Episode Three: Feeding Birds in Winter

Join Master Gardeners in an informative conversation with Kathryn Schneider, an author and educator about all things birds. Learn what to feed birds in winter, the best feeders, and how to keep squirrels and bears away from them. Then, dream about your summer garden as Linda Levitt (Flower Power) will explain the difference between annuals, perennials, and biennials. Tune in for a winter treat!

Hosts: Tim Kennelty and Jean Thomas

Interview Guests: Kathryn Schneider

Resources:

Feeding Birds in Winter: Birding the Hudson Valley: Schneider, Kathryn J.: 9781611687187: Amazon.com: Books ; Winter Bird Feeding: The Basics (psu.edu) ; Resource007496_Rep10824.pdf (unh.edu) ; Julie Zickefoose on Blogspot: Uh-Oh. Zick Dough.

Flower Power (Linda Levitt): https://gardendesign.com; http://perennials.com; USDA Plant Hardiness Zone Map; as well as books: The Well-Tended Perennial Garden by Tracy DiSabato-Aust; and The Layered Garden by David L. Culp

Transcript:

Welcome to Nature Calls: Conversations from the Hudson Valley. Our team's goal is to present science-based information about gardening and all things nature in New York's Hudson Valley. Hosts, Jean and Tim, along with team members, Teresa and Linda, are Master Gardener Volunteers for New York's Columbia and Greene counties. So if you're interested in gardening, or nature, or nuggets of information about what's happening outside your door, settle in. Enjoy the conversation. Whatever the season, we have something to say.

Tim

Hi, welcome back. I'm your host, Tim Kennelty.

Jean

And I'm Jean Thomas.

Tim

Jean, how're you doing today?

Jean

I'm doing so good. It's just indescribable.

Tim

Well, you know, I'm feeling a little bit better, because even though we've had such a hard winter, it's starting to feel a little bit like spring. Yes?

Jean

It's starting to feel a lot like spring. My dog chased a mouse around the house the other day for about 10 minutes.

Tim

That's a true sign of spring.

Jean

Yeah, yeah. Well, they go outside for their chases.

Tim

Interesting. Interesting. My sign of spring is I think that birds sound a little bit different. The days are longer, but the birds I'm hearing a little bit different in the way of bird calls.

Jean

They're more romantic. That's it!Definitely.

Tim

And speaking of which, we're going to talk about birds today on today's episode. Right?

Jean

Oh, we have Kathryn Schneider with us. And she is such a phenomenal expert.

Tim

We're really lucky to have her as a Master Gardener volunteer. She has a PhD in ornithology and she knows all things birds. She's my go-to bird person.

Jean

And she's written a book about, specifically, Birding in the Hudson Valley. So she knows our territory.

Tim

And we're going to talk about feeding birds in winter. I think it's appropriate and she has all the do's and don'ts and a lot of really interesting information.

Jean

And I know all the don'ts. So if she missed any, just let me know.

Tim

You always know the don'ts.

Jean

I do, I do.

Tim

And I'm also starting to dream about my garden. How about you? in terms of the flowers for June, July and August?

Jean

Oh, yeah. It one of the things we're going to hear today is Linda Levitt, with a new segment called Flower Power.

Tim

Yeah, I think that's gonna be great. It's all things flowers. Right?

Jean

Yeah, and too many people concentrate on vegetables. So we need more flowers in this world.

Tim

And today, she's going to really break down the definitions of annual, perennial, and biennial, which I think is going to be really helpful for gardeners.

Jean

Oh, absolutely. Because I, for the longest time, before I became a Master Gardener, 812 years ago, thought an annual was something that came back every year. And of course, it's obviously not. It has a year for its entire lifetime.

Tim

Right and, and every garden needs annuals and perennials, really. I always think annuals do a great job of kind of filling in when the perennials are kind of pooping out.

Jean

They're the best space fillers because perennials go in and out of bloom. And then the the annuals, plunked in between, are going to be like little shots of color.

