Bird gardens 2015-notes

3/7/2015
1
© Project SOUND
Out of the Wilds and Into Your Garden
Gardening with California Native Plants in Western L.A. County
Project SOUND – 2015 (our 11th year)
© Project SOUND
A Bounty of Birds:
common garden birds & how to
attract them
C.M. Vadheim and T. Drake
CSUDH & Madrona Marsh Preserve
Madrona Marsh Preserve
March 7 & 12, 2015
Migrants are a treat
 Black-headed grosbeaks
(related to the Cardinal)
stops by local feeders during
fall or spring migration
© Project SOUND
Black-headed Grosbeak
We’re not going to talk about hummingbirds today
 See previous hummingbird gardening talks
 August, 2014
 May, 2009
© Project SOUND
Click on the ‘Out of the Wilds’ page
on Mother Nature’s Backyard Blog
for all lectures back to 2009

3/7/2015
2
But we are going to talk about some other
common garden birds in the South Bay
 Who they are; what they look like
 When you can expect to see them
 Behavioral characteristics
 What they eat; niches
 Where they nest
 Simple things you can do to
attract them to your garden
© Project SOUND
2015: Sustainable Living with California Native
Plants
© Project SOUND
Ecosystem: a community of living organisms (plants, animals and
microbes) in conjunction with the nonliving components of their
environment (things like air, water and mineral soil), interacting
as a system.
© Project SOUND
Your garden is a
little ecosystem
What we are trying to achieve: a healthy
garden ecosystem
© Project SOUND
How bird-friendly is your garden ecosystem?
 Excellent
 Good
 Fair
 Poor
How do the common birds rate your garden as habitat?

3/7/2015
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© Project SOUND
To attract birds we need to understand
their habits & preferences
© Project SOUND
Like butterflies, some birds are ‘picky eaters’
 Generalists
 Eat many different kinds
of food – whatever is
available
 Well-adapted to different
– and changing –
environments
 Often are common in urban
& suburban yards – that’s
why many people know
them by name
 Examples: Crows, Scrub
Jays, Robins
http://www.uoguelph.ca/arboretum/WildlifeSightings/WildlifesightNovember06.htm
© Project SOUND
Like butterflies, some birds are ‘picky eaters’
 Specialists
 Eat selected kinds of foods –
at least primarily
 Raptors – meat-eaters
 Insect-eaters
 Fruit-eaters
 Seed-eaters
 Often very well adapted to a
specific environment – have
‘developed together over time’
 Often are less common in
urban & suburban yards
 Examples: Lesser Gold Finch,
CA Towhee, Orioles, Tanagers
http://www.calacademy.org/teachers/lounge/?p=624
CA Towhee
Audubon’s Warbler
http://thebirdguide.com/washington/BigDayReport2007.htm
Passerine birds: Order Passeriformes
 AKA the ‘perching birds
 Over ½ of bird species are in this
Order
 At least 50 million years old
 Have feet specialized for
perching:
 Three toes facing front; one toe
facing back
 A tendon from the rear of the
leg to the toes automatically
causes the foot to curl and
become stiff when the bird lands
on a branch.
 This also enables passerines to
sleep while perching without
falling off.
© Project SOUND
Most have 12 tail feathers which
help balance when perched
http://www.birdsofseabrookisland.org/images/norton-pics/topo-x.jpg

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The Finches – Family Fringillidae
 Passerine birds – ‘perching birds’
 Mostly from Northern
Hemisphere
 Mostly seed-eating songbirds –
often also eat some insects &
berries
 Most exhibit sexual dimorphism;
breeding males may be brightly
colored
© Project SOUND © Project SOUND
Form follows function
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/b/b4/BirdBeaksA.svg/220px-BirdBeaksA.svg.png
http://www.nps.gov/prsf/naturescience/images/black-phoebe.jpg
http://www.nps.gov/prsf/naturescience/images/crow.jpg
© Project SOUND
SHAPE TYPE ADAPTATION
Cracker
Seed eaters like sparrows and finches have
short, thick conical bills for cracking seed.
Shredder
Birds of prey like hawks and owls have sharp,
curved bills for tearing meat.
Chisel
Woodpeckers have bills that are long and chisel-
like for boring into wood to eat insects.
Probe
Hummingbird bills are long and slender for
probing flowers for nectar.
Tweezer
Insect eaters like warblers have thin, pointed
bills.
Swiss
Army
Knife
Crows have a multi-purpose bill that allows them
to eat fruit, seeds, insects, fish, and other
animals.
http://science.wannajava.net/scienceunits/units/current/01Bird_Feet_and_Beak_Adaptations.pdf © Project SOUND
House finch - Haemorhous
mexicanus
http://www.wilddelight.com/birds/house-finch/

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House finch - Haemorhous mexicanus
 Size: moderately-sized finch - 12.5 to 15 cm
(4.9 to 5.9 in)
 Identifying characteristics:
 Common on feeders
 Adults:
 Long, square-tipped brown tail
 Brown or dull-brown color across the back
with some shading into deep gray on the
wing feathers.
 Breast/belly may be streaked; the flanks
usually are.
 Adult males: heads, necks and shoulders
are reddish.
 Song: rapid, cheery warble or a variety of
chirps, often ending on a higher note
© Project SOUND
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/30/Car
podacus_mexicanus_-Madison,_Wisconsin,_USA-8.jpg
http://www.nps.gov/prsf/naturescience/images/house-finch.jpg
 Male coloration varies in intensity
with the seasons
 Coloration is obtained from
carotenoid pigments in the berries
and fruits in its diet – the birds
cannot make these pigments
themselves, but convert them to the
red pigment Canthaxanthin.
 The colors range from pale straw-
yellow through bright orange (both
rare) to deep, intense red.
 Most that we see locally are red to
orange-red
© Project SOUND
http://www.cod.edu/people/faculty/chenpe/DANADA/
https://c1.staticflickr.com/3/2302/2216977106_6fc84a1521.jpg
 Range:
 Original range: Mexico and SW U.S.
 Now most places in U.S.
 When in our area: year-round
 Habitat:
 Urban/suburban places
 Native range/natural habitats : dry
desert, desert grassland, chaparral,
oak savannah, streamsides, and open
coniferous forests at elevations below
6,000 feet.
 Conservation status: common/invasive
© Project SOUND
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/House_finch#mediaviewer/File:Carpodacus_mexic
anus_map_history1.svg
House finches eat seeds & fruits
 House Finches eat almost
exclusively plant materials,
including seeds, buds and fruits.
 Wild foods: wild mustard seeds,
knotweed, thistle, mulberry, poison
oak, cactus, and many other species.
 In orchards: cherries, apricots,
peaches, pears, plums, strawberries,
blackberries, and figs.
 At feeders: black oil sunflower
(over the larger, striped sunflower
seeds), millet, nijer and milo – typical
bird seed mixture
© Project SOUND
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/House_finch#mediaviewer/
File:Father_House_finch_feeds_baby.jpg

