As a family with an active child, our most successful place to watch birds is through windows. Birds tolerate us that way and we see amazing things while munching granola in our PJs. By Scott Woodbury [This article was first published in The Gateway Gardener September 2017 issue.] As a family with an active child, our most successful place to
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When the red buckeye and columbine bloom in April, it signals the time to start looking for the ruby-throated hummingbirds. By Scott Woodbury [This article was first published in The Gateway Gardener April 2016 issue.] When the red buckeye and columbine bloom in April, it signals the time to start looking for the ruby-throated hummingbirds. It pays to look in
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Feeding our feathered friends is not only beneficial to the birds, helping them sustain themselves through the sparse winter months, but it’s also a great amount of fun. Text and Photos By Robert Weaver This article was first published in The Gateway Gardener December 2008 issue. Feeding our feathered friends is not only beneficial to the birds, helping them sustain
» Read moreThe Great Backyard Bird Count takes place next week, February 14-17. I thought I’d get an early start and see what birds were hunkering down in my garden in the week prior. Click on any photo to view and click on the forward or backward arrows to move through the photo gallery. After the last slide, click inside the photo
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By Connie Alwood (This article was first published in The Gateway Gardener January/February 2009 issue) “Shoot all of the Blue Jays that you want, if you can hit ‘em, but remember it’s a sin to kill a Mockingbird.”–Atticus Finch to Scout and Jem in To Kill a Mockingbird “Handsome Devil” was an expression used to describe bad boys who had
» Read moreBy Connie Alwood (This article first appeared in The Gateway Gardener January/February 2008 issue.) Just about everyone can identify a crow. Even its voice caw, caw, caw is unmistakable. People’s estimation of this large, all black bird runs the gamut. We either vilify him for pilfering our garbage bags and eating small birds or we admire his cunning. The American
» Read moreBy Connie Alwood (This article first appeared in The Gateway Gardener January/February 2007 issue.) On a January morning we can’t expect much birdsong. Except for the occasional mockingbird and the partial song of the white-throated sparrow, plus a few chips from other birds coming to the feeder, it’s usually a silent winter. However, one songster still bursts forth with much
» Read moreBy Connie Alwood (this article first appeared in The Gateway Gardener in Jan/Feb. 2006) Look for these winter visitors in your garden! In Florida, southern Texas and southeastern Arizona, “snowbirds” mean one thing: migrating retirees returning for the winter. They come from Canada and Minnesota, Iowa and the Dakotas, looking to avoid the harsh winter months. Of course the original
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