Tim

So birds and flowers, what could be better? I think it's time for us to listen to the show.

Jean

We should just sit back and relax and enjoy learning something.

Teresa

Hi, and welcome to Nature Calls: Conversations from the Hudson Valley. Today we're talking with Master Gardener volunteer, Kathryn Schneider, who is our resident bird expert. Katherine is an avid birder and has a PhD in ornithology. And she's even written a book called Birding in the Hudson Valley. We'll be talking to Kathryn frequently on all things birds, but today we want to learn more about feeding birds in the winter. So Kathryn, welcome! And we'd like to ask you, first, about your educational and professional background. And what got you interested in birds?

Kathryn

Well, my mom was a bird watcher. So I grew up seeing and identifying birds. They were field guides in my house, and I was part of an outdoorsy family. We spent summers in the Adirondacks. And basically I grew up with an interest in nature. So it was fairly logical that I would go to college as a biology major at Cornell and it was there, at Cornell, that I got hooked on birds. I discovered that if you worked really hard and were good at what you did, you might actually be able to get a job that involves studying birds. So from Cornell I went on to Princeton where I studied dominance hierarchies and winter flocks of white throated sparrows, and earned my Master's and PhD there. Most of my professional life has been spent teaching college biology or working for conservation organizations on bird projects related to habitat protection. I retired from teaching a few years ago, and that's when I wrote my book. Basically, I wrote the book because I want to share what I've learned about birds in the Hudson Valley.

Tim

Wow, Kathryn, we are so lucky to have you here. Welcome! So many people feed the birds in the winter. And in fact, I read that, according to Cornell Lab of Ornithology, 55 million people feed wild birds, which is just so many. Does this mean we're keeping the birds alive in the winter when the food's scarce? Or is it more about us being able to see beautiful birds on our decks and backyard?

Kathryn

Well, to be perfectly honest, it's mostly about us. Bird feeders make it easy for us to see birds and to learn about them. We like to think that we're helping them out. But the birds really don't need us. I don't know of any scientific evidence that shows that they wouldn't survive without us. They are perfectly capable of finding their own food. But they're not above taking a free lunch, if it's made available to them. We're probably making life a little easier for them, because birds have a very high metabolic rate and they have to eat in winter to generate heat and to stay warm.

Teresa

There's so many different seed mixes, types of seeds, cakes, etc. So tell us a little bit about what types of food we should actually be feeding the birds.

Kathryn

They need lots of calories to generate heat inside their bodies. And their bills are designed, by evolution, to harvest only certain types of foods. So, for example, seed eaters, birds that are eating things like sunflower seed at your feeder or house finches that might be eating millet, they're actually using their bill shape to husk the seeds. And to get that high energy kernel inside. A woodpecker has a bill that is designed to dig insect larvae out of wood. You're probably not going to provide a woodpecker with caterpillars, but you can provide food like suet that is basically animal matter, like the larvae that they would normally find and eat in nature. Woodpeckers, of course with that pointed bill, isnn't particularly good at harvesting seeds. So birds don't have hands like we do, but they have bills and those bills are designed to eat certain kinds of food. So what I like to do with my feeders, because I like to attract lots of different kinds of birds, is to provide different kinds of food, small seed for birds with small bills, animal matter in the form of suet for birds that would normally eat that kind of food. And other things like thistle seed, for example, for a bird like a Goldfinch that would normally eat that kind of shaped seed in nature. I like to offer different kinds of food and different kinds of settings. So I have lots of different kinds of feeders and in different locations. So there are some birds, for example, that would never take a seed out of a tubular feeder. They'd much prefer to take food off a platform, a flat surface. Other birds prefer to feed on the ground, near cover. Lots of birds like to take food off bark. So I have a feeder that has holes in it and provides something like suet in holes that I've drilled into the wood. So lots of different kinds of food in lots of kinds of locations, and different kinds of presentation, will get you a lot of diversity at your feeders.