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House finches are opportunistic nesters
 In nature:
 Nest in a variety of deciduous
and coniferous trees
 On cactus and rock ledges.
 In urban settings
 In or on buildings, using vents,
ledges, rain gutters, street
lamps/traffic lights
 Also in climbing ivy and hanging
planters.
 Occasionally use the
abandoned nests of other
birds.
© Project SOUND
http://blog.naturetastic.com/2014/05/house-finch-carpodacus-mexicanus-nest.html
Goldfinches - the genus Spinus
© Project SOUND
American goldfinch – Spinus (Carduelis) tristus
 Size: small - 11–14 cm (4.3–5.5 in) long
 short, conical bill on small, head
 long wings
 short, notched tail
 Adult males (spring/summer) bright
yellow with black forehead, black
wings with white markings, and white
patches above & beneath the tail.
 Adult females are duller yellow
beneath, olive above.
 Winter birds are drab, unstreaked
brown, with blackish wings and two
pale wingbars.
© Project SOUND
http://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/PHOTO/LARGE/ame
rican_goldfinch_glamour12.jpg
http://tgreybirds.com/AmericanGoldfinch26.jpg
Telling the
goldfinches apart
 American Goldfinch
 Slightly larger
 Males: black ‘half-cap’
 Yellow back
 Tail has more white
 Pink bill; pinkish legs/feet
 Lesser Goldfinch
 Males: completely black cap
 Dull green/gray back
 Dark tail
 Darker gray beak
© Project SOUND
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/American_goldfinch#mediaviewer/File:Carduelis-
tristis-001.jpg

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Lesser Goldfinch – Spinus (Carduelis) psaltria
 Size: tiny (smallest true finch) - 9 to
12 cm (3.5 to 4.7 in)
 Stubby bill – gray
 Long, pointed wings; short, notched tails
 Males:
 bright yellow below with a glossy black
cap and white patches in the wings;
 Backs can be glossy black or dull green
(particularly on the West Coast).
 Black tail with large, white corners.
 Females and immatures:
 Olive backs, dull yellow underparts,
 Black wings with two whitish wingbars.
© Project SOUND
http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Carduelis_psaltria_fe
male.jpg
Lesser Goldfinch – Spinus psaltria
 Range: SW U.S., Mexico to parts of
northern S. America
 When in our area: year-round if near
natural areas – short-distance
migration in spring/fall
 Habitat:
 Open fields, budding treetops, and
the brush of open areas and edges.
 May concentrate in mountain
canyons and desert oases
 Fairly common in suburbs.
 Conservation status: not rare; may
be increasing numbers
© Project SOUNDhttp://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Lesser_Goldfinch/id
Lesser goldfinch: primarily eats seeds
 Eats mostly small seeds and grains,
both in wilds and at bird feeders.
 Usually gets seeds that are still on
the plant. Its long legs and claws
help it easily perch on plants.
 Also eat coffeeberry, elderberry,
and madrone fruits; buds of
cottonwoods, alders, sycamores,
willows, and oaks.
 Feed in small groups, moving through
plants to get to the seeds, buds,
flowers or fruits.
 Don't nest until mid-to late summer
when there are lots of seeds
available. © Project SOUND
Goldfinches: active & gregarious
© Project SOUND
 A quick little bird, constantly
hovering about and jerking its tail
while feeding.
 Dipping, bouncy flight like the
American Goldfinch.
 Gregarious, forming large flocks at
feeding sites and watering holes.
Sometimes mixed flocks with other
songbirds in wild.
 Easy to attract with nyjer seed in a
feeding sock - to protect Goldfinches
from contagious diseases, keep the
ground under feeders well-raked.

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Best bets for goldfinches: Sunflowers
 Cobwebby thistle – Cirsium occidentales
 CA bush sunflower – Encelia californica
 Bracted gumplant - Grindelia camporum
 Coastal gumplant - Grindelia hirsutula
 Sawtooth Goldenbush - Hazardia squarrosa
 Sneeze plant/Rosilla - Helenium puberulum
 Annual sunflower – Helianthus annuus
 Coast goldenbush - Isocoma menziesii
 Goldfields – Lasthena spp
 Tidytips - Layia platyglossa
 Goldenrods – Solidago , Euthamia spp.
 Hooker’s evening primrose – Oenothera
elata ssp. hookeri
© Project SOUND
Annual (Common) Sunflower - Helianthus annuus
Managing annual
sunflowers
 Easy to grow
 Like well-drained, neutral to
slightly alkaline soil
 Full sun
 Average to little water –
don’t over-water
 Tall – may require support
 Will readily re-seed (if the birds
don’t take all the seeds)
Birds are attracted by the flocks in fall…
 Bird species include:
 American Goldfinch
 Lesser goldfinch
 Dove
 Sparrow
 And many, many more
 Small animals also eat
the seeds
 Ground squirrels
 Pocket mice
 Many others

3/7/2015
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Grow Annual Sunflower from seed
 Easy to grow
 Little seedlings
transplant easily – or
plant seed in the
ground
 Sow seed every three
weeks for a succession
of flowers throughout
the summer
Steve Hurst @ USDA-NRCS PLANTS Database
Consider choosing season-spanning
sunflowers for year-round food
Winter-spring
 Encelias – Bush sunflowers
 Mulefat
 Grindelias - Gumplants
 Annual wildflowers:
 Gold fields
 Tidytips
Summer-fall
 Annual Sunflowers
 Rosilla (Helenium)
 Telegraph plant
 Goldenrods
 Goldenbushes
 Coyote bush
© Project SOUND
Hutchinsonian
niche
 Hutchinsonian niche: an n-
dimensional hypervolume of
conditions and resources
 Fundamental niche: what an
organism's niche would be in the
absence of competition from
other species.
 Realized niche: The niche that a
species actually inhabits, taking
into account interspecific
competition
 How would you define the niche
of the Lesser Goldfinch?
© Project SOUND
http://science.kennesaw.edu/~jdirnber/ecology/Lecture/LecComEcol/LecComEcolCom
p/LecCommEcolComp.html
© Project SOUND
What every bird needs: the basics
 Food
 Shelter
 Water
http://aquafornia.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2009/02/garden-tour-2.jpg

3/7/2015
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But what happens when several bird
species use the same food source?
© Project SOUND
Sometimes they share resources: resource
partitioning
 Definition: two species
dividing a niche to avoid
competition
 Spatial partitioning: two
competing species use the
same resource by occupying
different areas or habitats
 Example: two species of birds
utilizing sunflower seeds
 One harvesting seeds from
the plants [Goldfinches]
 Another foraging the seeds
from the ground [Doves]
© Project SOUND
Ways to Create Multiple Niches in the
same Habitat
 Temporal: noctural vs.
diurnal animals, owls and
hawks each feed on rodents
but at different times
 Spatial: Warbler example,
use different spaces within
a habitat (even the same
tree)
 Functional: Extract
different resources,
woodpeckers eat insects,
finches eat nuts
© Project SOUND
http://nre509.wikidot.com/niche-and-resource-utilization
Pigeons & Doves: Order: Columbiformes;
Family: Columbidae
 ~ 310 species worldwide; most
species in SE Asia, Australia
 Stout bodies, short necks, and
short, slender bills
 Feed on seeds, fruits, and
plants
 Young are called ‘squabs’
 Both parents feed squabs with
‘crop milk’
© Project SOUND
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eurasian_collared_dove
Eurasian Collared Dove – non-native
species seen in S.California

