Unfortunately, my favorite book about local gardening to support wildlife is now out of print. Suzi Palladino, a beekeeper at Garden for the Environment, has observed that the European honeybees prefer European plants like lavender and rosemary while the native bumblebees frequent native plants like California lilac. Blooming now are rosemary, lavender, California lilac, and California poppy. To befriend the bees, nurture some of their favorite plants. In our mild climate, bees are active on sunny days year-round, but now they are extra busy, building up the numbers in their hives for the summer ahead. Bees provide us with honey and pollinate our food plants, and they add a lovely buzzing, bumbling presence on a warm day in the garden. In addition to the European honeybees in these hives, we have native Californian bumblebees, which are solitary creatures living in burrows in the soil. Noe Valley is blessed with several beekeepers, who tend hives in their back yards. Like the birds, bees depend on our yards, parks, and street trees for their sustenance. It may take several tries for them to settle down into a calmer rhythm. They knock each other down and jockey for position. They arrive in gangs, and often plunge awkwardly in their attempts to perch on the feeder. They don't yet have their adult feathers, so they look like a bunch of punk teenagers, all awkwardness and insolence. One part of the finches' life cycle you don't want to miss is when the baby birds just out of the nest make their first flights to the birdfeeder. Goldfinches seem to particularly love the seeds of rosemary and verbena. These birds will forage in the seeds, fruits, and berries of the plants in your garden. (Finch socks are available at garden centers and at pet stores, such as the Animal Company on 24th Street.)Īmong your bird visitors you might also see ground-feeding birds-such as white- and gold-crowned sparrows or brown towhees-picking at the fallen seeds under the feeder. By hanging just the slender thistle seeds in a fine mesh bag (known as a finch sock), you can feed the little birds without subjecting them to bullying. Seed mixes that include larger seeds, like sunflower seed, tend to attract jays, who intimidate the smaller birds. They all have stout beaks for cracking seeds, and if you provide them with Niger thistle seed-also known by the brand name Nyjer-they will trill your praises. These little songbirds, in the finch family, include two kinds of goldfinches, purple and house finches, and English sparrows. California lilac, blooming now, is another good nectar plant, and is a drought-tolerant native.Įach morning, a lively crowd of yellow, purple, red, olive-green, and brown birds chatter and argue on the birdfeeder outside my kitchen window. Some good choices include the strawberry tree (there were several planted on 24th Street last year), the butterfly bush, fuchsia (which blooms all year long in our climate), and sages of many varieties. To attract a hummingbird, plant a nectar plant. That's where we come in, because hummingbirds must rely on the plants growing in our gardens, decks, and planters for their food supply. Because the birds are so small, and so active, they depend on constant sources of nectar for the huge energy drain of egg-laying. Hummingbirds build their nests-which are tiny, just big enough for a single egg-out of fine material such as hair and spiderweb. Then you can watch the two hummingbirds quarrel until one escorts the other out of their "yard." If they see an intruder, they soar high up into the air, and letting out a single enraged peep, dive-bomb the offending bird. Hummingbirds are very territorial, guarding their plants from rival hummingbirds. Red is apparently their favorite color-I have often seen a curious hummingbird hanging in the air, puzzled, when I've worn my red cap in the garden. The blooms they like best are long, hanging, or trumpet-shaped, like fuchsias. They speed from blossom to blossom, reaching their beaks deep down into the flowers for the hidden nectar that is their only food. They also reward us with their brightest plumage and sweetest songs.įlashing through the air like jewels, hummingbirds are among the most magical of our garden residents. And during this demanding time, they look to our gardens and parks for their nests, food, and water. Even in our congested urban environment, the birds still nest, hatch out their young, and feed them until they are old enough to fly. While we are hopping on the bus or walking to the corner store, the wild creatures in our valley are busy attending to their breeding season. Now that spring is here in full force, the trees and shrubs are blooming to the music of the birds and the buzzing of the bees. How Green Is My Valley The Birds and the Bees How Green Is My Valley: The Birds and the Bees
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