Smell Like Dirt
In Spring, at the end of the day, you should smell like dirt.” Margaret AtwoodArchive for February, 2009
Creating a Wildlife Habitat Series
If you live near Charlotte, come and join us for a two part series on Creating a Wildlife Habitat. On Tuesday, March 3 at 7pm. I will be presenting how to provide the four critical elements needed for a Wildlife Habitat (food, water, shelter, places to raise young), planting with natives, lawn and chemical reduction as well as soil and water conservation. The meeting is free and open to everyone. On April 7, Landscape Designer and Habitat Steward, Mary Bures, will be teaching how to design a landscape that is wildlife friendly. The meeting is sponsored by Habitat and Wildlife Keepers (HAWK), a chapter of the NC Wildlife Federation. The meeting takes place at the Matthews Community Center and is free and open to everyone. Hope you will join us! For more info, click here
Bluebirds!!
Its that time of year! The bluebirds are starting to shop for a nice home in which to raise their families this year and if you want to ensure that they pick YOUR backyard, mealworms are the ticket! Of course, you still need to make sure you are providing them with a quality home that meets all their specifications. If you live in the Charlotte, NC region, my favorite birdstore is Backyard Wild in Matthews and they offer an assortment of official bluebird houses to meet all budget types. They have a great house that will open up on one side so you can monitor the progress of the babies! If you start offering mealworms now, you increase your chances of scoring a bluebird family this spring and you can train the bluebirds to come when you whistle. If you really want to impress your friends, you can teach them to eat out of your hand. This takes time and patience, but wouldn’t that be great? Here’s our video on bluebirds to inspire you to go out and get a good birdhouse and some mealworms!
Birding with Binoculars
Just in time for the Great Backyard Bird Count, here’s a Quick Tip to help you find those birds using binoculars. The GBBC is a great way to practice your birding skills while helping ornithologists track birding populations, migration patterns, etc. The Bird Count starts Friday the 13th and goes thru Monday the 16th. You can do it everyday or just one day. All day, or just 15 minutes…whatever your schedule will allow. You can count alone in your backyard or at a park with friends. No matter what you decide, come on out and join us as we count birds across the country and practice using those binoculars!
Put all your egg(shells) in one basket!
Another Down & Dirty tip using eggshells to feed the birds. Eggshells are high in calcium and if you put them out for your birds to eat, it will give them “strong teeth and bones” as the saying goes, but will also give them the nutrients they need to lay strong eggs this spring. So start putting those eggshells to work instead of putting them in the trash.
Smell Like Dirt 