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Mourning Dove - Zenaida macroura
© Project SOUND
 Size: medium (12 inches long)
 Plump-bodied and long-tailed, with
short, pink legs
 Small bill; dark eyes; head looks
small in comparison to the body
 Delicate brown to buffy-tan
overall, with black spots on the
wings and black-bordered white
tips to the tail feathers.
 Well-camouflaged
 Call: hoo-HOO-hoo-hoo
 Wings make sharp whistling
sound when stake off
© Project SOUND
 Range: central Canada through Central
America
 When in our area: year-round;
migratory in some parts of U.S.
 Habitat:
 Open fields
 Backyards with open places and taller
cover
 Conservation status:
 Common (the most common game
bird); numbers have declined slightly
since 1996 in the West.
 High mortality - to 58% a year for
adults and 69% for the young.[
© Project SOUND
http://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/mourning_dove/lifehistory
Mourning Dove: Mostly seed-eaters
 Seeds make up 99% of diet
 Eat roughly 12 to 20 percent of their
body weight per day
 Swallow grit (fine gravel or sand) to
assist with digestion
 Like bigger seeds: lupines, pine
nuts, sunflower seeds, cultivated
grains, buckwheat and even peanuts,
as well as wild grasses, weeds,
herbs, and occasionally berries. They
sometimes eat snails and insects.
 They may act as seed dispersers for
certain fruiting plants that they
feed upon.
© Project SOUND

3/7/2015
12
Observing doves in your yard
 Natural feeding/behavior:
 Forage seeds on the ground (peck
like a chicken) – fill their crop,
then fly to safe perch to digest
the meal
 Males have favorite cooing
perches
 Will water bathe and dust-bathe
 Also sun- or rain-bathe – stretch
out wing for minutes at time
 At feeders:
 Will feed at platform feeders
 Very cautious; easy to scare
 Strong fast flyer - capable of
speeds up to 55 mph.
© Project SOUND
Nesting in your yard
 Typically nests amid dense foliage
on the branch of an evergreen,
orchard tree, mesquite,
cottonwood, or mature vine.
 Also quite commonly nests on the
ground, particularly in the West.
 May even nest in gutters, eaves,
or abandoned equipment.
 Both parents incubate and care
for the young – up to 6 broods a
year (2 squabs per brood)
 Tips on building a nesting cone on
Cornell Ornithology Labs ‘All
About Birds’
© Project SOUND
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mourning_dove
Best bets for Doves
 Annual sunflowers, Encelias
 Lupines
 Buckwheats
 Crotons
 Euphorbs
 Ragweed
 Grasses & sedges
 Rhamnus
 Rhus trilobata
 Roosting/nesting cover: coniferous
and deciduous trees, brushy
thickets, dead snags. Hedgerows
and shelterbelts also provide
excellent roosting sites for
mourning doves.
 Fresh surface water in puddles,
ponds, or streams
© Project SOUND
Like open feeding areas – bare ground
How does the Dove niche differ from that
of the finches?
© Project SOUND

3/7/2015
13
Succulent Lupine - Lupinus succulentis
© Project SOUND
Truncated/Collared Annual Lupine –
Lupinus truncatus
© Project SOUND
Truncated Lupine is a small/mid-size lupine
 Size:
 1-2 ft tall & wide (usually ~ 1 ft)
 Growth form:
 Somewhat conical – kind of like a
pine tree
 Foliage:
 Typical lupine gray-green
 Typical lupine leaves – but with
trucated leaflets (hence its common
name)
 Roots:
 Tap-root; best if seeded in ground
 Like all lupines, have symbiotic
relationship with nitrogen-fixing
bacteria
© Project SOUND
Truncated Lupine –
lovely flowers
 Blooms: usually March-April in S. Bay
 Flowers:
 Sparsely distributed on spike
well-above foliage
 Color: violet-purple to magenta;
becomes darker after pollination
 Fragrant
 Pollinated usually be larger bees
 Seeds:
 Relatively large; mottled brown
 In hairy pods that break apart
explosively, flinging the seeds
 Eaten by doves, quail
http://www.researchlearningcenter.com/bloom/species/Lupinus_truncatus.htm

3/7/2015
14
© Project SOUND
Growing Lupines from seed: a few little
tricks
 Lupine seeds have a hard
seed coat; something
needs to breach it to
begin germination process
 In nature:
 Exposure to fire, acidic
soils/water
 The home grower:
 Hot water bath for 12 hours
 Plant out when a rain is
expected; rainwater
completes the ‘miracle’ of
initiating germination
http://www.hazmac.biz/040614/040614LupinusHirsutissimus.html
Once established, lupines will
reseed well in most gardens.
However they will only germinate
in ‘favorable’ years.
Reasons to include annual lupines in your
garden
 Quick-growing annuals; good fillers
 Showy flowers
 Fragrant
 Reliable – relatively easy to grow
 Require little care
 Drought tolerant after established
 Help improve soil nitrogen
 Self-seed
 Habitat value: pollinators &
seed-eaters
Theodore Payne Garden Tour
© Project SOUND
Sparrows, Towhees & Juncos: Family
Emberizidae
 Most forage & nest on the ground.
 Most are seed-eaters - have short,
thick bills adapted for this diet
 Also eat insects and other arthropods
at times, and feed them to their young.
 They are typically monogamous. Females
generally build the nests and incubate the
eggs and young, but both parents feed
the young.
 Many of these birds are small, brown,
and streaked, and stay close to cover,
making identification challenging.
© Project SOUND
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dark-eyed_junco
Slate-colored Junco –
sometimes seen in local
gardens

3/7/2015
15
© Project SOUND
Why eat seeds?
 Readily available – formerly in large
numbers (plants have to produce
many seeds to insure reproduction)
 Seeds are ‘super food’ – lots of
bang for the buck
 The bulk of most seeds consist of
stored food – needed by the
seedling
 That stored food is calorie-dense –
fats, oils, starches
 Both plants & animals can digest
that food – animals share lots of
basic enzymes with plants
 It’s not surprising that many
migratory birds eat seeds
http://asweknowit.net/images_edu/DWA%205%20plant%20seed.jpg
House sparrow – Passer domesticus
 Native to Europe – can compete
with native species
 Almost always found where people
are
 Food sources
 Bird feeders
 Scavenging for crumbs at fast
food joints & outdoor restaurants
 Seeds (grass & other)
 Insects
 Prefers to nest in manmade
structures
© Project SOUND
http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Passer_domesticus#mediav
iewer/File:Passer_domesticus_-California,_USA-8.jpg
White-crowned sparrow – Zonotrichia leucophrys
© Project SOUND
White-crowned sparrow – Zonotrichia leucophrys
 Size: large for sparrow - 18 cm (7 in)
long
 Small pale pink/yellow bill and a
long tail.
 Pinkish-orange legs, feet
 Head can look distinctly peaked
or smooth and flat
 Adult:
 Pale-gray and brown
 Very bold black-and-white stripes
on the head
 Juvenile:
 Head stripes brown rather than
black
© Project SOUND