Tim

What about feeding fruit? And what if I mix my own suet cakes? How does that work?

Kathryn

That can be okay. It's a lot of fun to make your own food. There are actually even cookbooks out there for making bird food in winter. The important thing to do is to not feed birds anything they can't or shouldn't eat. So bread comes to mind. Many people feed bread to ducks and geese. And that's not a good idea because bread has very little nutritional value. You want to try to feed birds something that is close to what they might eat in nature. And in places where there are signs that I've seen, 'don't feed the ducks bread', bring frozen peas instead because many birds, like mallards for example, are basically eating aquatic vegetation. So if you feed them peas, you're basically feeding them plants, which is sort of close to what they would eat. You also want to be really careful not to feed birds any food that's spoiled or moldy. Honey, in particular, tends to go moldy really quickly. And it's not like the nectar that is found in nature. So moldy or spoiled food is definitely out. Processed or salty foods are not a particularly good idea because they increase the demand for water which is also in short supply in winter. And then there are some foods that birds are unable to digest. Just like dogs shouldn't be given chocolate. Apparently, birds have problems with chocolate, milk and avocados are apparently somewhat toxic to birds. So the best thing to do is to try and mimic what they would find in nature. There's a writer named Julie Zickenfoose who has had actually made a study of what birds need in winter, and she's designed a food what she calls Zick dough. And it's a mixture of lard and peanut butter, which of course has a lot of protein in it, and cornmeal and has other ingredients. But it's great fun to melt the whole container of lard and peanut butter in your microwave and then add the dry material and then feed this to the birds. It's too rich for them to eat in summer, but in winter is a really good high-energy, high-protein food. So I think you should experiment but just be careful what you feed them.

Tim

I can't believe you're talking about Zick dough, because I've made it. My sister's made it. And now I have a big bag of chicken feed and no chickens, but it's great. And the birds really love it. I assume that, and I know you kind of covered this but with different seeds and suet, you're going to get different kinds of birds, if you have different kinds of feed out on your deck or at your feeder. Is that correct?

Kathryn

Yes, they prefer what they can harvest efficiently, what basically fits in their bill, and something close to what they might eat in nature. So as I said, the nyjer, or sometimes called thistle seed, is beloved by finches who normally eat that kind of seed in nature, Other things like sunflower fits into the bills, mostly of bigger birds, but all of them love it. And I think it's because there's a diversity of size in the black oil sunflower seed, but they'll generally try and find a kind of seed that fits in the bill and that they have to peel it. They have to take the outer husk off, even small round seed like millet. You watch those white throated sparrows eating millet, and they spin it around in the very tip of their bill and peel off the outside coating and eat the endosperm which is the the energy rich part of the seed.

Teresa

So what types of birds should I expect to see at my feeder?

Kathryn

The birds we see in our feeder are mostly what we call 'permanent residents'. They're the ones that live here year round. It may come as a surprise, but we lose a lot of our birds to migration. Some birds just decide they can't hack the winter. It's all about having enough food. So many birds, especially the birds that eat insects tend to migrate. Our insects die and the only insect matter that's left around for the birds that are not vegetarians are dormant things like caterpillars, for example, and pupi and insect eggs. Birds, like a chickadee, for example, will shift its diet. Most birds feed their young larvae. They feed them things like caterpillars, and all. And in the summer, when they're available, a lot of birds eat almost all insect matter. But a few birds, like chickadees, can shift their diet and make it at least 50% plant matter so they can eat seeds in winter. And you may see them working their way around window sills, for example, and they're looking for dormant insects in those cases. So the birds who stay here in winter are the ones whose diets can accommodate the food that's still available. There's no flying insects, so things like warblers and swallows and all those birds that eat almost entirely insect matter, are going to migrate from the area. The ones that stay are the ones that have a flexible diet or can eat the dormant insects. So things like woodpeckers and nut hatches, Carolina wrens. These guys can eat dormant insects in the form of insect eggs, or pupi or dead caterpillars. And then there are seed and fruit eaters, so house finches, goldfinches, cardinals, morning doves, all the sparrows, are seed eating birds. And we also see birds that get their food by taking it from the water. So waterfowl, as long as there's open water. birds that eat fish, like mergansers, and carnivores, like Cooper's Hawks, which eat other birds, they're going to be at your feeders. You won't see ducks, obviously, but you might very well see a Cooper's Hawk trying to catch a bird at your feeder.

