Indholdsfortegnelse for December/January 2016 i Birds & Blooms

“It’ll change your life.” That’s what Stacy Tornio ® told me before I went to the Biggest Week in American Birding festival for the first time. I didn’t know it then, but she wasn’t just talking about the festival. She meant watching birds, connecting with the Birds & Blooms community and all of my experiences working on this magazine in the four years that followed that conversation. And she was right. For almost seven years, you’ve seen Stacy’s photo on this page and read about her many outdoor adventures. She shared her love of nature, gardening successes, birding tales and photos of her adorable family with all of us. But now, she’s moving on to spread her passion for nature in a different way and has passed the editor role…

TOP 10 1 PHILODENDRON 2 GERANIUM 3 HENS AND CHICKS 4 ALOE 5 ZZ PLANT 6 NORFOLK ISLAND PINE 7 CHRISTMAS CACTUS 8 HAWORTHIA 9 CAREX 10 MEDINILLA 1 Philodendron Add a subtle touch of burgundy or golden yellow to your living space with the wide, waxy leaves of philodendron. Try the varieties McColley’s Finale or Prince of Orange for colorful philodendron that are low-fuss. This houseplant can grow quickly, though, so keep it well groomed by trimming it back, staking upright types or winding the foliage around itself. Why we love it: There are two types of philodendron: vining and non-climbing, so it’s a cinch to pick the type that best suits your space. It also accents other plants wonderfully. Some of us may not have the greenest of…

supplies • Water • Newspaper (about 10 pages, cut into strips) • Wire hanger • Bucket • Duct tape • Fishing line • Beads • Strainer • Window screen • Peanut butter • Birdseed • Drill with drill bits more decorating ideas Create more shapes, like moons and stars. String cranberries or popcorn instead of beads to the fishing line. Use your imagination and make this feeder your own! 1 Paper Heart Feeder STEP 1. Fill a bucket half full with water and add newspaper strips. Allow the paper to soak for about 15 minutes. Then squish and roll the paper in your hands to extract the water. Repeat this process a few times until the paper is in very small pieces. STEP 2. Use duct tape to attach a…

3 Christmas cactus flowers best when slightly potbound and doesn’t often need repotting. (Once every three years, at the very most.) If you do repot your cactus, do so when it’s no longer blooming. 2 Two great spots to enjoy the cascading stems of a blooming Christmas cactus during the holidays are right on the table or hanging from above. 1800 Allan Cunningham was the first botanist to collect and document Christmas cactus during an expedition to Brazil in the early 1800s. 14 Get your cactus blooming by keeping it in uninterrupted darkness for 14 hours. 50 Christmas cacti tolerate cool indoor temperatures, but require at least 50 degrees Fahrenheit. 4 Share your Christmas cactus with friends and family by burying a three-segment-long stem in well-drained potting mix. Water sparingly…

DON’T attract unwanted guests. Inexpensive store-bought seed blends can occasionally attract pesky visitors. They might contain red millet (white proso millet is a better option), wheat or other grain products that are typically used as filler. Avoid those things when creating your own birdseed mix and stick with quality seeds and foods. DO buy supplies in bulk. If you know you’re going to use a lot of sunflower or safflower seeds while creating your homemade concoctions, buy the supplies in bulk. Membership big-box stores are great places to stock up and get a decent deal. DON’T create a mess. There are certain types of seed that are messier than others. Red millet, for example, often gets tossed to the ground by common songbirds, creating an even bigger mess than usual…

1 Nectar concentrate formulas for hummingbirds, butterflies and orioles, $19.99 for a 2-pack, sweet-seed.com 2 Birds & Blooms coloring book—look for it on newsstands in December and download a free sample, birdsandblooms.com/coloringbook 3 Colorful owl mug with “don’t forget to be awesome” reminder on the inside, $17, naturallife.com 4 Create noodles from veggies with this handheld spiralizer, $14.99, oxo.com 5 Hanging air plant terrarium kit includes live plant, rocks, moss and more, $24, makerskit.com 6 Birdseed blocks shaped like raccoons, owls and snowmen, $10 each, wildbirdsunlimited.com 7 Lantern-shaped wireless speaker—perfect for backyard gardening or barbecues, around $100, amazon.com 8 Hand-etched, bird-themed stemless wine glasses, $44 for a set of four, premierhomeandgifts.com 9 Handmade raven-shaped metal bookends, $59.99, knobcreekmetalarts.com 10 Adopt an olive tree and get olive oil straight from your…