3/7/2015
16
White-crowned Sparrow
 Range: N. America
 When in our area:
 Winter: Oct-March
 Alaskan White-crowned Sparrows migrate
about 2,600 miles to winter in S. California.
 Habitat: mix of brush with open or grassy
ground for foraging.
 Short grass or open areas adjacent to
woodlands, hedgerows, or brush piles.
 Hedgerows, desert scrub, brushy areas, wood
edges, and feeders
 Usually in small flocks
 Conservation status: common but numbers
declined by 1/3 from 1966 to 2010.
© Project SOUND
http://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/white-
crowned_sparrow/lifehistory
White-crowned sparrows eat a wide
variety of foods
 Eat mainly seeds of native plants,
weeds and grasses
 Also eat grains such as oats, wheat,
barley, and corn and smaller nuts
(pine nuts)
 Fruit including elderberries and
blackberries.
 Young ‘greens’ – annual wildflower
seedlings, fruit-tree flower buds,
young bulb leaves/stalks
 In summer (not here) eat
considerable numbers of caterpillars,
wasps, beetles, and other insects
© Project SOUND
Plenty of opportunity for observation
 At the edges of brushy habitat,
hopping on the ground or on branches
usually below waist level.
 Also on open ground but typically with
the safety of shrubs or trees nearby.
 Well-camouflaged
 Hop and ‘double scratch’ to feed
 At feeders:
 Need platform feeder
 Wait patiently at dawn for you to put
out food
 As likely to feed under the feeder as
on it
 Need nearby trees/shrubs for safety
© Project SOUND
Pretty song: dialect
learned early in life
Best bets for White-crowned Sparrows
 Blue elderberry
 Native wildflowers
 Tidy-tips
 Lasthenia
 Gilias
 Hooker’s
 Clarkias
 Miner’s lettuce
 Dotseed plantain
 Native grasses, sedges
 Need leaf litter or thin mulch
© Project SOUND

3/7/2015
17
© Project SOUND
Dotseed Plantain – Plantago erecta
©Gary A. Monroe. Catalina Island, Los Angeles Co., CA. May 2, 2003
© Project SOUND
Dot-seed Plantain is a sure thing…..with
winter water and summer drought
 Found throughout CA in vernal
pools and depressions in dunes,
grasslands, coastal prairies
 Not particular about soil texture,
pH
 Full sun-partial shade
 Does need good winter water – will
not germinate without it
 No summer water
 Like many annuals, does best in
slightly disturbed soils
 Doesn’t compete well with alien
annual grasses
Dot-seed plantain was a major
grain food for native Californians
© Project SOUND
Dot-seed Plantain is a great butterfly
habitat plant – larval food source
http://angelo.berkeley.edu/Photographs/Jessie/Checkerspot.jpg
Checkerspots
Common Buckeye
http://www.duhons.net/Common%20Buckeye%207%20CP.jpg
© Project SOUND
Dotseed plantain and other annuals are an
important source of seeds for ground-foraging birds

3/7/2015
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Giant Rye Grass - Leymus condensatus
http://www.timetotrack.com/jay/ryegw.htm
Giant Rye Grass - Leymus condensatus
http://ucjeps.berkeley.edu/cgi-bin/get_JM_treatment.pl?Leymus+condensatus
http://www.bfs.claremont.edu/biota/plants.html
 Distribution: western US;
coastal CA and Mojave
desert
 Habitat: dunes, dry plains
and slopes, grasslands,
creekbeds
 Large (3-8 ft tall),
densely-clumping perennial
grass with long, blue-green
leaves
 Flowers borne on plume-
like stems above leaves
Giant Rye Grass
 Animal uses:
 Good browse and graze
 Food for butterflies (larva)
and other insects
 Birds: nest site, cover and
lots of seed for food
 Human uses:
 Seeds
 Can be cooked or ground into
flour and eaten
 Leaves
 Medicinal – eye infections
 Mats, baskets, rope, paper,
roof thatches
 Stems
 Arrow shafts
http://www.elnativogrowers.com/Photographs_page/leco.htm
Giant Rye: drama in
the garden
 Background plant: nice contrast with
other natives
 Specimen - Pampas Grass substitute
 Windbreaks/ informal ‘hedges’
 Hillsides

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19
 Smaller, grayer variant of Giant Rye (from Prince’s Island)
 More adaptable to landscape – can be sheared
 Uses:
 Accent plant; container plant
 Hedging
 Border plant
 Natural gardens, meadows
“Canyon Prince” cultivar is a garden favorite Managing grasses for bird/animal habitat
 Leave seeding stems on plants
until seeds are ripe/have fallen
 If harvest before all seeds are
eaten, place seeds where birds
can eat them
 Use signage to explain your
pruning strategy (e.g. creating
bird habitat)
 Cut back plants (hard) when
they becoming un-productive
(usually every 3-4 years)
 Cool season grasses – fall
 Warm season grasses - spring
© Project SOUND
California Towhee – Melozone (Pipilo) crissalis
© Project SOUND
 Size: large for a sparrow - 20–25 cm
(7.9–9.8 in) in length [medium-sized
bird]
 Large sparrows, with a sparrow’s
short, rounded wings, long tail
 Thick, seed-cracking beak – but
towhees are larger and bulkier that
most sparrows.
 Brown-gray
 Throat & under-parts may have
some orange/buff
 Distinctive ‘necklace’ of brown
spots
© Project SOUND
Plain & secretive bird: most
likely you’ll hear it’s call – a
sharp, metallic ‘chink’ (‘peenk’;
"chink-chink-ink-ink-ink-ink-ink-
ink".) [bouncing ball call]
Duet to defend territory &
maintain contact

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20
 Range: Coastal N. America from OR to
Baja
 Habitat:
 Chaparral, Coastal Sage Scrub, Oak
Woodland, Desert riparian
 Live amid manzanita, buckthorn,
madrone, foothill pines, and a
variety of oaks
 Backyards and neighborhood parks
of lowland California
 Conservation status: common & stable
in most of range
© Project SOUND
http://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/california_towhee/id
Towhee diet:
seeds +
 Mostly seeds from many kinds of
grasses and forbs
 Also berries: elderberry,
coffeeberry, poison oak, acorns
 ‘Steal’ tender peas and lettuce, as
well as fruit from orchards (plums,
apricots are favorites).
 Supplement diet with insects
(mostly beetles, grasshoppers;
also spiders, millipedes, and snails)
during the breeding season.
 At feeders : eats millet, cracked
corn, peanuts, nuts, other seeds.
© Project SOUND
http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Pipilo_crissalis_(1).jpg
Note how many native birds have
adapted to new food sources
© Project SOUND
 Towhees feed on seeds and insects
within the leaf litter or occasionally
on berries or seeds on bushes (strip
the seeds off a grass stalk).
 Forages in the leaf litter using the
classic towhee foraging maneuver, the
double-scratch.
 They lunging forward and then quickly
hopping backward, scratching at the
ground with both feet.
 If an insect moves, the bird is poised
to pounce on it (or uncovered seeds).
 The California Towhee likes dense
cover and leaf litter. Leaf litter is
good for many birds as well as most
California native plants.
Attracting CA Towhees to your yard
 The California Towhee likes dense
cover and leaf litter.
 Consider planting a large shrub or
hedge/hedgerow for cover, nest
sites
 Some food plants to consider:
 Rhamnus/Frangula or other fruiting
shrubs/trees
 Fragaria spp (strawberries)
 Ribes spp (currants & gooseberries)
 Seeds
 Native grasses
 Asteraceae (Sunflower family)
 Other wildflowers
© Project SOUND

3/7/2015
21
Nature can be messy & complex
© Project SOUND
Habitat gardens need to balance the needs for
complexity and neatness
CA towhees more likely to nest in the wild
 California Towhees typically build
their nests in a low fork (3-12
feet high) in a shrub/small tree.
 Ceanothus,
 Coffeeberry, and other shrubs of
the chaparral;
 Willow
 Eucalyptus and many other
ornamental shrubs and trees.
 March through September
 A bulky cup made of twigs, stems,
grasses, and hair
© Project SOUND
Photo by Harold Greeney
Young leave the nest after
just 8 days
© Project SOUND
CA Coffeeberry – Frangula (Rhamnus) californica
USDA-NRCS PLANTS Database
© Project SOUND
Plenty of cultivars: most of them low-
growing compared to the species
‘Eve Case’
http://www.laspilitas.com/nature-of-california/plants/rhamnus-californica-eve-case
‘Mound San Bruno’
http://www.smgrowers.com/products/pla
nts/plantdisplay.asp?plant_id=1850
‘Leatherleaf’
http://www.yerbabuenanursery.com/viewplant.php?pid=0521
‘Salt Point’
http://www.calfloranursery.com/pages_plants/pages_r/rhacalsalpoi.html
http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3040/2330631124_56f79b4717.j
pg?v=0

