Alaska Life

Jeff Lowenfels: Why birds matter more to your garden than you think

Many people don't believe me when I tell them that birds are a big part of the soil food web and hence gardening. I know: It sounds counterintuitive, as our feathered friends are not soil dwellers. Nonetheless, they have an important role in gardening that goes beyond an aesthetic one.

For one thing, birds are transporters, literally taxi cabs, for soil food web organisms. They have all manner of soil microbes on their feet and they deposit them every time they land. Protozoa, anyone? They also carry worms around. These they occasionally (and mercifully for the worm) drop. And birds eat insects and micro-arthropods (and the occasional slug) that compete with us for our crops.

I point this out this week for two reasons.

First, the bears are hibernating and it is time for you to consider feeding birds this winter. Not only are they fascinating to watch, but you may actually convince some to remain in your area through spring and summer to help you with your gardens.

Feeding birds is easy. You don't even really need feeders, as you can toss seed on the ground, but a suet feeder and a single seed feeder, at least, will make things more enjoyable for you and probably the birds. Toss in a peanut butter feeder and you will get a greater diversity of birds. Of course, you need to be there to see them and you need a good identification book (and perhaps a good set of binoculars or a scope of sorts). You can find feeders all over town or make your own.

You can save yourself a lot of time and money by buying the proper seeds. Feeder birds like sunflower seeds -- black sunflower seeds in particular. They do not like millet or the corn that is often in seed mixes. These kinds of seeds do best tossed on the ground as ground-eating birds will eat them. So will the squirrels, which may be cute but are rodents that should not be fed on purpose.

The second reason I bring up birds is because we are fast approaching one of the oldest and neatest citizen science projects, the Audubon Society's annual Christmas Bird Count. This count takes place all across North America. Its purpose is to document every bird seen on that day. The information collected allows scientists to do all sorts of important work. If you live in Anchorage and are not doing anything on Dec. 19, you might want to consider participating. (Dates elsewhere in the state vary, so check with your local Audubon chapter, or visit the organization's site for a count near you.)

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Should you decide to participate, there are two ways to do so. If you want to go out into the field, you will be assigned to a team that will include some experienced birders. Some stake out a location. Others literally drive around with their windows open. What a great way to learn more about birding, as you will be with people who know what they are doing and who will teach you.

Or, you can observe birds to come to your home feeders. To do this, you should be willing to dedicate at least one hour to the job. And, of course, you will need to have at least one feeder. Here is a terrific way to introduce a child to citizen science. There are all sorts of things on the Web for children, including lists of birds seen in previous years.

Those who participated in previous bird counts know what is involved and what to do. And a lot of you know, because according to our local Audubon chapter, Anchorage beats out every other place in North America for the number of counters! Newbies can get all the information they need about participating this year from their local Audubon chapter. (For Southcentral Alaska readers, the site is anchorageaudubon.org.) Do not delay. While there is no fee, you do have to sign up in advance. Give the folks organizing this some time and do it now. It is all free. And, it culminates in a big party at UAA.

So there you have it: two good reasons to consider feeding birds. No, no, I mean three: Don't forget, birds are interesting as well as beautiful.

Jeff’s Alaska Garden Calendar

Amaryllis: For sale -- usually on sale, too -- all over the state. These can hardly wait for you to get them out of the box so they can green up and grow. Buy as many as you can afford. All are almost guaranteed to bloom (they do need water and some light). Bring out stored bulbs if they've had eight weeks of dormancy.

Stored summer plants, tubers and bulbs: Check yours. A bit of water on those fuchsia?

Alaska Botanical Garden: Time to renew your membership or to join.

Jeff Lowenfels

Jeff Lowenfels has written a weekly gardening column for the ADN for more than 45 years. His columns won the 2022 gold medal at the Garden Communicators International conference. He is the author of a series of books on organic gardening available at Amazon and elsewhere. He co-hosts the "Teaming With Microbes" podcast.

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