Teresa

So for all the birds that stay here in the winter, how do they stay warm?

Kathryn

They stay warm, because have wonderful insulation. Birds have a really high metabolic rate. Their body temperature is higher than yours or mine. They're warm blooded,so they have to eat a lot of food to generate that heat inside their bodies through the process of cellular respiration. So just like you, in order to stay warm, you have to eat food and they need food desperately. They stay warm by eating that food and generating heat inside their bodies. And then they have this wonderful insulation in the form of feathers. So they're wearing little waterproof down jackets out there all the time. Feathers are amazing. They trap air between the different layers. Every one of those feathers is attached to a muscle. You may have noticed that birds look bigger, sometimes when it's really cold. That's because they're really puffed up and they're they're holding their feathers up just a little more to trap more layers of air because air between the feathers is a wonderful insulator. So not only are they eating lots of food to generate lots of heat, they're trapping that heat inside their bodies with a wonderful insulation layer of feathers.

Tim

You're making me feel so much better because I'm always worried about the birds out there in the cold. And I put feeders out and have a whole pile of broken feeders in my basement. I know there's lots of different types of feeders. You must have favorites. Tell us about your favorite feeder.

Kathryn

Well, my favorite feeders is a squirrel proof feeder. I use lots of different kinds of feeders, but we have to deal with squirrels, and I think that the squirrel proof feeders that close when the weight of a squirrel is on it. They usually grab the perches and that closes the openings. They work on a spring and that makes it unavailable to the squirrel. So those kind of squirrel proof feeders would be my first choice. I put platforms out as well, because there are some birds like morning doves that wouldn't think of coming to some feeder they had to perch on. And I like suet feeders because again, I want to provide animal matter. The most important thing is to place it properly. They have to be placed so the squirrels won't bother them. There's also a suet feeder I had that's called an upside down suet feeder and this was new to me. It looks like a house, but the grid work to hold the suet in is underneath. And what's interesting is that the woodpeckers can use this. But birds like grackles and starlings, which will clean out your feeder in a minute, they can't hold on to the upside down suet feeder. So that's another really good one to get.

Kathryn

So many of us have issues with squirrels and raccoons.Are there feeders or devices you'd recommend? And what about suet with cayenne pepper?

Kathryn

Squirrels and raccoons can be beaten. You are smarter than a squirrel. You just have to learn where to put your feeder and proper placement is really key. So we generally like to see feeders that are placed three feet or 30 feet from a window. And this is important because it helps reduce the number of window strikes. Birds sometimes hit windows when they're flushed unexpectedly. And if the feeder is three feet from the window, they can't get up enough speed to hurt themselves. If it's 30 feet from a window, they probably won't hit it. So either close to the window or far away from the window is a good placement. You also want to make sure they're at least 10 feet from trees or anything else that a squirrel or raccoon could launch themselves off to reach the feeder. In addition to having them away from trees and launching pads, you also need a baffle so squirrels can't come up from below or come down from above. So a stove pipe baffle attaches to a pole. It looks like a stove pipe. So when the squirrel tries to climb up the pole, it finds basically a dead end. You can also get a baffle that fits over top of the feeder. And these are usually the shape of an umbrella. They're made of plastic. And the key here is to mount it on a pole or a rope that is loose, so that it tilts when the squirrel tries to come down the wire to get to the bird feeder. If it's tight, they will be able to make the distance across but if it's loose, it will tilt and they won't be able to reach the food that way. We, people, are smarter than squirrels but the squirrels are very, very persistent and they need to eat too. So it sometimes takes a little bit of experimentation, but these guidelines are a good place to start. As far as suet with cayenne pepper is concerned, it's generally not recommended. It does deter squirrels. There's no question about that. They won't eat the seed that has cayenne pepper in it. But it's not clear whether or not it might hurt either the squirrel's eyes or the bird's eyes. It certainly does hurt the eyes of most mammals. And if you're using proper placement and baffles, you really shouldn't need the seed with cayenne or suet with cayenne pepper in it.

