In the spring and the fall birds are much more likely to fly into your windows. In this episode of The Garden Gate I show you a few products to help stop birds from striking your windows and preventing them from being killed.
“Stock your bird feeders because many birds will have a difficult time finding natural foods this winter…” Fall migration is now well underway, and you may be noticing more birds and new species at your feeders. Many seed eaters, such as Dark-eyed Juncos and American Tree Sparrows move in for the winter as most insect-eating … Read more
Fall Feeder Fun! Fall migration has already begun for some bird species. As birds leave their northern breeding grounds to head south for the winter, the numbers of birds and species of birds that will pass through or arrive in this part of Ontario will increase quite a bit over the next month or two. … Read more
“Water is the driving force of all nature.” ~ Leonardo da Vinci All life needs water. This summer has been extremely dry, which can make it challenging for birds and butterflies to find water for drinking and bathing. Adding a couple of water features to your yard is an easy way to help them … Read more
Providing birds with water is an important part of any garden. Both for drinking and for bathing. Birds are especially attracted to moving water, so if you can add a dripper, spraying hose or water wiggler, you`ll attract birds more quickly to the bath. In addition moving water prevents mosquitoes from laying their larvae in … Read more
Keeping squirrels away from feeders can be a constant effort. They eat a lot of seed, which makes maintaining your feeder more costly. They also dominate the feeder, scaring the birds we want to attract away. There’s another good reason to reduce squirrel and chipmunk access to your bird seed: they eat bird eggs and … Read more
We’ve all heard it: the unmistakable thump of a bird smashing into a closed window. We rush outside to assess the situation. With luck, there’s either no bird there or it’s resting on the ground, panting and dazed, and flies away in a few minutes. Sometimes, the little one’s not so lucky. Window strikes are … Read more
On this episode of The Garden Gate I offer a few tips about hummingbirds and some tricks to help you attract them! A hummingbird flaps its wings up to 70 times per second; its heart rate can reach 1,260 beats per minute. Hummingbirds can extend their long, skinny tongues twice as far as the bill, which helps them reach nectar deep inside … Read more
Pollinators, pollinator gardens, bee houses, bee friendly gardens. These are the BUZZ words these days. But they shouldn’t just be a passing fancy. Bees are very important for our environment. Without their pollinating abilities our grocery store shelves would be almost empty! So how does this relate to bird food? If your bird food is … Read more
Drew Monkman is a retired teacher, author and local naturalist. Drew has written the book “Nature’s Year in the Kawartha’s”, an updated version renamed “Nature’s Year” and co-written another “Big Book of Nature” with Jacob Rodenburg of the Kawartha Environment Centre. On this episode of The Garden Gate we talk about the Great Backyard … Read more