In the spirit of the season, we want to give our readers a special gift. Bird Tales is one of our most beloved sections, because it’s where you, the reader, shine the most. For this issue, we pulled together an extra large Bird Tales collection chockfull of breathtaking photos and amazing stories from readers like you. (With no repeat species!) Think of it as a Birds & Blooms countdown to the new year: Admire one bird each day or indulge in all 31 at once. Either way, we hope you settle in and enjoy. Happy holidays! Dec. 1 During last January’s polar vortex, I pushed our patio table close to our family room windows, so when it was 20 below zero, I could reach through the window to leave some…

1 Potting shed birdhouse for attracting wrens, chickadees and nuthatches, $31.99 2 Chicken coop bird feeder featuring a hand-painted “Fresh Eggs” sign, $29.99 3 Bright white cottage birdhouse with pine shingles, made from kiln-dried hardwood, $49.99 4 Hanging cottage for house wrens, complete with charming window box, $37.99 5 Functional and cute holiday gingerbread house, $29.99 6 Classic birdhouse decorated with beautiful red poppies, $29.99 7 Stone cottage birdhouse with rocking chair and flowerpot details, $33.99 buy now! All of these items (and more) are available on our website just in time for the holidays. Go to birdsandblooms.com/homebazaar to buy one for yourself, family and friends.…

Do cardinals mate for life? I always see a pair together at the feeders. Bridget Stroede SPOONER, WISCONSIN Kenn and Kimberly: The best answer would be to say that cardinals frequently mate for life—almost as often as humans do! Some pairs of cardinals do stay together all year long in their nesting territory. In other cases, the birds leave the territory and join a winter flock, but the same pair is likely to go back to the same nesting area the following spring. Some cardinal pairs do break up and look for new mates, sometimes even during the nesting season. And if one member of the pair dies, the survivor will quickly look for a new mate. A few winters ago, I spotted cedar waxwings eating the fruit off my…

FACEBOOK POLL What kind of camera do you use to photograph backyard birds? DSLR camera…. . . . . 62% Point-and-shoot camera…. . . . . . . . . . . . 23% Cell phone camera… 15% GO ONLINE Check us out on Facebook to participate in other polls like this one. Visit facebook.com/birdsblooms. DO YOU HAVE A CLEVER CAPTION FOR THIS PHOTO? Go to birdsand blooms.com/youdontsay. We’ll publish some of our favorites in the next issue. “you don’t say!” Snowy Owl Salute Eileen Ferguson of Swedesboro, New Jersey sent us this silly photo she took on a December visit to the Jersey Shore. “What an unexpected delight to see this snowy owl at such a close range,” she says. “I observed this owl for over an hour and was…

Let it Snow How many of these winter songbirds can you name? Here’s a hint: two of them are northern cardinals. Go to page 88 and see how many you got right. Share your photos with us! Go to birdsandblooms.com/photo-galleries to submit your best ones. They might even be featured in the magazine! Quiz Answers Find out how well you did on our Name That Bird quiz (page 82). 1. Female northern cardinal 2. Eastern bluebird 3. American robin 4. Blue jay 5. Tufted titmouse 6. Male northern cardinal 7. Black-capped chickadee 8. Song sparrow BACKYARD TIP All of these birds commonly visit feeders. See how many of them you can spot in your backyard this winter!…

Submission Guidelines We love hearing from readers—in fact, we couldn’t publish this magazine without you! To make sharing your photos and stories even eaiser, we’ve created an online submission form at birdsandblooms.com/submit-your-story. Each reader whose story, photo or short item is published will receive a Birds & Blooms lip balm made by Wisconsin bees! Because of the volume of submissions, our small staff can’t acknowledge receipt of submissions, but we’ll always let you know if they’re published. By submitting material to us, you grant RDA Enthusiast Brands, LLC, its affiliates, partners and licensees worldwide use of the material without time limitation, and the right to include your name and city/state in connection with any such use. We may modify, reproduce and distribute your material in any medium and in any…