Carol Sanner/Girdwood
A red-breasted nuthatch at the fall feeder.
A red-breasted nuthatch at the fall feeder.
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Carol Sanner/Girdwood A red-breasted nuthatch at the fall feeder. |
By Carol Sanner
Special to the Turnagain Times
If you plan to feed song birds this winter, start now. Birds who spend the winter in Girdwood begin to establish their feeding patterns in early fall. Chickadees, redpolls, pine siskins, pine grosbeaks, white winged crossbills, nuthatches, Steller jays, and woodpeckers will all come to feeders.
Winter bird diets must be high in fat, so choose seed mixes blended specially for Alaskan species. Small black oil sunflower seed is popular for tube or platform feeders, as is niger thistle seed placed in fine mesh bags. Suet cakes containing peanuts and sunflower nut meats are also welcomed. Placing suet cakes in wire cages will reduce their loss to greedy magpies or jays. Feeds with high percentages of millet are good for redpolls, but are generally wasted on most other species in Girdwood. Jays will hoard unshelled peanuts, but it is fun to watch them try to stash the bulky shells in their crops before carrying them away.
The types of birds that visit your feeder not only depend on the kind of feed you provide, but also depends on the natural habitat surrounding your feeder’s location. Position a feeder where you can enjoy watching from indoors, but also remember that birds need open access from trees and shrubs to the feeder, as well as escape routes from predators that also lurk around feeders. Birds will also appreciate a fresh water source near a feeder.
Feeders will attract natural songbird predators such as magpies, crows, and red squirrels (yes, squirrels). If you or your neighbors have outdoor cats, a bird feeder may not be such a good idea, because a feeder provides a happy hunting ground for prowling cats. In fact, domestic and feral cats kill millions of songbirds nationwide and have been credited with the decline of many species. Placing a bell on a cat’s collar is not a solution as it doesn’t necessarily alert birds. Greedy squirrels? Try a tube feeder instead of a platform feeder or hang it from a pole with an inverted bowl shaped squirrel guard. If you are worried that bears may still be lurking about, hold off another month or so before hanging out the feeders.
Once you begin feeding birds, you should maintain feeders by keeping them filled, as birds will become dependent on the food source. Feeders must be cleaned periodically with a dilute bleach solution to reduce communicable diseases such as salmonella. Once the first few birds establish your feeder as part of their daily feeding route, flocks will gradually increase in size and become multi-species flocks as the winter progresses and snow depth increases.
For more information on bird feeding, check out http://www.audubon.org/bird/at_home/bird_feeding. For tips on designing your home landscape to attract birds and other wildlife, see http://www.nwf.org/gardenforwildlife/.
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Carol Sanner/Girdwood Spruce tree dying from topsoil backfulled on roots. |
By Carol Jo Sanner
Special to the Turnagain Times
The sound of chainsaws echoes through the valley even as winter approaches.
This year more than ever before, I have noticed more trees disappearing as residences are constructed or remodeled, home owners open up their views or trade native vegetation for more conventional lawn-scapes. But what is the value of retaining on site vegetation and protecting existing trees from construction damage?
Reserving on-site trees and cultivating native vegetation can pay off in the long term over denuding a lot and reconstructing a new landscape. For one thing, native vegetation is adapted to our climate, snow loads, and soils types. Non-native trees and shrubs cost more to install, and more energy to maintain. Over the course of 35 years in Girdwood, I’ve dropped hundreds of dollars at local nurseries and big box stores trying to establish conventional landscape trees and shrubs that thrive in Anchorage or the lower 48 among my spruce/hemlock forested lot - with little success. In the end, I have opted to prune, thin, cultivate and maintain the trees that inhabited my woodlot before we moved in.
Trees in Alaska may seem to add little or no monetary value to a residential property since they are not valued separately in real estate appraisals. A nicely treed lot, in the context of a forested landscape like ours, hardly seems unique. But how many of you would trade a lot in mid-town Anchorage, devoid of trees like those new site condos, for the worst lot in Girdwood? In many forested states, trees are in fact appraised as real property. I would submit, although not part of the appraisal, Alaska suburban residential properties with mature trees do fetch higher prices than barren ones. Therefore, trees do add value to a property and merit protection.
The message here is simple: If you’re building or planning to build in Girdwood, give careful consideration to retaining and incorporating existing vegetation into your landscape plan. Site your home to preserve healthy trees and retain those trees that afford protection from wind, provide winter sun or summer shade. Choose an earthwork contractor who is considerate and competent in working around trees. Trees can be pruned, thinned, limbed and still allow views without cutting the entire tree. Topping mature conifers or deciduous trees is a definite no-no. Altering the natural growth form weakens the tree, making it vulnerable to disease or pests or snow damage.
Trees you decide to retain should be protected from damage by earth moving equipment. Gouging bark or cutting stabilizing roots or compacting surrounding soils will weaken a tree subjecting it to disease – fungal rots and insects- and subject it to wind throw or snow damage. Covering the base of a conifer, spruce or hemlock with as little as two inches of topsoil or backfill will kill it. It may take a couple of years, but covering the root flare–the base of the trunk where it widens at the ground–actually smothers the tree. Roots need air to thrive. I have seen several trees in my neighborhood now suffering a slow death at the hands of their owners who, although intending to preserve those trees amidst their new lawn, have actually doomed previously healthy spruce or hemlocks.
What about hazard or problem trees? Before firing up that chainsaw, seek the expertise of a certified arborist- a trained professional who is qualified to evaluate, diagnose, treat, and maintain trees. We actually have a few right here in Girdwood and there are plenty in Anchorage. An arborist can work with your need to do land clearing, earthwork or construction and assist you in minimizing damage to existing trees to help extend their healthy life on your property.
If trees must be removed, an arborist can help with that and suggest and install a suitable replacement. To find a certified arborist in our area, see http://www.pnwisa.org/calist.html.