Dear $$firstname$$,

Time For A Backyard Feeding Fling

SPRING is a transition time for bird feeding in your backyard. The days are getting warmer and longer, and winged visitors are a wonderful mix of winter birds, permanent residents and spring migrants.

In Park Rapids, Minnesota, Tom K. takes advantage of this special season by grouping clusters of three or four feeders in different locations in his backyard. “I provide a different food in each feeder as well as on the ground under these feeders,” he says. “This allows room for more birds and attracts more varieties.”

Tom also suggests making temporary brush piles about 10 feet from the feeding stations to offer small birds convenient hiding places from birds of prey. “Another welcome respite for migrating birds is a shallow birdbath or pool no more than 1-1/2 to 2-1/2 inches deep. If you add dripping or splashing water, you’ll attract even more birds.”

Tom credits the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources with these tips and offers a few more to keep your feeders busy with visitors:

• • Increase the proportion of millet mix to satisfy juncos, sparrows, mourning doves and indigo buntings.
• • Suet will attract not only woodpeckers but also migrating warblers and kinglets.
• • Niger (also known as thistle) and finch mixes will draw goldfinches, redpolls and pine siskins.
• • Nectar feeders should be in place as early as February in southern areas for warblers, hummingbirds and orioles. In the North, these feeders can be put up as soon as nighttime temperatures stay above freezing.
• • Grape jelly in a dish, overripe bananas, orange halves, finely crushed eggshells, corn bread and small containers of mealworms will attract a wide range of visitors, including warblers, bluebirds, wrens orioles and scarlet tanagers.

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No Stopping Them

HER SON’S kindergarten class planted daffodil bulbs outside their elementary school classroom in fall, writes Kathryn L. of Valley Cottage, New York. Unfortunately, the students weren’t aware that they had planted their future spring blooms right where a blacktopped walkway would be installed a short time later.

“The kids were disappointed that their efforts weren’t going to produce beautiful flowers in spring,” Kathryn says. “Imagine their surprise when daffodils emerged anyway—right through the blacktop path!

“This touched us all in different ways. The kids thought it was cool that the flowers grew through the walkway. We adults, however, were amazed that something seemingly so fragile could accomplish this!”

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Close Encounter of the Bird Kind

A FEW winters ago when she lived in Kansas City, Missouri, Jude W. had a rare visitor in her backyard—a Cape May warbler. “The little fellow just showed up one morning in my dried-up mums,” she says. “It made its way around our deck, where we provide seed, fruits and vegetables for other birds that frequently visited our yard.

“Once we realized we had been blessed with an unusual visitor, we quickly tried to meet its needs, knowing it would have a difficult time surviving the winter on its own. We hooked up a hot plate on the picnic table to keep food and water thawed for the warbler. I made a special feed for the bird—peanut butter with chopped raisins and fresh grapes.

“We continued our ‘catering service’ until early spring, when the Cape May warbler left. We imagine it journeyed back to its northern breeding grounds. I must admit, I had ‘empty-nest syndrome’ for the first week without our special visitor. But I felt blessed by its stay!”

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Oranges Aren’t Just for Orioles

ORANGE you ready for a bit of sweet sunshine to warm up your springtime? Whether picked from backyard trees or purchased at the market, oranges have a naturally tangy taste that makes for timeless treats whatever the season. They’re perfect for “squeezing” more flavor into your menu.

A fair-weather fruit, oranges thrive in semi-tropical regions such as Florida, California, Texas and Arizona, which means they’re available fresh in winter and spring.

Two popular varieties are Valencia and navel. Thin-skinned Valencias are nearly seedless and have sweet, golden juice that’s excellent in beverages and for cooking and baking. Valencias are in season from February into October.

Seedless navel oranges star in the winter. Their season is from November into June. Navels are the perfect instant snack—just peel, section and eat. They’re also great in salads and for cooking and baking.

Here are a few more fresh-squeezed facts about oranges:

• • To choose the pick of the crop, look for well-formed oranges that are heavy for their size and have healthy color.
• • Valued for their high vitamin C content, oranges also have more fiber than any other major fruit.
• • To make thin strips of citrus zest, shred the peel using a zester or the small slots on a hand-held grater. Be careful not to include the bitter white “pith” just below the peel’s surface.
• • If you’re using only orange segments or juice, remove the peel at the same time and freeze it for later. It can be frozen grated or in strips.
• • Candied citrus peel can be finely chopped and folded into cheesecake, gingerbread batter and ice cream.

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Robin On A Special Diet?

IN ALL the years he’s been feeding birds, Alex M. of Marysville, Michigan never saw a robin eat suet—until early one spring. “One day a robin flew up and started eating from a homemade suet feeder that I keep filled from winter to late spring,” he says. “The robin couldn’t hang and eat like a woodpecker. Instead, it grabbed the wire with its feet and beat its wings while tearing off the suet. “Sometimes it took several tries before the robin could get some suet. When it finally did, it flew to the ground to eat. The robin fed at all times of the day. I saw it eating suet—and feeding it to its fledglings—as late as July. I wonder if anyone else has had a similar experience.”

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He’s Got His Garden Pegged

FOR the past few years, Robert W. of Lansdale, Pennsylvania has used a quick-and-easy reference system to help plan new additions to his garden. “In spring or fall when I decide which plants I want to add to my garden, I put green plastic pegs into the ground where I want the new plants to go,” he says. (The pegs, which are used to anchor gardening fabric, can be found in most garden centers.)

“For example, if I plan on adding daffodil, tulip or crocus bulbs for next year’s spring blooms, I push the pegs in next to the plants that are currently blooming. That way, when the plants die back, I don’t have to guess where the existing plants are when I add new ones in fall.

“I also do this to mark areas where I plan to add new perennials or annuals. This not only helps to denote ahead of time where the plants will go, it also helps me visualize the pattern I’ll have after they’re planted.

“The pegs, which come in bags of 25 or 30, are inexpensive, reusable and can be left outside over winter. I hope this helps other readers as much as it has helped me.”

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