Great Backyard Bird Count Coming

February 21, 2014 Leave a comment


By John Wilson

John Wilson

John Wilson

This open winter hasn’t been great for bird watching, they don’t seem to come to our feeders when the weather is nice. But my wife and I notice an increase in activity on particularly cold or windy days. We enjoy being able to sit at the dining room table and see all the different birds that come in to feed.

Based on our experiences, here are a few suggestions if you are feeding our feathered friends. Anyone who feeds birds knows how easy it is for seed to turn moldy in feeders. Moisture from snow or rain can leak into feeders and turn bird seed into potential sources of illness for birds. You should keep feeders clean to help prevent the spread of disease to backyard birds.

Clean and disinfect feeders on a regular basis, taking care to scrape out old moldy seed that collects in corners. Wash feeders in warm water with dish soap and rinse. Disinfect with a solution of one part liquid chlorine bleach to nine parts warm water. Make sure feeders are completely dry before refilling with seeds.

It’s important to keep feeding birds once you start so they don’t become dependent on you as a food source, only to run out of food during periods of severe weather. You know, the kind of days you really don’t want to go outside to fill the bird feeders.

Also, if possible, provide water for birds. This is extremely important during the winter because other sources of water may not be available. It seems chilly, but birds regularly use our heated bird bath. Besides water to drink, they use it to help keep their feathers clean which makes them, for lack of a better term, fluffier! This extra insulation gives them better protection against bitter cold temperatures.

Now, if you REALLY enjoys bird watching, there’s an event in February you won’t want to miss … and you can take part from the comfort of their home. The 17th annual Great Backyard Bird Count will be February 14–17. Participants are needed to count birds in their yards, neighborhoods, or other locations. Simply tally birds for at least 15 minutes on any day of the count, then go to www.birdcount.organd enter the highest number of each species seen at any one time.

This program used to be held in the United States and Canada, but is now conducted worldwide. Coordinated by the Cornell Lab of Ornithology, Audubon, and Bird Studies Canada, the count provides an instant snapshot of birdlife across the continent. Organizers hope to receive more than 100,000 checklists during the event. Also, you can watch as the tallies come in at www.birdcount.org.

Whether you observe birds in your backyard, a parks, or a wilderness area, the Great Backyard Bird Count is an opportunity to share their results at www.birdcount.org. It’s fun and rewarding for people of all ages and skill levels–and it gets people outside… or you can watch from inside, too!

Information from the Great Backyard Bird Count participants is even more valuable as scientists  try to learn how birds are affected by environmental changes. The information you send in can provide the first sign that individual species may be increasing or declining from year to year. It also shows how a species’ range expands or shrinks over time. A big change, noted consistently over a period of years, is an indication that something is happening in the environment that is affecting the birds and that should be followed up on.

So, to take part in this activity for the birds, go to www.birdcount.org for online instructions and tally sheets… then enjoy our feathered friends. My wife and I participated for the first time last year… it’s easy and it’s fun!

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Pruning Shrubs

February 15, 2014 Leave a comment


By John Wilson

Extension Educator

John Wilson

John Wilson

After a long, cold winter, we’re finally getting some warmer weather. For those that have been stuck inside too long, this will give you a chance to tear yourself away from the Olympic coverage and do some things outside. This is a great time to do some pruning on shrubs in your landscape.

Correct pruning is important for shrubs, but it’s easy to overlook this project. Without pruning, or with incorrect pruning (such as shearing), shrubs tend to become a tangled mess of stems. They end up too dense with dead centers and spindly branches with few leaves on the lower half of the plant.

Most deciduous shrubs, those that lose their leaves in the fall, are correctly pruned by thinning out rather than shearing or cutting back their height. Shearing results in branch ends that produce dense growth that shades out the rest of the plant, causing the lower branches to become bare and weak. Thinning helps shrubs maintain a natural growth habit, vigor, and attractiveness.

Shrubs are often sheared to control size. However, the desired height and width of a shrub can be maintained for many years with thinning cuts. By thinning, it is also easier to see branches that are suckering up from below or resting on the ground and rooting down. These can then be removed to control a shrub’s width or spread.

Using a hand pruning shears, not a hedge shears or trimmer, thin shrubs by removing the oldest and tallest branches where they attach to another branch or back to an outward facing bud on the stem. The reason for pruning to an outward facing bud is to encourage new growth to grow outwards rather than towards the center of the shrub. This allows more sunlight into the shrub.

If a shrub has not been pruned in some time, remove all dead branches before thinning live stems. If this is an overwhelming job, a shrub can be renovated by removing a third of the largest and tallest stems clear to the ground each year for three years.

Neglected shrubs, those with a lot of dead wood or that are too dense to effectively thin, can be cut at ground level for complete renovation. Don’t leave a stub 6-12 inches sticking up, take it off at ground level. Those stubs of old wood may attract borers and weaken the shrub. I call this “chain saw pruning” but I’ve used it and it is quite effective.

You may sacrifice blooming for a couple years, but it can be the easiest method to rejuvenate old, neglected shrubs. These will regrow much faster than if you set out a new shrub because it has a mature, established root system to support the regrowth. Be sure to thin out the shrub each season thereafter to avoid an overgrown mess again.

The ideal time to prune most deciduous shrubs is from now until the buds start to swell in the spring. Wait to prune spring flowering shrubs until after they bloom unless a renovation type pruning, where over 50 per cent of the plant will be removed, is planned. In that situation, it is best to prune when the shrub is dormant.

If spring blooming shrubs are only in need of a small amount of thinning, consider pruning them before they bloom, then bring the branches indoors to force them to bloom. Spring-flowering shrubs and trees set their flower buds the previous summer. Once flower buds are exposed to cold for a few months, usually by mid-January, a branch can be cut and forced to bloom indoors.

Some of the easiest branches to force are forsythia, pussy willow, honeysuckle, crabapple, and redbud. Look for branches with many flower buds. These will be larger and fatter than leaf buds. Cut a few branches, about six to eighteen inches long. Always cut just above an outward facing side bud or where the branch attaches to another branch. Remove branches from crowded spots to help thin the shrub.

Place the branches in a vase of cool water. The flower buds will open indoors in one to five weeks, depending on the plant type. The closer to the natural blooming time the branches are cut, the shorter the wait until forced branches will start to bloom.

For more information on pruning shrubs, contact your local UNL Extension office.

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