Indholdsfortegnelse for August - September 2016 i Birds & Blooms

Ask any of my fellow 30-something pals and ® they’ll tell you I try to turn them into birders and gardeners any chance I get. When two of my best friends, Missy and Jamie, moved to a new house in the suburbs, I bought them a feeder and birdseed as a housewarming gift. A couple of years later, I gave their son, Owen, a stuffed bird toy. Jamie left me a voicemail just a few months ago letting me know I have a new birding buddy. He told me that Owen, almost 2, was calling out “bird” every time he spotted one while they were out for a walk. The feeder and the toy were only small gestures, I know, but even the tiniest thing might ignite a child’s interest…

FIND THIS BIRD Head to the Gulf and southern Atlantic coasts to catch a glimpse of reddish egrets. Last July on Texas’ South Padre Island, I noticed this male reddish egret preening and trying to catch a nearby female’s attention. He changed his look from slickedback feathers to a full hairdo several times. What a fabulous model! Brandi Adams GALENA, KANSAS LOOK-ALIKES Male and female bushtits look nearly identical. Males have dark eyes, but females, like the one here, have white irises. Flocks of bushtits visit our property year-round. They fly from the grevillea hedge to the Mexican sage, getting their fill of bugs. Although they rarely get close enough for a photo, I got lucky with this one. These adorable little birds are very quick and hard to photograph.…

GO WINDOW-SHOPPING Invite kids to pick out a new feeder for the backyard, and show them how to fill it. Feeders that stick to windows are another fun option. Most bird lovers know just what sparked their passion for all things outdoors, whether it was the first time seeing a tiny hummingbird or spotting a robin’s nest. Part of the joy of birding is passing it down to the next generation. Here are four ideas you can use to kick-start your favorite kid’s new birding obsession. Make-Your-Own Feeder Pinecone? Check. Peanut butter? Check. Attach colorful string or a pretty pipe cleaner to the tip of the pinecone. Then spread peanut butter in the crevices with the help of your young assistant. (If the peanut butter is tricky to spread, soften…

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Q&A The finches in my backyard feed on the ground or from regular seed feeders. Why won’t they eat from a typical tube or sock feeder? Megan Blackwell CONNEAUT, OHIO Kenn and Kimberly: The issue might not be with your feeder; it could be your seed. Finches are finicky about the quality of the seed they eat. If the thistle (Nyjer) seed is stale, they won’t eat it. Fresh thistle seed looks glossy black, while stale seed appears dull and dusty. Put a fresh batch in your feeders and see if that does the trick! What could be eating the petals of my coneflowers? Marianne Wentzel KNOXVILLE, TENNESSEE Melinda: You may need to do a bit of detective work to solve this mystery. When large portions of a plant go…

Submission Guidelines We love hearing from you—in fact, we couldn’t publish this magazine without you! How to submit: Go to birdsandblooms.com/submit-your-story to send stories, tips or photos. What you’ll get: If you’re published, we’ll send you a lip balm made with honey from Wisconsin bees! Contact: We may contact you via phone, email or mail regarding your submission, but our small staff can’t acknowledge receipt of submissions. Rights: By submitting material to us, you grant RDA Enthusiast Brands, LLC, its affiliates, partners and licensees worldwide use of the material without time limitation, including the right to use your name and city/state/province in connection with any such use. We reserve the right to modify, reproduce and distribute your material in any medium (now or hereafter existing) and in any manner or…

COOL TIP Sip your Bloody through hollow lovage herb stems for a hint of celery flavor. Bonus: The “straw” is biodegradable. The most recent tomato batch has been sliced for sandwiches, canned for winter and given to neighbors, but mounds of them and other unused veggies still linger on your kitchen countertop. Instead of tossing another salad together, treat your friends to a Bloody Mary brunch featuring fresh fixin’s from the garden. Whip up refreshing tomato juice, and lay out an array of garnishes so guests can create their own customized Bloody Marys. The best part is that you won’t need to serve food, because these delicious drinks are breakfast in a glass. SETTING THE BAR: WHAT YOU NEED Tomato Juice Pluck a whole slew of sunripened tomatoes to make…

PAIR UP! Alliums look fabulous when planted near white or pink peonies, delphiniums or tall bearded irises. TOP 10 1 CALIFORNIA GIANTS ZINNIA 2 INCREDIBALL HYDRANGEA 3 THOMAS EDISON DAHLIA 4 GLOBEMASTER ALLIUM 5 BIGLEAF MAGNOLIA 6 DIVA’S CHOICE DAYLILY 7 PIKES PEAK SUNFLOWER 8 DOUBLE WHITE ANGEL’S TRUMPET 9 THE PRESIDENT CLEMATIS 10 SUMMER STORM HIBISCUS California Giants zinnia ZINNIA ELEGANS, ANNUAL Brighten up your backyard with long-lasting, colorful zinnias. Plant a package of seeds in full sun, and soon a rainbow of colors emerges. These heirloom seeds were developed around the 1920s and still delight gardeners today. Why we love it: Stems may reach 4 feet tall, and the semi-double blooms are 5 inches across. Harvest these giants as cut flowers to add an explosion of color to…

Summer is the season when juvenile birds develop their wing feathers in a process called fledging and begin to explore the world beyond the nest. It’s a fantastic time to bird-watch, but a few of these youngsters are tricky to recognize, thanks to camouflage coloring. If you know what to look for, you can be ready when one flies across your path. AMERICAN ROBIN Baby birds often don’t resemble their parents, and young robins are a classic example. Like deer fawns, they have bold spots during their first summer, with buff speckling along their backs and breasts. Watch as they scamper across the lawn, mimicking the red-breasted adults as they hunt for worms and other invertebrates. DOWNY WOODPECKER You’ve probably seen black-and-white downy woodpeckers flying through your backyard, but during…

Share your photos with us! Go to birdsandblooms.com/photo-galleries to submit your best ones. They might be featured on our website! Quiz Answers Find out how well you did on our flower quiz (page 62). 1 Prickly pear cactus 2 Daylily 3 Yellow lotus flower 4 Osteospermum 5 Nasturtium 6 Black-eyed Susan 7 Coreopsis (tickseed) 8 Sunflower DID YOU KNOW? The red fruit of prickly pear cactus is edible, and some say it tastes like watermelon.…

1963 Little Eva, of “The Loco-Motion” fame, released “Let’s Turkey Trot” in 1963. In a video performance, Little Eva and her backup dancers flap their arms and perform fancy turkeylike footwork. 32 It took Paul McCartney 32 takes to record the main track of 1968’s “Blackbird.” 25 Gene MacLellan wrote “Snowbird” in only 25 minutes. The song reached widespread popularity in 1970 after Anne Murray recorded it. 15 The word “robin” is mentioned 15 times in Michael Jackson’s “Rockin’ Robin” (1972). 4 The Trashmen’s “Surfin’ Bird” hit No. 4 on the charts in 1964. It’s a medley of two songs by The Rivingtons, “The Bird’s the Word”and “Papa-Oom-Mow-Mow.” 1 Prince’s “When Doves Cry” spent five weeks at No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 list in 1984. 2000 Eels frontman…