Are you ready for spring migration?
The Red Wing Blackbirds are beginning to make an appearance in our local wetland signalling that spring migration is about to begin.
Red Wings remind me that warblers are on their way
Just recently, I spent the morning at a local wetland photographing Red Wing Blackbirds.
Now, we get a few Red Wings in our woodland garden throughout the year but they prefer wetlands over woodlands.
Their early arrival, however, marks the beginning of the spring migration in our area and elsewhere. They are a reminder that it’s time to begin getting our garden ready for the full migration of warblers, hummingbirds and other songbirds that is fast approaching.
Singing in spring
The hollow stems in bullrushes are perfect hiding places for insects over the winter. If you don’t have a wetland and bullrushes in your garden, you can add larger ornamental grasses to provide wintering shelter for insects.
These migrating birds are either simply passing through the area, or looking to make our backyards home during the warmer months.
By offering them the basic necessities of survival we can help them along the way and maybe convince a few of them to stick around and bless us with families.
How it all began in our garden
For years, our garden attracted most of the common birds in our area – cardinals, blue jays, several varieties of woodpeckers, chickadees, nuthatches, and finches. however, it wasn’t until we began to let the garden go a little ‘wild’ and plant more and more native flowering trees, plants and groundcovers that I began to notice a significant increase in not only the number of birds, but the variety of birds in the yard.
This Blackburnian Warbler was just one of the many that dropped down in our garden to feast on a myriad of insects and fresh water in the many bird baths on the property.
It all culminated a couple of years ago with what I called “A weekend of warblers” (see post)which actually lasted a week or two. It may have been simply a lucky “fall out” of warblers over Mother’s Day weekend, or it may have been the pay off for all our hard work over the years slowly transforming our traditional garden of grass and non-native plants into a woodland-style garden with lots of native trees, plants and “wild” areas.
In any case, I prefer to think it was more than just chance.
In the following years, we’ve attracted our share of tanangers, warblers, orioles, oven birds and other primarily insect-eating birds. But that’s not all, last year we had a screech owl spend most of the winter in our owl box, this year it’s wild turkeys, and foxes are regular – almost daily – visitors to our yard along with other birds of prey.
Whether you live in the far reaches of Northern Ontario, Nova Scotia and Maine, or the northeastern areas of the United States and southwestern parts of Canada, or even in Western areas of Canada and the United States, the migration has begun. Keep an eye out for unusual birds over the coming months, especially the millions of colourful and joyous warblers that pass through these areas on route to their summer breeding grounds.
Native plants such as this monarda are critical to attract the greatest variety of backyard wildlife from birds and butterflies, to insects, caterpillars, mammals and reptiles.
And, of course, there is the annual hummingbird watch that captures the attention of so many gardeners and bird lovers.
How can we prepare our gardens for the spring migration?
But what do I mean when I say “preparing our gardens for the spring migration?”
We can start by ensuring that we have a reliable source of clean water available for the migrating birds. A bird bath is great, but several bird baths at different levels in the garden is even better.
On-ground bird baths or small watering holes are even better. A small patio pond or even better a naturalized pond takes our garden up to another level when it comes to providing the necessary ingredients to attract birds and other wildlife to our yards.
This water is not just for the migrating birds. It encourages insects and small mammals to our yards, which, in turn, become food for many of our migrating birds that follow the rise in insect activity along their migration route.
Native cedar provides ideal cover and shelter for a host of birds and wildlife that both nest in the trees and escape to them when threatened by predators. They also provide excellent roosting areas where they can escape high winds and freezing temperatures in winter.
While I was photographing the Red Wing blackbirds, I noticed other birds including Eastern blue birds capturing the early insect life that was beginning to emerge from their winter habitats. Many of the insects spent the winter in the cosy confines of the bullrush reeds that covered the wetlands.
Ask yourself if you have enough places in your garden for overwintering insects to survive our freezing temperatures. Did you leave your grasses up all winter? Do you have native grasses in your garden where the insects can hold up for the winter?
If the answer to these questions is “no”, chances are you need to add these to your garden this year to take advantage of the important early spring source of insects for migrating birds.
These grasses don’t have to be native grasses. Many of the larger, ornamental non-native grasses available will provide overwintering spots for insects and small mammals, but look for native plants whenever possible. Also, make sure that any non-native grasses you plant, are not invasive in your area. Don’t forget that many of these non-native grasses can spread far and wide from seed.
One of our resident wild turkeys enjoying the seeds of our native Northern Sea Oat grasses.
Our native Northern Sea Oat grasses, for example, provided a food source for our wild turkeys all winter and now they should provide migrating birds with insects if the wild turkeys didn’t eat them all.
The fountain grass is also very dense and provides hiding spots for overwintering lady beetles and other insect life.
It’s one thing to plant these grasses, it’s another to keep them up not only during winter, but well into spring to allow the overwintering insects to emerge safely from their hiding spots. If you must cut them down, don’t throw them out. Find a corner of your garden where you can leave them to allow overwintering insects the opportunity to escape into the garden. Later in summer, you can add these to your compost heap.
Water may be the most important critical element, but there ar so many more to consider in our gardens.