3/7/2015
22
© Project SOUND
Coffeeberry can be used in so many ways…
 For erosion control on slopes;
great combined with other
CSS or chaparral plants
 As an accent plant; beauty
and habitat in one plant
 For backs of mixed beds
 Under oaks; great for
sun/shade transition zones
 Particularly suited for
hedging:
 Formal or informal hedges,
screens
 As a partner in hedgerows
http://www.laspilitas.com/nature-of-california/plants/rhamnus-californica
The Songbirds: sub-order Passeri
 Sub-order (clade) of the Perching
birds (Passeriformes)
 Over 4000 species world-wide
 Evolved 50 million years ago in the
part of Gondwana (broke up to form
Australia, New Zealand, Antactica &
other islands)
 Key feature: they sing with
sometimes elaborate songs
 Territorial: use song to
 Indicate location
 During courtship - attract females
 Signal territory
© Project SOUND
Yellow-rumped warbler - Setophaga coronata
© Project SOUND
Yellow-rumped warbler - Setophaga coronata
(audubonii)  Size: 12 to 15 cm (4.5 to 6 in.) long
 Full-bodied warbler with large head,
sturdy bill, and long, narrow tail
 Summer male : slate blue back, yellow
throat, and yellow crown, rump and flank
patch. It has white tail patches, and the
breast is streaked black.
 Summer female: similar pattern, but the
back and breast streaks are brown.
 Winter birds are paler brown, with
bright yellow rump and throat; usually
some yellow on the sides.
 Song: trill-like song of 4–7 syllables (tyew-
tyew-tyew-tyew,tew-tew-tew)
© Project SOUND

3/7/2015
23
Male in breeding plumage
© Project SOUND
Yellow-rumped (Audubon’s) warbler -
Setophaga coronata (audubonii)
 Range: North America; Audubon’s form in
West
 When in our area: mostly fall/winter, but
may be year-round; southern individuals less
likely to migrate than northern ones.
 Habitat:
 In summer: open coniferous forests and
edges, and to a lesser extent deciduous
forests.
 In fall and winter : open woods and
shrubby habitats, including coastal
vegetation, parks, home gardens.
 Conservation status: common and
widespread
© Project SOUND
http://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/yellow-rumped_warbler/id
http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Setophaga_auduboni#me
diaviewer/File:Dendroica_coronata_auduboni_map.svg
Audubon’s Warbler: varied diet
 Insects: caterpillars/other larvae, leaf beetles,
bark beetles, weevils, ants, scale insects, aphids,
grasshoppers, caddisflies, craneflies, and gnats, as
well as spiders.
 Plant foods:
 On migration/winter: eat great numbers of
fruits, particularly wax myrtle, which their
digestive systems are uniquely suited among
warblers to digest.
 Other commonly eaten fruits include juniper
berries, poison oak, grapes, elderberries and
dogwood.
 Also eat wild seeds such as from native grasses
and goldenrod.
 May come to hanging feeders, where they'll
take sunflower seeds, raisins, peanut butter,
and suet.
© Project SOUND
Charming to watch
 Glean insects from
leaves/branches
 Dart out to catch insects on
the wing
 Eat dried berries on tree
 Will drink/take a bath in a
birdbath or shallow pond
 At feeders:
 Like hanging feeders best
 Very cautious; more
aggressive birds may scare
them off, but they return
© Project SOUND

3/7/2015
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Good bets for attracting ‘butter butts’
 CA Wax myrtle – Morella (Myrica)
californica
 Fruiting trees & shrubs
 Sambucus nigra cerulea - Blue
elderberry
 Fruit trees (especially like the
winter-deciduous)
 Large native shrubs that retain
fruits: Toyon; Manzanitas
 Other large shrubs
 Fruiting vines
 Grapes
 Honeysuckles
* Pacific (CA) Wax Myrtle – Morella (Myrica) californica
© Project SOUND
Wax Myrtles can be
used in many ways
 As a specimen plant, accenting
colors, fruits, aroma
 Trained into a small shade
tree; woodsy feel
 As a foundation plant
 Mixed with other coastal
shrubs in coastal gardens;
tolerates salt-spray, winds
 In medicinal garden: tea from
ground bark used for colds,
skin infectionshttp://gardenoflamancha.blogspot.com/2008/01/myrica-californica.html
Wash off the dust every week or so to
keep it happy in summer
© Project SOUND
But Wax Myrtle really
shines as a hedge plant
 Large informal hedges,
windbreaks
 Clipped formal hedges,
screens
 As a foundation plant for a
hedgerow
http://gardenoflamancha.blogspot.com/2008/01/myrica-californica.html

3/7/2015
25
Pink Honeysuckle – Lonicera hispidula var. vacillans
Our local honeysuckles are vine-like
shrubs (or woody vines)
 Size: vines 5-18 ft. long
 Fast growing
 Relatively long-lived:
15-20 years
 Deciduous with paired,
rounded fuzzy leaves –
autumn foliage color
 Cannot climb without
support – rather creeps
or sprawls over other
plants
http://www.santabarbarahikes.com/flowers/index.php?action=show_item&id=213&search=
© Project SOUND
A honeysuckle with
pink flowers…
 Blooms Apr-July
 Pink-lavender and white flowers –
typical Honeysuckle
 Flowers in showy clusters at ends
of flowering stalks
 Flowers are scented
 Provide a good nectar source for
hummingbirds, bees & butterflies
© Project SOUND
Berries are edible – enjoyed by birds
 Berries in summer/fall
 Bright red – in showy clusters –
can be dramatic
 Fruits edible – with a little
sweetner
 Fruit-eating birds will take care
of them for you
http://www.backyardnature.net/n/09/091004.htm
http://blog.duncraft.com/2010/08/10/feed-fruit-and-
berries-to-your-birds/
Cedar waxwing

3/7/2015
26
© Project SOUND
Native honeysuckles: perfect for shade, clay
 Light: probably best in part-
shade – but can take full sun
to shade
 Soils: any well-drained,
including clays
 Water:
 drought tolerant but can
tolerate seasonal flooding
 Moderate to none in summer
once established
 Nutrients: low requirements,
but may benefit from
organic mulch
http://www.baynatives.com/plants/Lonicera-hispidula/
Versatile native honeysuckles
 On fences or trellises – they need
something to grow on
 Over an arbor or pergola; great
addition to scented garden &
excellent habitat plants
 As a groundcover; in hedgerows
© Project SOUND
http://www.thegardenhelper.com/psd/lonicera_hh.jpg
Bushtit - Psaltriparus minimus
© Project SOUND
http://nathistoc.bio.uci.edu/birds/passeriformes/Psaltriparus%20minimus/
 Size: tiny – about 4.3 inches
 gray-brown to greenish-gray
overall – lighter beneath
 large head, a short neck, a long
tail, and a short stubby bill.
 male has dark eyes and the
adult female, yellow.
 Coastal forms have a brown
"cap"
 The only species of long-tailed
tit in North America.
© Project SOUND
http://www.birdforum.net/opus/Bushtit
http://indianapublicmedia.org/amomentofscience/files/2011/
01/011_bushtit1-940x626.jpg

