by Winding Pathways | Sep 29, 2014 | Birds, Nature
Corn is one of the world’s most important agricultural plants. It’s loved by both people and wildlife. Corn is readily available and inexpensive. When used appropriately, it is an outstanding addition to a backyard feeding station.
It’s surprising how little most people know about its history. Corn is a human created plant that does not exist in the wild. It has no ability to reproduce on its own, and without people planting and tending it, corn would become extinct.
Wheat, oats, rye, millet, rice and barley originated in the Old World. In contrast corn is New World. Domesticated from a wild ancestor in Central or South America thousands of years ago, corn cultivation gradually spread north and east as Native Americans traded seeds. The Spanish conquistadors named it “maíz” from the Taino Caribbean culture whose people called it “mahiz.” By the time of Columbus, corn was an important human food throughout what became the United States. Early European explorers brought seeds back to Europe and it was soon grown around the world. Today China is a major corn grower but the production epicenter is the American Corn Belt. Billions of bushels are grown in Iowa, Illinois, and Indiana, but cornfields can be found in nearly all states.
Geneticists have developed dozens of corn varieties. Best known may be the delicious sweet corn enjoyed at summer picnics or as popcorn at the movies. It is a major ingredient in livestock feed, and most corn is indirectly eaten as beef, eggs, poultry, pork, and even domestic catfish. Corn derived ethanol powers vehicles and it is used to produce syrup to sweeten beverages and has hundreds of industrial applications.
Corn is an outstanding wildlife food. Gardener’s know! Keeping deer, birds, and raccoons out of a patch of sweet corn is a major challenge.
Corn is readily available for wildlife feeding in grocery, farm and bird feeding specialty stores. It’s usually less expensive at farm stores and can be purchased either as whole (sometimes called shell), dried on the cob or cracked. The shell corn name comes from the Native American practice of using a clam shell to scrape hard kernels off the cob. Shell corn is intact kernels too large for most songbirds to swallow but eagerly eaten by deer, wild turkeys, blue jays, squirrels, pheasants and many other species. Cracked corn has been run through a machine that breaks the kernel into pieces small enough to be eaten by tiny birds as well as all those that can eat the full sized grain.
Corn is not the best choice for the most desired feeder birds. Chickadees, finches, cardinals and many others prefer sunflower seed. Corn’s advantages are its low cost and attractiveness to English sparrows, pigeons, starlings and other less desirable species. These birds prefer to eat on the ground. At Winding Pathways we sprinkle cracked corn on the lawn a distance from the sunflower stocked feeders. It helps lure less desirable birds away from the more expensive seeds. Almost daily a flock of wild turkeys visits the yard and devour every scrap of corn.
Squirrels and deer also love corn and readily gobble it down. It’s sometimes possible to buy dried corn still on the cob and many people enjoy watching mammals chew the kernels cobs.
by Winding Pathways | Sep 18, 2014 | Birds, Nature
Nearly half of all American households set out a bird feeder. Most are stocked with sunflower seeds, and birds love them. The story of this seed is an interesting mix of nature, science, and culture.
Domestic strains of sunflowers were developed from a wild ancestor that’s common along roadsides and in vacant lots across much of North America. Blooming in midsummer, it is the Kansas state flower. Wild sunflower seeds have always been an important wildlife food that were also eagerly collected and eaten by Native Americans.
Wild sunflower seeds were brought to Europe hundreds of years ago. Ironically, Old World scientists developed cultivated varieties of this American plant, which became an important crop in the Soviet Union long before improved seeds were imported to the United States during the Cold War. Sunflower cultivation remains more important in Europe than North America, and Russians eat thousands of tons of them each year.
North and South Dakota and Kansas are major American producers of commercial seed that ends up in feeders all over the continent. An average yield is around 1400 pounds per acre.
Domestic sunflower seed comes in two general types. The smaller black seeds, called black oil, are processed into cooking oil or sold for feeding birds. The larger striped seeds, called culinary or grey striped sunflower, are usually used for human food and make delicious additions to baked foods. They are often salted in the shell and sold in small bags as snacks. In the Dakotas most people call them “crack and spits”. Birds love both types, although the black oil type is usually much less expensive.
Native Americans and wildlife know a good thing. Sunflower seeds are a nutritious food as appealing to people as birds.
by Winding Pathways | Sep 14, 2014 | Birds, Nature
One late October afternoon we set up a few bird feeders in the back yard. Within minutes a procession of nuthatches and chickadees began feasting on sunflower seeds. It amazed us how quickly the birds were able to locate seeds. Gifted with amazing eyesight and intimate knowledge of their territory, birds watch every move humans make and seize any opportunity for free breakfast.
Setting up a backyard feeder brings colorful wildlife to brighten otherwise dreary winter days. Bird feeding is amazingly popular. Upwards of half of American households put out at least a few seeds. It is an outstanding activity to involve a child in.
Bird feeding can be amazingly simple and inexpensive or complex and costly. This blog covers just the very basics. Specific bird feeding tips and bird information will be posted often on the subscription part of the Winding Pathways Website.