Tim

So I think I know some people who aren't actually smarter than squirrels, but we'll move on. Since you're here, I'm going to ask you my specific problem. I have a problem with a bear in my yard. Unbelievably, I have a bear in the middle of winter who continues to come back and knock down feeders causing me all kinds of grief and scaring my dogs. Is there anything I can do about a bear coming to my feeders?

Kathryn

Well short of getting that bear some sleeping pills, probably not. Most bears hibernate, or should hibernate, in winter from the beginning of December until April. But we're seeing more and more bears that are finding the winters mild enough to stay awake and to stay active. And it's really unsafe to feed birds when there are bears around. These occasional mavericks are a real problem. I would advise you to take your feeder down if you have bears. Bears like birdseed, and the thing about it is once they found a feeder, they will come back. They have wonderful memories. And we want to avoid human/bear interactions. It's dangerous for you.It's dangerous for your neighbors. Because once they find a source of food, they're going to come back and try your garbage can. I've heard about them eating fertilizer. If bears are hungry, they'll eat almost anything. And it's expensive for you because they probably destroyed your feeders. I'm sure.I lost nine feeders to a bear at one time, and that cost a bundle. Yeah. So, I think, that when you've got to bear, you have to take the feeders down. And for most of us, taking the feeders down between the beginning of December and April works pretty well. We can feed them in winter. But in your case, when you've got to bear the stays around all winter, I wouldn't. And there are tricks that people try that really don't work long term. Our only bear problems have been during the summer in June. So after that one bear attack, we started bringing one feeder out during the day and bringing it in at night. And that has worked for us short term. But I've heard of people who have had bears come to the feeders during the day, which you definitely don't want. And also try putting a feeder on a pulley and make it way too high for the bear to reach in any way. But the bears often figure these things out after a period of time. Our bears here in New York State are very smart. Probably the best thing to do, and the safest thing all around, is to bring your feeders in and take them down. Just instead, maybe you want to plant some native shrubs and flowers that attract birds instead. You can feed hummingbirds in summer, because you can usually get a hummingbird out of reach of a bear. And it's important to clean up the shells because the bears will even come back and eat the shells afterwards. So that's my advice.

Teresa

Bears are tough.

Kathryn

They definitely are.

Teresa

I have read that it's really important to regularly clean your feeders to prevent disease. Can you tell us a little bit about that?

Kathryn

Yeah, birds can get sick from moldy food. So keeping it fresh and dry is especially important. Many tube feeders, at the bottom of the feeders, is about an inch of space above the first hole. And that area, in particular, tends to accumulate a lot of old, moldy, wet, food over time. So when you clean your feeders, you want to make sure you get that part, in particular. There are a number of different diseases that are present in natural bird populations. And they're normally not a problem. There's one called mycoplasma conjunctivitis. You may know that as the finch eye disease. We sometimes see house finches and goldfinches with eyes, it's basically a kind of pinkeye that the birds get. And there's salmonella that's in their droppings, and that can cause Salmonellosis, which will make the birds sick. The thing is, that these diseases are present in normal populations but when you bring them into a feeder, you create crowds. So it's just like COVID and human beings. We are able to pass disease from one organism to another in crowded situations. So too many birds at a feeder can spread disease. So eliminating the source of these diseases is really important. A lot of it is spread through food. So good feeder hygiene is important to the birds. Keeping food fresh and dry, especially on platform feeders. Cleaning up the shells underneath is really important as well. You don't want the birds to be wading in old shells that are covered with feces. And the Cornell Lab of Ornithology recommends washing the feeders periodically in a 10% bleach solution. One of my friends is very good about keeping their feeders clean. And what he does is he has two sets of feeders. So when he brings one set of feeders in to clean it, he puts another one, that's filled with seed, out. And he brings the feeders in and puts them in the dishwasher. So this depends on the kind of feeder you have. But if you can put your other set out and put the other ones in the dishwasher, that seems to work pretty well keeping them clean.