3/7/2015
27
 Range: western N. America from British
Columbia to Central America
 When in our area: year-round; more
noticeable in fall/winter when travel in
flocks of 20-30+
 Habitat:
 chaparral, oak forest, pinyon-juniper
and pine-oak woods
 streamside groves in dry areas
 parks and gardens with large trees
 elevations from sea level to over
11,000 feet
 Conservation status: common; stable
numbers
© Project SOUND
http://www.audubon.org/field-guide/bird/bushtit
Bushtits are a gardener’s best friend
 Insects : mostly small insects and
spiders
 Feeds on a wide variety of tiny
insects, especially leafhoppers,
treehoppers, aphids, scale insects,
caterpillars, and beetles; also wasps,
ants, and many others, including
eggs and pupae of many insects.
 They less frequently eat plant
material, but have been seen eating
olives, small berries and willow
seeds.
© Project SOUND
http://ibc.lynxeds.com/photo/bushtit-psaltriparus-
minimus/part-large-flock-was-very-actively-foraging-bush-
bush
Bushtits are wonderful to watch
 Very tame and fearless of humans
 Very active and gregarious, foraging in
single or mixed-species feeding flocks
 Constant communication – call sounds
like little ringing bells
 Move constantly, often hanging upside
down to pick at insects or spiders on the
undersides of leaves.
 Sip water from drops on leaves
 Generally don’t feed at feeders; may
visit hanging suet block to glean
insects, spiders
© Project SOUND
http://sutroforest.com/2010/03/29/sutro-forest-birds/
May move to higher
elevations after breeding
Nesting in your yard? Yes if you have trees
 Nest sites on branches or trunks
of trees from 8 to 100 feet up
 Very unusual hanging nest, shaped
like a soft pouch or sock, from
moss, spider webs, and grasses.
 Adult male ‘helpers’ help raise the
young (very unusual among birds)
 All Bushtit family members sleep
together in the hanging nest
during the breeding season. Once
the young fledge, they all leave
the nest and thereafter sleep on
branches
© Project SOUND
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/American_bushtit#mediaviewe
r/File:Bushtit_Nest.JPG
Not strongly territorial; tolerate other Bushtits even near nest.

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Bushtits like any plants with small insects
 Any tree or large shrub,
including fruit trees [citrus]
 Fruiting vines
 Especially like:
 Mulefat
 Ceanothus
 Coyote bush
 Mountain mahogany
 Native Junipers
 Native pines
 Native oaks
© Project SOUND
http://nathistoc.bio.uci.edu/birds/passeriformes/Psaltriparus%20minimus/
© Project SOUND
Mulefat – Baccharis salicifolia
© Project SOUND
Mulefat: interesting bush Sunflower
 Size:
 6-10 ft tall
 6-8 ft wide
 Growth form:
 Large, woody shrub
 Many long stems
 Vase-shaped or rounded
 Foliage:
 Drought deciduous
 Bright/medium green, sticky,
aromatic
 Leaves shaped like willow leaves
 Roots: mostly fibrous – some may be
deeper
© Project SOUND
Separate male, female plants
 Blooms:
 Off & on depending on water
from Feb-Oct.
 May be a good spring bloom
 Flowers: dioecious; insect
pollinated
 Male flower heads:
 May be pink or cream
 Look like ‘fireworks’
 Female flower heads:
 Also pinkish or white
 Looks like a soft little
brush
 Seeds (female plants) : small with
fluffy ‘sail’ – wind distributed
female
male

3/7/2015
29
Mule Fat provides many important
resources to the local ecosystem
 Habitat considerations
 Butterfly and bee nectar plant;
other insects eat leaves
 Good perches for birds
 Shelter/nest site for birds,
small mammals and reptiles
 Attracts seed-eating birds
(especially finches)
 Attracts insect-eating birds
http://www.fireflyforest.com/flowers/whites/white21.html
© Project SOUND
Mulefat makes a fine large shrub
 As a background shrub – even in
narrow places
 As a shade ‘tree’
 In a habitat hedgerow; one of the
best all-round habitat plants
 In a locally-native garden
Tyrant Flycatchers – family Tyrannidae
 Largest family of birds on earth, with
over 400 known species
 Live in the Americas
 Most, but not all, species are rather
plain (various hues of brown, gray and
white commonplace)
 Some species have erectile crests on
their heads.
 Mostly insectivores – sally forth to
catch flying insects
 Extremely variable habitats
© Project SOUND
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Say%27s_phoebe#mediaviewer/File:Sayornis_saya_6.jpg -Linda Tanner
Say’s Phoebe
Black Phoebe - Sayornis nigricans
© Project SOUND

3/7/2015
30
 Size: small 16 cm (6-7 inches); medium
size for flycatcher
 Small, plump songbirds with large
heads and medium-long, squared tails.
 They often show a slight peak at the
rear of the crown. The bill is straight
and thin
 Mostly sooty gray on the upperparts
and chest, with a slightly darker
black head.
 The belly is clean white, and the wing
feathers are edged with pale gray.
© Project SOUND
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Black_phoebe#mediaviewer/Fi
le:Sayornis_nigricans_NBII.jpg
 Range: S. OR, coastal CA, AZ, NM to S.
America (mostly western coast)
 When in our area: year-round; may
migrate slightly North or to higher
elevations in summer.
 Habitat:
 Closely associated with water sources:
cliffs/beaches, riverbanks, lake
shorelines, ephemeral ponds, parks,
backyards, even cattle tanks.
 Require a source of mud for nest
building.
 Conservation status: numerous &
increasing; adapt well to urban/suburban
environments. Need wetland Preserves.
© Project SOUND
Black Phoebes are insectivores
 Eat arthropods almost exclusively:
 bees, wasps, flies, beetles, bugs,
grasshoppers, damselflies,
dragonflies, termites, and spiders.
 Perch less than 7 feet off the
ground or the water; keep a sharp
eye out for prey. Once they spot
something, they sally from perches
to either take prey from the air,
glean it as it crawls, or snatch it
from the surface of a pond.
 Sometimes snatch minnows from the
surface of ponds.
 Occasionally eat small berries
© Project SOUND
http://www.edhat.com/site/tidbit.cfm?nid=55823
Help keep those pesky
flying insects at bay!
Black Phoebes: fun to watch
 Not really afraid of humans – like
to be near human structures
 Poop on perches (chairs; etc.)
 Will try to nest in human
structures
 They sit upright, in the open on low
perches, to scan for insects, often
keeping up a running series of shrill
chirps.
 Make short, quick flights to catch
insects.
 They pump their tails up and down
incessantly when perched.
© Project SOUND
http://www.birdinginformation.com/birds/tyrant-
flycatchers/black-phoebe/
Song: repeated tee-hee, tee ho.