Sometimes people wonder why few birds visit their feeders. Usually, it’s simply because their yard is devoid of diverse plants that support different bird species. An array of trees, shrubs and ground level plants provide birds with food and places to hide. Anyone wishing to attract a diversity of birds should landscape for them. That can be a multi-year project. In the short term putting some discarded Christmas trees or brush in monoculture yard will help attract them.
Offering several types of food in a variety of feeders also enhances success. One of the best feeders is a picnic table. Just scatter sunflower seeds on it. Cardinals, in particular, like to feed on a large flat surface and rarely visit silo type hanging feeders. We put out suet for woodpeckers, sunflower seed for a diversity of species, corn for squirrels, millet for doves, and corn for our squirrel friends. But, if we had to choose just one type of seed and feeder they would be black oil sunflower scattered on the picnic table!
Here are some bird feeding tips:
• Visit a specialty bird feeding store. These are becoming increasingly common and sell a diversity of seeds, feeders and accessories. But, more important, sales people will share comprehensive knowledge about local birds and how to best attract them. Big box stores sell seeds and feeders, but offer sparse education.
• Be wary of seed mixes, especially inexpensive ones. Often they are packed with milo, a seed few birds like to eat.
• Keep seed fresh and safe from rodents. Old stale seed won’t attract birds. Store it in a metal garbage can with tight lid to help keep the seed fresh and exclude mice.
• Keep feeders clean. Give them a good scrubbing every once in a while.
• Buy quality feeders. Quality brands, like Aspects and Droll Yankee, make high quality feeders that are easy to clean and resist breaking. If one does break the company will replace it.
• Feed up, down and around. Do some reading about birds and watch closely. You’ll notice that some birds, like mourning doves and juncos, prefer feeding on the ground and are rarely on feeders, while chickadees and nuthatches would rather visit an elevated feeder. Put the types of seed each species prefers where it likes to feed. For example, spread millet on the ground for doves and put sunflower seed in feeders.
• Don’t get too discouraged by squirrels. They are fascinating animals with amusing antics. Lots of websites and books give tips for excluding them from feeders, but we choose to toss some corn on the ground for them to enjoy.
• Read and Observe. Birds, even common species, are fascinating. They are often the first portal to nature that kids see. A pair of binoculars can help viewing, and many resources are available online and at the library.
• Connect with others who love birds. The local bird feeding store can help you find others who feed birds. Probably the best online source of bird information comes from the Cornell University Laboratory of Ornithology.
• Don’t worry if you take a winter vacation and have no one to stock the feeders. Birds move around through the day and feed at many places. If they find your feeder empty they’ll move on but will be back soon after you return home and fill up your feeders.
Check out the subscription area of the Winding Pathways Website for periodic updates on bird feeding.
by Winding Pathways | Sep 2, 2014 | (Sub)Urban Homesteading, Garden/Yard, Mammals, Nature
Few animals frustrate homeowners as much as moles, but at Winding Pathways we appreciate them. Moles are Mother Nature’s roto tillers, and like mechanical tillers they soften and mix soil, helping plants grow.
The common Eastern mole only weighs about four ounces. It stays underground and is rarely seen, but the evidence of this animal’s foraging is easy to spot. Humped ridges wee waw around a lawn and volcanic like cone-shaped hills of loose dirt appear as if by magic. See them and moles have been at work.
Ridges are created as moles swim through the soil seeking tasty earthworms and grubs for dinner. They are most active in the evening and morning and prefer loose soil, especially in shady areas.
People who want their lawn to be as perfect and blemish free as carpeting hate moles and endlessly and needlessly persecute them. We like them because visible mole tunnels and hills tell us that our lawn is rich in worms, grubs and other underground animals that are natural components of the soil. In short, our lawn is healthy and ready for children to play on safely.
An insect and worm free lawn is unnatural and likely happens when people poison the soil in an effort to discourage moles. It works. With no food available, moles move elsewhere, leaving the homeowner with a blemish free unnatural lawn that may be toxic.
During the heat and dryness of late summer lawn grasses want to go dormant. Moles move to shady cooler woodlands, abandoning lawns until fall rains resume. Ironically, the people who hate moles often water their lawn during summer droughts, creating perfect conditions to attract the tiny mammals.
Commercially sold poison peanuts are ineffective because moles don’t eat peanuts. They’re insectivores. Plunging spear traps pose safety hazards to small children. Moles often don’t reuse humped up feeding tunnels. They’ve already caught the food there. Traps and poison set over tunnels may kill harmless shrews and mice that use them as highways.
We’ve noticed that places where moles were most active last year have the greenest grass this year. That’s probably because last year’s diggers made the soil softer and added a bit of natural fertilizer in their droppings. Mother Nature’s roto tillers at work.
The best solution to a “mole problem” is simply to ignore it and allow the small animals to go about their business improving soil health. Simply stomp down tunnels and rake out hills before mowing. New grass grows quickly in this newly enriched top soil.