Tim

So I know a feeder is a placement super, super important. And I've had birds hit my flying glass window and I just feel horrible about that.

Kathryn

Yeah, well, putting them closer far away from the windows is a good starting point. That works most of the time, until Cooper's Hawk takes a dive at a feeder. Everyone has bird's strike their windows once in a while. And it's usually because they're scared by a predator. But you can avoid see-through situations like a bay window where you can see from one side of the window and out the other side. Corners on houses that have windows right on the corner. That's particularly dangerous for birds. Or those glass walkways over streets, that you see in an urban situation, kill many, many birds because glass is not part of their normal environment. So they think they're flying into habitat. So anything that reflects habitat for them is going to be dangerous. They're not going to realize that there's glass in between. One thing that you might not think about is that plants on window sills can create this effect. I know we all like to put our plants on the window sill in winter so they can get the little bit of the winter light that we have, but this creates the effect of making the bird think there's habitat on the other side of that glass. One of the best things you can do, if you have regular windows strikes, is to use decals. There are decals out there. You need to put them on the windows when they are not cold. They're see-through for human beings and they need to be placed close enough together. so the birds don't think they can fly between them. But decals work fairly well.

Teresa

I've always wondered about that. So thank you. I'm glad I've learned about decals. What about predators like hawks and owls? Should we be doing anything to protect our bird friends who just want to snack?

Kathryn

Yes, it's not just hawks and owls. Cooper's hawks are regular bird predators at bird feeders, but also feral cats. There are so many cats that are just allowed to wander around outside and they are a real danger for our local birds. I'm a fan of keeping cats indoors. But, what you should do is provide some cover. I like to provide low cover close to my feeder, not so close that the squirrels can launch themselves onto the feeders, but I often put a Christmas tree under my feeder after the holidays are over. And another thing I like to do is, I build a short brush pile. You know, sticks fall down all winter, all over my yard. So I collect them, and I make them into a brush pile. And what's nice about having a brush pile under your feeder is it not only provides a place for the birds to have a refuge from predators. As the birds go to the feeder, they come up through the different branches and you can get a good look at them when they get to the top and before they go to the feeder. So if you're trying to identify birds, it's very helpful to have a brush pile under your feeder.

Tim

And what about water? I know birds are really desperate for unfrozen water in the winter. What do we do about that? Can we help them with that?

Kathryn

The birds need water in winter. They get some water from their food due to the process of metabolism. But a heated bird bath will attract birds, as well as a bird feeder, a lot of time. So if you happen to have an outlet outside, and you can provide one of those bird bath heaters, that's great. I don't. I have a metal bird bath. The ceramic ones, if you leave them out in winter, they often crack when the water freezes. So I have a metal bird bath. And what we like to do is to take a bucket of hot water out first thing in the morning. And that will often stay as open water till the end of the day. You have to fill it again the next morning. But it gives them a source of water during the day.

Teresa

Is there a time in the spring when I should stop feeding the birds?