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Attracting Phoebes to your yard
 Need a source of water/mud
 Like low perches
 Plant native plants that attract
plenty of flying insects:
 Native trees – Blue elderberry
 Mulefat
 Goldenbushes
 Buckwheats
© Project SOUND
Make a nesting platform
http://www.50birds.com/birdhouse-plans/phoebe-nesting-platform.htm
http://www.50birds.com/birdhouse-plans/phoebe-nesting-
platform.htm
Insecticides & birds: there’s a connection
 Insecticides kill food
sources for insect-
eating birds
 Insect-eating birds
concentrate
pesticides from the
many insects they eat
– effects can be bad
© Project SOUND
Native ‘pest controllers’ control many insects on native plants
Nesting in your yard: entirely possible
 Pairs monogamous; very
territorial
 The male Black Phoebe gives the
female a tour of potential nest
sites, hovering in front of each
likely spot for 5 to 10 seconds.
 Female makes the final decision
and does all the nest
construction.
 Nest is a mud shell lined with
plant fibers, plastered to a
vertical wall within an inch or two
of a protective ceiling
 May re-use nest for several
years
© Project SOUND
The chicks fledge in 14-21
days. The female may have
2-3 broods a year.
© Project SOUND
The Corvids - Family
Corvidae
 > 120 species
 Contains the crows, ravens,
rooks, jackdaws, jays, magpies
and nutcrackers
 Large to medium-sized birds;
smart and social
 Omnivores – including human
food
 Most people can recognize at
least a few members
http://pomofo.tumblr.com/post/82163220945/ofpaperandponies-crow-vs-
raven-by-paso-ravens

3/7/2015
32
© Project SOUND
Some birds have unique relationships
with specific plants…
http://www.laspilitas.com/California_birds/Jays_and_magpies/scrub_jay/scrub_jay_in_your_garden.htm
Their favorite foods are acorns
and they also enjoy eating the
insects attracted by an oak
tree.
Western Scrub Jay - Aphelocoma californica
© Project SOUND
‘I have no room for a Oak Tree’
http://farm1.static.flickr.com/121/277961690_153fe58532_o.jpg
© Project SOUND
S. California’s Scrub Oaks
 Scrub Oak is a general name for
several species of small, shrubby,
evergreen oaks, including the
following species:
 California Scrub Oak (Quercus
berberidifolia)
 Leather Oak (Quercus durata)
 Coastal Scrub Oak (Quercus dumosa)
 Tucker Oak (Quercus john-tuckeri)
 Channel Island Scrub Oak (Quercus
pacifica)
 Santa Cruz Island Oak (Quercus
parvula)
 Sonoran Scrub Oak (Quercus
turbinella)
© Project SOUND
Coastal Sage Scrub Oak – Quercus berberidifolia
http://www.yerbabuenanursery.com/images/new_botimages/large/0620_2_a.jpg

3/7/2015
33
© Project SOUND
Channel Island Scrub Oak – Quercus pacifica
© 2001 Tony Morosco
© Project SOUND
Channel Island Scrub Oak – Quercus pacifica
 Endemic on three of the California
Channel Islands: Santa Cruz, Santa
Catalina, and Santa Rosa.
 Island Chaparral, woodlands,
margins of grasslands
 Is a species of concern
http://www.efloras.org/florataxon.aspx?flora_id=1&taxon_id=233501070
http://www.channelislandsrestoration.com/sci/endemics.htm http://www.channelislandsrestoration.com/sci/Quercus-pacifica1.htm
© Project SOUND
Channel Isl Scrub Oak: in many ways a typical scrub oak
 Size:
 6-15 ft tall
 10-15 ft wide
 Growth form:
 Large shrub or small tree
 Gray, furrowed bark at maturity
 Rather dense – heavily branched
 Foliage:
 Medium-sized leathery leaves
 Surfaces glandular & waxy
 Have star-shaped hairs
(trichomes)
 larval food for Hairstreaks,
Duskywings, CA Sister butterflies
 Roots: Both shallow & deep roots
http://128.253.177.182/taxpage/0/0/79/binomial/Quercus%20pacifica.html
© Project SOUND
Scrub Oaks – so
versatile
 Excellent on dry slopes,
for erosion control
 Appropriate for parking
strips
 Can bonsai – or trim as a
hedge/screen
 Superb habitat plant
 Butterflies
 Other insects
 Wide range of birds
 Provides food, perches,
nesting sites (CA Towhee)
http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3572/3642572283_1852921712.jpg?v=
0

3/7/2015
34
© Project SOUND
Western Scrub Jay - Aphelocoma californica
 Scrub Jays are generalists -
eat acorns, seeds, fruits and
nuts – also insects & eggs.
 Store acorns in the soil for
short-term storage; an
important dispersal agent of
oaks – think of them as the
‘Johnny Appleseeds’ of oaks
 Nest in the dense foliage of a
large bush or small tree,
usually situated near water
http://www.avesphoto.com/WEBSITE/NA/species/JAYWSC-1.htm
 The more generalist an organism is, the better chances it
has to co-exist with others of its own species as well as
other species with similar niches
© Project SOUND
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Western_scrub_jay
Competition can occur in wild and garden
ecosystems
 Definition: a biological
interaction among organisms of
the same or different species
associated with the need for a
common resource that occurs in a
limited supply relative to demand.
 Often involves a scarcity of
some factor necessary for life
 Food
 Water
 ‘territory’ (nesting sites)
 Etc.
 Inter-specific competition
© Project SOUND
Northern Mockingbird - Mimus polyglottos
© Project SOUND
http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Northern_Mocking_bird_-_Mimus_polyglottos.JPG

3/7/2015
35
 Size: medium - 20.5 to 28 cm (8.1 to
11.0 in) including tail
 Slender body; long tail
 Long, thin bill & long, dark legs
 Overall gray-brown, paler on the
breast and belly, with two white
wingbars on each dark gray wing.
 White patch in each wing is often
visible on perched birds, and in
flight these become large white
flashes.
 The white outer tail feathers are
also flashy in flight.
© Project SOUND
http://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Northern_Mockingbird/id
Mockingbirds are real singers…
 Song: complex mix of many
bird’s songs.
 Continue to add new sounds to
their repertoires throughout
their lives. A male may learn
around 200 songs throughout
its life
 Typically sing from February
through August, and again from
September to early November
 Sing day & night in breeding
season
© Project SOUND
http://www.birdwatchersgeneralstore.com/MockingbirdsNight.htm
Popular as a caged bird in
1800’s
 Range: S. Canada to Central America
 Habitat:
 Areas with open ground and with
shrubby vegetation (hedges,
fruiting bushes, and thickets).
 When foraging on the ground, it
prefers grassy areas, rather than
bare spots.
 Towns, suburbs, backyards, parks,
forest edges, and open land at low
elevations.
 Conservation status: common, but
populations declined by about 20
percent from 1966 to 2010
© Project SOUND
Northern Mockingbird is an omnivore
 Eat mainly insects in summer:
beetles, earthworms, moths,
butterflies, ants, bees, wasps,
grasshoppers
 Switch to eating mostly fruit in
fall and winter: many types including
mulberries, hawthorns, apples,
rosehips, Toyon fruits and native
berries.
 Opportunists: sometimes eat small
lizards; been seen drinking sap from
the cuts on recently pruned trees.
 Mockingbirds can drink from
puddles, river and lake edges, or
dew and rain droplets on plants
© Project SOUND

