Innehållsförteckning för December/January 2019 från Birds & Blooms

The painted bunting holds the No. 1 spot on my bird bucket list. I’ve seen hundreds of photos of this rainbow-colored beauty, yet I remain in disbelief that such a stunning bird actually exists. And I recently learned that I’m not alone in yearning to spot one. We asked our field editors and Facebook followers to tell us which birds they want to see most. The answers included northern cardinals, black-billed magpies and Cape May warblers, but the painted bunting prevailed. Leticia Reed even said, “Spotting a male painted bunting would be a dream come true for me!” Flip to page 40 to see our top 10 list and find out where to spot them. Also in this issue, we reveal the finalists in our annual Backyard Photo Contest. Since…

With bright pops of color, bold markings and slim, shiny bodies, cedar waxwings are a sight to behold. Their behavior is exciting to watch, and they snatch berries in their bills before swallowing them whole—sometimes while hovering underneath a branch. Waxwings sport sleek bodies with black masks over their eyes and a prominent tan crest atop their heads. The coloring of males and females is nearly identical. These distinctive birds are slightly smaller than a robin, with a large head and a short wide bill. Their wings are light gray, bellies are a soft yellow and tails have a bright yellow tip. “People love cedar waxwings because they are just so elegant,” says ornithologist Kevin McGowan of the Cornell Lab of Ornithology, one of the developers of the All About…

Lemons are among the easiest citrus to grow indoors and make thoughtful gifts. You provide the light, water and fertilizer, and they offer beautiful, aromatic flowers and homegrown lemons. According to Steven Biggs, the author of Grow Figs Where You Think You Can’t, scent one of the best reasons to grow an indoor lemon tree. “You can’t beat the smell of lemon blossoms—they’re a joy indoors when it’s gray outdoors.” Choose the Best Variety Many types of lemons do well when grown indoors, but Meyer is the most popular. Not only does it take well to container culture, but the fruits have a sweeter flavor, are less acidic and have thinner skin than many other varieties. Plants Versus Seeds Steven points out that while it’s possible to grow a lemon…

Bird Brain New bird-watchers will love a deck of Sibley Backyard Birding Flashcards; they feature images and facts for 100 common birds in North America. $12 at amazon.com Green Thumb Go green with the Intervale Eco Paper Pot Maker, which shapes old newspapers to make pots that are the perfect size for starting seedlings. The paper pot goes directly into the garden. $13 at gardeners.com Early Riser Morning folks will enjoy waking up to cheerful birdsong even more with a cup of Bluebird Morning Tea, a sweet, lively herbal blend, in hand. $10 at flyingbirdbotanicals.com Busy Bee Keep your hive organized with the Bee Happy Wall Calendar. Each month offers sweet advice to help you buzz along joyfully from day to day. $17 at calendars.com Song Bird Even our feathered…

To withstand winter, birds take extra measures to stay warm and energized. Instead of reaching for mittens and long underwear like humans, birds grow more feathers, hide extra food and put on extra weight to fight the cold. Cardinals, chickadees, woodpeckers and goldfinches all stick it out in colder regions while other birds fly to substantially warmer climates for winter. Some birds that stay in the northern U.S. breed in the far northern reaches of Canada in summer and fly only as far south as necessary to find food in winter. This means spending the winter in midwestern backyards, where their special adaptations help them keep warm and find food. Juncos and American tree sparrows add extra weight for the coldest months of the year, gorging themselves when they can.…

Find the Hummingbird In each issue, we hide a hummingbird like the one above left. Enter to win at birdsandblooms.com/contests if you find it. Winners get a one-year subscription to Birds & Blooms. In the October/November issue, we hid it on page 28. HIDDEN OBJECT GUIDELINES No purchase necessary to enter to win. Purchase will not improve your chances of winning. Sweepstakes is open to legal residents age 18 years or older of the U.S., its territories and possessions, or of Canada (excluding the Province of Quebec). Sweepstakes begins on Nov. 14, 2018, and ends on Jan. 15, 2019. Visit birdsandblooms.com/contests for official rules. VOID WHERE PROHIBITED. Sweepstakes sponsored by RDA Enthusiast Brands, LLC. Contact Us! CUSTOMER CARE For subscriptions, renewals, gifts, payments, account info and inquiries: Email: customercare@birdsandblooms.com Visit:…

GIVE Share your love of Birds & Blooms with family and friends! Buy one gift subscription online and give a second gift for free! birdsandblooms.com/givetoday Grow Nurture your holiday poinsettias like Elsie Dolvin of Hollywood, Florida. This plant was given to her a few years ago. With her love and care, it has thrived! Make Drill small holes in birch rounds, insert juniper sprigs and write guest’s names on tiny stars. Glue the stars to sprigs for rustic place cards. JOIN Participate in Audubon’s 119th Christmas Bird Count, and contribute to one of the country’s oldest citizen science programs. Find a count near you! audubon.org SHARE Do you have a favorite bird ornament? Send us a picture! birdsandblooms.com/submit…