Kathryn

Well, if you have bears that have been hibernating and are they're going to start waking up in early April, and when they wake up, they are really, really hungry. They've been sleeping a long time. So you want to bring your feeders in in April. But if you don't have bears, then you certainly can feed birds all year round. It's just that they have plenty of other food out there to eat outside of the winter. We are able to go out and see them at that time of year. Lots of people, who don't have issues with bears, do feed birds year round, and you'll see different birds in the summer than you will in the winter because the migrating birds will come back. So for example, some of the birds that have been spending the winter in South America, like hummingbirds, rose-breasted grosbeaks, orioles, cat birds. They're busy raising young, and they're going to be feeding their young animal matter, but they're going to be willing to eat your bird seed themselves. So I like to also provide some different kinds of food in the summer. So since they need animal matter to feed their babies, I use the all weathers suet, that doesn't melt in the summer. And I also sometimes provide mealworms for them because they'll take them, and those are larvae that they'll feed to their babies. I like to put raisins out. Some birds, like cat birds, for example, can actually be trained to take raisins out of your hand if you're very, very patient.

Teresa

So are there ways we can report birds, especially unusual ones that are at our feeder? Is there a social element to this?

Kathryn

Well, I'm really glad you asked. Yes, the Cornell Lab of Ornithology is having a great backyard bird count this February. They have it every year. This is their 25th year, and this year, it's February 18 to 21st. And if you're interested in participating and sharing the birds at your feeder with other people, there's a free webinar that you can sign up for on February 16. It's all about how to participate and be a part of the great backyard bird count. I imagine you can find it just by Googling 'great backyard bird count 2022'. They have years of data on how winter populations have changed over time, based on having these great backyard bird counts every February. And the nice thing about the great backyard bird count is that it provides an introduction to E-bird, which is Cornell's online database for recording bird sightings. And you can actually use this year round to share information. I like to contribute to E-bird because Cornell uses that information to conserve birds. They use it for scientific studies and to study population changes. So it makes me feel as if I'm not only just enjoying the birds, I'm also contributing to science.

Tim

So Kathryn, I assume that not all winter birds come to the feeders and so what you're saying is I have to get off my couch and go out into the woods and go into the fields to see those other birds.

Kathryn

Yeah, it's it's really great to watch birds in your jammies with a cup of hot cocoa, at your feeder, and it's hard to get motivated to go out when it's cold. But there are lots of birds here in winter, they will never come to your bird feeders. And honestly birds are easier to see in winter than they are in summer because there's no leaves on the trees. So for example, there are bald eagles all over the Hudson River. I was down bird watching at the Hudson boat launch today. And I saw three adult bald eagles, they're actually starting to nest now. They eat fish. So wherever there's open water, you can see them and you can see their nests. You can also see waterfowl. There are plenty of ducks and geese around. Most people don't realize that during the summer, most of the ducks and geese we have around here are things like the resident Canada geese and mallards and a few other species but the vast majority of the ducks and geese that we can see in winter, breed north and west of here and winter far south. So the big numbers of ducks and geese are basically from November to March. Wherever there's open water, that's where you can see them. And then, winter seed eaters that don't come to feeders but are only here in winter. So for example, there are horn blocks and snow buntings, these are birds that breed in the Arctic and think it's easy living in a temperate zone in winter. So these birds are found wherever there's seed heads poking up through fields. And often we see horned larks and snow buntings along the edges of roads when there's snow because the snowplow comes along and clears the edge of the road and they're able to get seeds from the grasses that go along the edges. So horned lasrks and snow buntings of birds that you can see here and winter that you can see no other time of the year.

Teresa

And one last question, Where can we find your book, Kathryn, Birding in the Hudson Valley?

Kathryn

it's available at the Chatham bookstore. It's also available at the gift shop at Olana locally. And of course, it can also be ordered online on Amazon.

Tim

Kathryn, this has been so helpful and informative. We want to thank you so much for joining us today. We're looking forward to talking to you about lots of other topics on birds in the future. But for now, I think that's all the time we have. And thanks to all of you for joining us today as well. Until next time, I'm Tim Kennelty. Thanks for joining us.

You're listening to Nature Calls: Conversations from the Hudson Valley. Stay tuned for Flower Power.