If you are lucky you might be able to attract an owl into your garden. Owls are an excellent way to control mice, rats and other small prey animals and insects in your garden. Although this Barred owl was photographed in a woodlot not far from our garden, we have had a screech owl (below) spend the winter together.
Screech owl in the garden
An owl box was the perfect winter home for this Gray morph screech owl “whooo” spent the winter using it as a roosting box before leaving in early spring.
Take note this year and plan to add for next year
Unfortunately, most of the other key elements had to be completed or “ignored” last year and in previous years in our garden.
But, again, we can do our best this season and do a little better next year and in the years to come. Rome wasn’t built in a day, and your garden does not need to be either.
It’s the perfect time to take stock of what we already provide and areas of the garden that we can do better.
The next critical area we need to address are all those dead leaves that I hope are covering your garden. Let’s decide right now to just leave them. I know they look ugly in spring, but quite frankly most gardens look ugly before the plants begin to leaf out.
Here’s a secret, once the plants begin to leaf out, many of the leaves will already have started to break down in the garden and they’ll soon be covered by all the new foliage that is emerging through them. In the meantime, pay attention to all the birds that are poking about on your woodland floor looking for insects, insect eggs and other yummy treats.
Take joy in the birds finding food in early spring rather than how messy you think your garden may look for a couple of weeks. Attracting insect-eating birds in the garden is way more satisfying than looking out at a sterile yard. For more on the benefits of leaving your leaves, check out my earlier post: Why we should be leaving our leaves.
This adorable little red squirrel was photographed on one of our woodpiles. The tangle of branches provides cover for the little fellow, a home for smaller mammals and a breeding ground for insects as the wood and leaves that we pile on it in fall, begin to break down.
A woodpile or dead tree “snag” is a goldmine for wildlife
What about that old dead tree in the back of the yard that you’ve been meaning to cut down. DON’T do it. One of the features that I think has transformed our yard in recent years is the fallen tree in a corner of the yard. With it came our owl, wild turkeys and other wildlife that were not around before the tree met its end. My earlier post on the value of a brush or woodpile.
Sure, you may have to do some trimming to “tidy up” the tree, but leaving as much as you can will transform your yard. Try to find creative ways of using the tree, including using it to create a pathway planter. See my earlier post on creating a pathway planter out of a fallen log.
It’s not just the native flowers that add beauty of our gardens. Wildlife like this Yellow Swallowtail adds an immeasurable beauty to a landscape that no flower can measure up to.
What else can we do to encourage spring migrants?
First and foremost is the addition of native plants, including flowering trees, shrubs, perennials and ground covers.
These native plants are vital to any wildlife garden because they attract insects and caterpillars that are the primary source of nutrition not only for the migrating birds, but more importantly, for the baby birds that will begin being born in spring.
I could go on and on about the importance of planting as many natives as possible but check out a few of my posts below if you want more specific information.
Don’t forget shelter for the birds
Besides food and water, shelter is critical for birds and other wildlife.
In our garden, we try to provide both natural and man-made shelter areas. Bird boxes – including owl boxes and winter roosting boxes – are important to attract specific birds, especially our native blue birds. Well constructed and properly managed native bee houses are also outstanding man-made addition to our gardens. For outstanding bee houses, check out my earlier post here.
Offering wildlife natural shelter and roosting areas can really change your backyard. Few plants offer better shelter than groupings of evergreens, from cedars, to pines and low-growing evergreens.
This is an area that many gardens fall a little short. One large spruce, pine or cedar is a great addition, but a grouping of three or five is even better. Try to include one area in the garden for a grove of shelter trees, maybe three pine trees underplanted with low-growing juniper, birds nest pines or yews that even offer lovely berries in winter.
If evergreens just don’t work in your garden or if you already have your fill, consider a corner of the yard where you can plant a grouping of brambles that offer birds safe areas as well as berries in spring and summer.
Shelter for other garden critters
One of the easiest and best ways to attract even more wildlife to the garden is to include wood or brush piles.. They don’t have to be large, but the larger you can make them, the better chance of attracting a greater variety of wildlife like mice, possums, skunks and foxes. I know attracting mice may not sound desirable for many of us, but a healthy number of mice is ideal to attract everything from owls and raptors to foxes, coyotes and other predators including some you may not have realized like blue herons, wild turkeys etc.
Finally, don’t forget to clean out any existing bird houses that you have up in the yard. Birds want them cleaned out as much as possible. Sprinkling in a little powdered sulphur will eliminate any mites that may have overwintered in the bird house debris from the previous year.
Every year is a journey, take steps to make it more exciting down the road
Spring is also a good time to take stock of your feeders. Give them a good cleaning and make sure to clean and prepare your hummingbird feeders to be ready for that first sighting that is not too far away for most of us.
Can’t wait.
Like I said, gardens are not born in a day, a season or even in a year or two. They take time.
Use this article as a stepping stone to introduce more bird- and wildlife-friendly elements in your garden over time. One project at a time … a few every year, and before you know it, spring migration will be an exciting time in your garden and one that you’ll look forward to rather than a reminder of all the work that is ahead of you.