Easy 3-Step Suet • Melt 1 cup of suet or lard and 1 cup of peanut butter in a large saucepan on low heat. If you are using real suet, strain it through a layer of cheesecloth twice to remove contaminants before adding the peanut butter. • Remove the mixture from the heat and add about 2 cups of mix-ins, until the consistency is a bit stiff. Use any combination of seed, peanuts, fruit or other bird treats. • When it has cooled enough to handle, press the mixture into molds like cat food or tuna cans and refrigerate. Or get creative and use cookie cutters to make festive shapes (shown here). LARD All good suet mixes need a solid base. Lard (pig fat) is a convenient replacement for traditional…

Sunflower Helianthus annuus, annual Easy to grow and useful all year-round, sunflowers are crowd-pleasers. Summer’s bright blooms bring joy to gardeners and pollinators, and naturally dried seeds provide local wildlife with a food source in winter. They thrive in most soil types and climates, as long as they’re in a sunny spot. Attracts: Light needs: Full sun. Size: Standard varieties grow up to 10 feet tall. Grown for: Sunflower heads contain 1,000 to 2,000 seeds and feed birds all year. Foliage: Stalks fade to brown in the winter. Cultivars to try: Super Snack Mix and Mammoth Russians produce an abundance of seeds. BIRD BENEFITS In summer, gather and dry sunflower heads (or simply skip pruning) to create a supply of high-fat seeds that last well into winter.…

1 Jerusalem cherry SOLANUM PSEUDOCAPSICUM These shrubby plants, also called Christmas cherry or winter cherry, produce bright white or mauve blooms that give way to red berrylike fruits. Plants reach 24 inches tall and sport smooth evergreen foliage. They prefer a bright spot that’s 70 degrees or cooler. The berries and leaves are poisonous, so keep plants out of reach of children and pets. Why we love it: Long-lasting berries add festive color to your decor. 2 Kalanchoe KALANCHOE BLOSSFELDIANA Clusters of star-shaped blooms in shades of red, yellow, pink, gold, orange or purple carpet these rounded succulents. Scalloped leaves set off the flowers and supply interest once blooms fade. Kalanchoe reach 12 inches wide and 18 inches tall, depending on variety. They require at least four hours of direct…

On the last day of our trip to the Southwest, we stopped at Sandia Crest in New Mexico. Frost covered the landscape and birds swarmed the feeding station. A black rosy-finch landed in front of us, perching on a perfectly frosted branch. I took the shot just as the sun came out from the clouds. It was an ideal end to an amazing trip to the Southwest! Martina Nordstrand INDIAN TRAIL, NORTH CAROLINA In the middle of a snowstorm in central Virginia, this northern cardinal’s red hue really stood out against the crisp white snow. He turned and looked at me right as I snapped the photo. You can’t help but love these hardy winter birds. Cristi Anderson KING WILLIAM, VIRGINIA Yellow-shafted northern flickers were visiting my natural feeders all…

Q Cedar waxwings are common in my area, and I have trees they like, but they don’t visit my backyard. Why? Heather Dawson CHINCOTEAGUE ISLAND, VIRGINIA Kenn and Kimberly: Cedar waxwings can be tantalizing. For most of the year they wander in flocks, seeking trees with good crops of small fruits or berries. During fall, winter and spring, a flock may suddenly arrive in a rush, chowing down on fruits for a short while, and then leave just as abruptly. In the summer nesting season, single waxwings or pairs are quiet and easy to overlook. The best thing to do is to plant more trees and shrubs that bear fruits at different seasons—native crabapples, dogwoods, mountain ash, eastern red cedars and others—and have faith that waxwings will show up eventually.…

True or False? A. AS WINTER NEARS, male American goldfinches trade their bright yellow plumage for brown tones. B. AMERICAN ROBINS always migrate south in search of food for winter. C. BIRDS FREEZE when temperatures drop far below zero. ANSWERS 1. SNOW BUNTING 2. WINTER SUN ELEGANZA HYBRID TEA ROSE 3. PINE WARBLER 4. GIANT SNOWDROP 5. SNOWY OWL A. TRUE B. FALSE; ROBINS STAY IN THEIR BREEDING GROUNDS IF THERE IS SUFFICIENT FOOD. C. FALSE…

1,102 Although it’s impossible for birders to find all 1,102 fliers on the official ABA checklist (some are extinct and others are only very rare visitors), top competitors have been known to track down over 800 species. 2 Two women, Laura Keene and Yve Nagy Morrell, currently share third place with 816 birds each. Yve could pull ahead if two additional fliers she spotted are accepted for the ABA list. 1939 Guy Emerson, a traveling businessman, was one of the first Big Year competitors. He planned his business trips in order to see the most birds possible, and in 1939 he recorded 497 kinds of fliers. 18 Birds & Blooms expert Kenn Kaufman completed a Big Year in 1973, when he was just 18 years old. Relying on the kindness…