrds/ & Bckyrds Beyond RURAL LIVING IN ARIZONA Nme Nme Compny Compny Bill to Address City Ship to Address City Stte Zip Code Stte Zip Code e-mil e-mil Publiction Price Quntity Totl Enclosed Yerly subscription: Bckyrds & Beyond: Rurl Living in Arizon $10.00 Pyment VISA/Mster Crd Crd Number Expirtion Dte Signture Check or money order enclosed, pyble to The University of Arizon Mil this form nd your check or credit crd informtion to: CALSmrt University of Arizon Office N. Cmpbell Ave. Fx Bldg. 2006B Toll-free Tucson, AZ clsmrt@g.rizon.edu 19