Dear $$firstname$$,

The seasons are changing and the excitement of the holidays is almost in full swing. But don’t forget that the birds are still active and ready to participate in all of the holiday cheer. We hope this “News You Can Use” free newsletter helps you share the joy of the season with your feathered friends!

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• READ ON TO DISCOVER...
• Bird of the Month
• Garden of the Month
• Best of Glad You Asked
• Project of the Month
• FREE Wallpaper

Bird of the Month: Downy Woodpecker

The downy is the smallest and most widespread North American woodpecker, found throughout the continent, from Alaska to Florida. It can live in various diverse habitats and comes willingly to feeders.

Scientific Name: Picoides pubescens.
Family: Woodpecker.
Length: 6-3/4 inches.
Wingspan: 12 inches.
Distinctive Markings: Red patch on the back of the male's head, short bill with downy feathers at the base.
Nest: Excavates or reuses a cavity in a dead tree or uses a woodpecker nesting box. Lays four to five white eggs.
Song: Short and flat "pik" call.
Habitat: Any open wooded area, including parks and backyards.
Diet: Insects, caterpillars, berries and nuts.
Backyard Favorites: Suet and peanut butter.

Listen to this bird’s song by visiting our 50 Most Wanted Birds section on the Web site.

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Garden of the Month

Even though Marion Manley isn’t able to live on the Great Lakes she loves, she managed to bring the beach to her backyard garden. Learn how Marion stopped the spread of aggressive flowers, and get her secrets to bringing the beach to your own garden!

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Best of Glad You Asked

Pollen Problem
I have several bittersweet vines that never produce blooms or berries. I added another plant last year, but that didn’t help. How can I get these vines to produce their signature orange-red fruit? —Mary Howsare, Solon, Iowa

Melinda: Too much nitrogen in the soil will encourage foliage, but not flowers. Contact your county Extension service to perform a soil test. These experts will tell you what, if any, fertilizer is needed. Adjust your fertilization, and you should finally see some flowers and berries.

Sometimes the plants do flower, but the blooms go unnoticed because the dense foliage masks them. If this is the case, your lack of berries may be due to a pollination problem—perhaps you don’t have any female plants.

To determine this, get out a magnifying glass and check the flower parts. The male blossoms have pin-like structures called stamens, while the females have a swollen vase-like structure in the center called a pistil. If you have all male plants, they will produce a lot of pollen, but fruit won’t develop without females. Add a female plant or two to solve the problem.

One year, a dove built a nest atop one of the tools in my shed. I avoided using it until I watched the bird’s brood take flight. A week later, however, the nest was full again. This happened four times! Do doves share nests, or did all these hatchlings come from the same bird? —Harold Hartwick, Santa Clara, California

George: All species of doves have a rapid turnaround on broods. A friend of mind once observed a mourning dove’s nesting habits near the building where he worked. He counted five broods in the same nest during a single summer. Like yours, the five broods were probably produced by the same pair.

Subscribers can access our Glad You Asked database with hundreds of questions and answers from George and Melinda.

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Project of the Month

Do you have old flowerpots that you don’t know what to do with? Turn them into birdhouses! Click here for a how-to on this great project.

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FREE Wallpaper

Download amazing wallpaper for your computer, like this gorgeous photo of a cedar waxwing by Phil Allen.

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