Winter's back in southern Alberta

Woke up this morning to snow! I don't think it froze over night but it is obviously cold enough at higher altitudes to have snow falling. Unfortunately this canceled our Town's parade that was supposed to be today.

On the upside though, this morning I spotted a beautiful yellow goldfinch in my yard. My finch feeder was wrecked in a wind storm a couple of weeks ago and I haven't replaced it yet. I have got to do that tomorrow. I guess the other feeders in the yard or other birds in the yard must have captured the goldfinch's interest. It was too quick for me to get a good picture of it but I do have a picture of another unusual visitor to my yard.

I think this is a cowbird. It was a bit of a process of elimination for me as I do not regularly get cowbirds in my yard. I used my ipod application Chirp Bird Songs USA ($2.99)to help me identify it's call. I'll do a separate article sometime on ipod apps for bird identification. My parents say they had a baltimore oriole at the farm this morning which I have never seen personally but looking at the Cornell website I guess that would still be within it's summer range. In any event, it seems that spring storms bring interesting birds to backyard feeders.

Will we get the sunflower seeded?

Oh my goodness! We have had about an inch of rain since 3:00 AM this morning and there is more in the forecast. Of course this has shut down our seeding operations on the farm and our sunflower crop isn't completely in the ground yet. We think this rain is going to keep us out of the field til about June 2nd now which is getting quite late for seeding sunflowers.

Speaking of sunflowers, did you know that black oil sunflower is the top choice for seed eating birds. You just can not beat black oil sunflower in a feeder. You can feed black oil sunflowers in shell or you can feed the sunflower kernels (we call these sunflower chips). Sunflower chips especially chips that are not whole and have been chopped in some way are the perfect no mess bird food solution. They will not sprout under the feeder, there are no shells to clean up and birds love them so much that they will totally clean up the feeder and the ground if any spill.


Now back to the agronomics of sunflowers. Sunflowers have a fairly long growing season. Fields are seeded usually well before now in the spring and then sunflowers will grow quite tall - up to 50 - 60 inches tall at maturity. Sunflower fields burst into bloom in early August and are a beautiful sight to behold. We have calls from people asking us when the sunflowers will be in bloom so they can come and take pictures. By late August, though, the blooms are starting to die off as the field ripens.

Sunflowers are usually the last crop to be harvested in fall, since fall frosts are necessary for drying down the crop. Most of our sunflower crrops do not come off the fields until late October to mid November.

We still plan on seeding the remaining fields we have penciled in for sunflower. We just have to hope for a long and mild fall.

Wet fields and wet lands.

The fields are very wet this spring. In fact so wet that some of our farm equipment is getting stuck in the field. This is unusual in our neck of the woods in Southern Alberta. There are all sorts of little sloughs in the fields too and lots of Mallard ducks are enjoying these new watering holes. I was getting concerned about what was going to happen to these ducks when the watering holes dry up. Would they nest near them and then run out of water for their little ones?


I searched for information on this on the Ducks Unlimited website which indicates that Mallards ducklings are usually all hatched by the end of May. Then it takes 2 months for them to be able to fly. In my opinion this could be a bit tight for any ducks that have nested near small sloughs in the field which should have dried up by the end of July. Let's hope our ducks have picked larger watering holes to nest at.

Water in the backyard

Big storm here last night: We had a big rain storm here on the farm last night complete with lightning and thunder. We got another 1/2 inch of rain, which can only be helpful for the crops that are already seeded. Of course, it does slow down the rest of the seeding progress. However, as I see the robins enjoying the puddles in the yard I am reminded how important water is to your backyard bird feeding program.

Birds love water and while open water is more available in the summer than in the winter, a bird bath will attract more birds to your yard at any time of year. Birds love to play in water and have a quick bath. They enjoy having a quick drink especially when it is warm outside. The sound of running water seems to attract birds to the backyard so a fountain or even a bucket of water dripping can be an attraction.

When buying a bird bath remember to buy a shallow birdbath - no more than 2 1/2 inches deep at it's center. Second, it should not have a slippery bottom. If it does, consider adding aquarium rock or small pebbles to the bottom to provide a non-slippery surface. Finally consider what your bird bath is made of - for example concrete bird baths may be attractive but plastic bird baths are less likely to crack in cold temperatures.

Keep bird baths clean: Bird baths can become a breeding ground for mosquitos and with West Nile Virus transmitted through mosquitos you need to be careful to ensure the water is changed regularly and that bird baths are scrubbed out periodically too.

Spring Planting - Bird friendly plants for your backyard.

As you think about your seeding plans for spring either in your garden or in terms of landscaping in your yard, consider plants that will attract birds. Plants not only provide shelter and nesting locations for birds but they also provide food in terms of fruit or seeds and even insects if the plants are hosts to certain insects. Here are some common plants to consider when planting for the birds:

Plants with fruit: You can expand the diversity of birds in your yard by planting fruit trees or fruit bushes. Consider specifically planting mountain ash, dogwood trees, elderberry, chokecherry, saskatoon berry or apple trees. Other fruit bearing plants that are popular with birds include raspberry or strawberry plants and virginia creeper plants. These plants will attract robins, waxwings, woodpeckers, orioles, towhees, and grosbeaks.

Plants to provide shelter: Nothing attracts birds more to a yard than a large number of trees. Many trees and bushes can provide shelter and safety and even a nesting location for birds. Evergreen trees and bushes are particularly popular due to their year round greenery. So if you have the space, consider adding a few evergreen trees or bushes.

Plants with nectar: Plants that produce nectar will attract hummingbirds. Hummingbirds prefer brightly coloured plants with a cup or trumpet shape. Some of the plants that will attract hummingbirds include: hollyhock, columbines, delphiniums, lilies, snapdragons, petunias, honeysuckle and lilac shrubs and morning glory vines.

Annual flowers: Plants in the sunflower family are very popular with birds that love sunflower seeds. Other popular flowering annuals include cosmos, zinnias, and marigolds.