Linda Levitt

Welcome to Flower Power, a regular feature of this podcast that will focus on all things flowers. I am your host Linda Levitt, a Master Gardener Volunteer with Cornell Cooperative Extension of Columbia and Greene Counties. Approximately once a month, we will cover different types of flowers, how to best select, plant, and care for them. Today we're going to focus on the difference between annual plants and perennial plants, with some others. We will focus on how each of these groupings grow and the advantages of each.

Linda Levitt

Let's begin by talking about annuals. Those are plants that are identified as an annual live for only one season. The plant will sprout. It will flower, seed and then die (including the root system). On occasion, some annuals will drop their seeds at the end of the season and, lo and behold, you'll find yourself with those plants in the next season. Maybe not in the same location, but they may appear. Annual plants have been called the flower powerhouse or bedding plants. They are bright, showy, and long blooming. These plants can add vivid color to your garden's empty spaces. Annual plants can be grown from seed or seedlings. Since they grow for only one season, they are not assigned any climate zone (for example, zone five). Some annuals will grow as perennials in warmer climates of the United States. Annuals are less costly than perennials giving you the opportunity to experiment more from year to year. Annuals are also perfect for growing in containers. You can achieve continuous color in your containers or in your gardens. There are some well known annuals that you might know: pansies, marigolds, lantana, super bells, garden mums, Zinnias, alyssum, and nastirtium. Annuals are a great way to experiment. maintain constant color, and refresh your garden year after year.

Linda Levitt

Next, I'd like to focus on perennial plants. Perennial plants are considered the backbone of the garden. Perennials are those plants that will continue to grow each year. Only the top portion of the plant dies annually in the fall, maintaining their growing root system allowing reblooming in the spring. These plants will not bloom the first year of their life. Typically a perennial plant has a root system that spreads outwards and deep and will benefit from being divided after a couple of years. Perennial plants tend to be more expensive than annual plants, but the advantage is that they will last for a longer period of time. Perennials should last at least three years if not longer. Since there is a higher cost to purchasing a perennial plant, you should choose wisely, making note of the growing conditions, sun, soil and water requirements. Perennials have a shorter bloom time than annuals so you must think about pairing different perennials that bloom at different times during the growing season. And pairing with some annuals for constant color. Perennials can be planted from bulb, seed or plant. Some commonly known perennials are coral bells, purple, coneflower, daffodils, bleeding, heart and day lilies.

Linda Levitt

You may also have heard the term tender perennials. These are plants that may be hardy in their native climates but in colder regions, they may not grow as well and will not survive the winters. You may try and keep a tender perennial alive in the colder climates by cutting the plant back and covering it with insulating mulch. Some tender perennials in the Northeast may include calla lilies, begonias and calladiums.

Linda Levitt

And then finally, there is biennial. A biennial plant completes their growth cycle in two seasons and do not bloom until the second year. They drop their seeds after blooming and in two years, you will have new blooms. You can develop a schedule so that you can stagger the blooms from year to year. Some well known examples of biennial plants are poppies, sweet William and foxglove.

Linda Levitt

I would like to thank you for listening to this episode of Flower Power. You will find additional information on our website regarding today's episode. Until the next time, I am Linda Levitt. And please remember to stop and smell the flowers.

That concludes another episode of Nature Calls: Conversations from the Hudson Valley. We'd like to thank Sandra Linnell and Deven Connolly from Cornell Cooperative Extension of Columbia and Greene Counties for production support. And a special thank you to our listeners for joining us on this episode of Nature Calls: Conversations from the Hudson Valley. You can find links to any of the topics mentioned in this episode at our website at ccecolumbiagreene.org. Comments and suggestions for future topics may be directed to us at colgremg@cornell.edu or on the CCE Master Gardener Volunteers of Columbia and Greene Counties' Facebook page. For more information about Cornell Cooperative Extension of Columbia and Greene Counties, visit our website at ccecolumbiagreene.org or visit us in Hudson or in Acra. Cornell Cooperative Extension provides equal programming and employment opportunities

Last updated May 3, 2023