3/7/2015
36
Observing Mockingbirds
 Highly territorial:
 Males sing from high perch
 Will ‘scold’ & chase intruders
from vicinity of nest, young
 Usually perches high off
ground
 May run or hop along ground
 ‘Broken wing’ display
 At feeders: not often
© Project SOUND
May nest in your yard – though they’d
probably prefer a park
 Nest in shrubs and trees,
typically 3-10 feet off the
ground or more.
 The male probably chooses the
nest site and begins building
several nests before the
female chooses one to finish
 ‘Rustic’ looking nest: dead twigs
shaped into an open cup, lined
with grasses, rootlets, leaves,
and trash, sometimes including
bits of plastic, aluminum foil,
and shredded cigarette filters.
© Project SOUND
http://askville.amazon.com/long-baby-mocking-birds-stay-nest-
flying/AnswerViewer.do?requestId=11297133
Best bets for Mockingbirds
 Provide trees or large bushes
for perching and nesting
 Provide ‘insect plants’ for
summer food
 Mulefat
 Fruit trees
 Choose fruiting trees, bushes
or vines for winter food
 Blue elderberry
 Native berry bushes
 Apple trees
 Toyon
 Native roses
© Project SOUND
Blue/Mexican Elderberry –
Sambucus nigra spp. cerulea (S. cerulea)
http://www.timetotrack.com/jay/elderb3.htm

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37
Blue/Mexican Elderberry
 Southwestern Canada
 Western U.S. –
particularly coastal and
higher elevations
 In CA, primarily coastal
 Northwestern Mexico
http://www.cnr.vt.edu/dendro/dendrology/syllabus/maps/sambucus_cerulea.jpg
Elderberry is great
habitat
 Insects – use leaves & flowers
 Endangered Valley Longhorn
Beetle CA Central Valley)
 Bees & other pollinators
 Birds – berries, insects, cover,
nesting sites
 Animals – foliage, berries,
cover
http://www.backfromthebrink.org/
pop_up_slideshow.cfm?animalid=
15
http://www.freespiritart.com/indigo-bunting.php
Elderberry – extremely versatile in the
home garden
 Can be grown as a tree – little
pruning required
 Can be trained as a “large bush” –
yearly pruning
 Good for retaining soil on slopes
and banks
 As a specimen – light and lacy
 In naturalized areas
 Scent garden – flowers smell like
honey on hot days
 Xeriscaping – particularly good
for rain gardens, vernal swales
http://museum.utep.edu/archive/plants/DDelder.htm
Hooded Oriole - Icterus cucullatus
© Project SOUND
http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Icterus_cucullatus_Male_2.jpg

3/7/2015
38
 Size: medium (~7 inches)
 Slender body; long tail
 Male:
 Entirely orange or orange-yellow head,
nape, rump, and underparts.
 Black bib, narrow mask and back.
 Wings black with two white wingbars,
the upper one wide and bold, the lower
one narrow. Tail black
 Female:
 Olive yellow on head, rump, and tail.
Underparts dull, but brighter yellow.
 Back dull grayish olive.
 Two white wingbars, top one broader
than lower. Wings dusky.
© Project SOUND
http://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Hooded_Oriole/id
 Range: CA to Central America
 When in our area: spring/summer
breeding season (late March-Aug.) ;
migrate south to Mexico in flocks in fall
 Habitat:
 Breeds in areas with scattered trees,
such as desert oases and along
streams. Also in mesquite brush.
 Common in urban and suburban areas.
Fond of palm trees.
 Conservation status: least concern –
range expanding into more suburban
areas
© Project SOUND
Hooded Oriole is an insect- and fruit-eater
 Searches for insects among leaves; may hang
upside down.
 Spiders, caterpillars and beetles
 Nectar: orange & red flowers
 A nectar robber because it pierces the base of
the flower, and does not assist in pollination
 Prefer nectar from the blossoms of agaves,
aloes, hibiscus and tree tobacco and lilies, also
fruit trees, eucalyptus
 Fruits:
 Many wild fruits and berries.
 Cultivated fruits, particularly when the fruits
are sweet and juicy ripe. [oranges, tangerines.
ripe peaches, pears, plums, apricots,
nectarines, large grapes, melons (especially
watermelon)]
© Project SOUND
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hooded_oriole#me
diaviewer/File:HoodedOriole.jpg
Bright, lively birds are fun to watch
 Most likely to see gathering
food for nestlings
 Social: interactions, calling
 Most likely to see in shrubs
that have lots of insects
 Very active birds
 At feeders:
 Will take fruit from feeders
 will visit hummingbird feeders
© Project SOUND
http://fireflyforest.net/firefly/2005/06/03/hooded-oriole/

3/7/2015
39
Oriole feeders tempt these pretty birds
 Orioles also enjoy jelly;
 Grape or Bird Berry Jelly is
commonly used
 Orioles may also eat mealworms
(particularly attractive when feeding
young birds) or fruit (grapes and
citrus commonly used)
 Sugar water (like hummingbirds)
 1:6 sugar:water mix best
 Specialty oriole feeders have wider
ports to accommodate their beaks,
larger size perches, and sometimes)
jelly-holding cups in the lid in
addition to the main sugar water
basin.
© Project SOUND
Oriole feeder
http://wildbirdsonline.com/articles_orioles.html
Wild Birds Unlimited, Torrance
 Expert advice
 Good bird/habitat events
calendar
 Shop has all sorts of bird-
associated products:
 Garden
 Bird food & feeders
 Binoculars
 Books & other resources
© Project SOUND
Nesting in your yard: possible
 Favorite trees: palms, Eucalyptus;
will nest in other garden & native
trees like Cottonwoods,
Sycamores, Willows
 Nest is a tightly woven pouch of
plant fibers attached to the
underside of a leaf or tree
branch.
 May be hanging freely or
attached by sides of nest as well
as rim.
© Project SOUND
http://goldengateaudubon.org/wp-
content/uploads/Hooded-oriole-fleglings-in-nest.-
Cycad-and-Palm-Gaden-Paul-Licht.jpg
Summer tree trimming – not a good idea
 Stressful for trees
 Destructive of nests, nest
sites
 Breeding bird season: March
through August
 Does this tree really need to
be pruned?
 Many properly located and
selected trees need very little
pruning
 Be sure that you use a
reputable arborist service
© Project SOUND

3/7/2015
40
Best plant choices for attracting orioles
 Large trees for nesting:
 Native: Cottonwoods,
sycamores, California fan palm
(Washingtonia filifera)
 Non-native: palms; eucalyptus,
Bottlebrush tree (Callistemon)
 Any of the good trees/shrubs
for insects
 Fruiting/berry trees & shrubs
 Blue elderberry
 Ribes species
 Wild grape – Vitis girdiana
White-flowered Currant - Ribes indecorum
Pink Currant - Ribes sanguineum var. glutinosum
© Project SOUND
 Coastal areas and
mountain ranges
 R. indecorum : South Coast,
Western Transverse
Ranges, Peninsular Ranges
to N. Baja
 R. sanguineun : Central & N.
Coast
 interior canyons and
washes
 Chaparral and coastal
sage scrub below 6000'
White-flowered Currant - Ribes indecorum
Pink Currant - Ribes sanguineum var. glutinosum
White
Pink
http://ucjeps.berkeley.edu/cgi-bin/get_JM_treatment.pl?4450,4451,4489,4490
© Project SOUND
White & Pink Currants in the wild
 Commonly grow in
the shade of large
oaks, along seasonal
creeks and on north
and east slopes
 Part- to full
shade
 Seasonal water

3/7/2015
41
© Project SOUND
White & Pink Currants
 Showy flowers
 Early: winter to spring
 Cluster of bell-shaped flowers on
drooping stalks
 Fragrant!!
 Provide early nectar source for:
 Hummingbirds
 Butterflies
 Bees & other pollinators
 Sticky Purple berries
 Edible – raw or cooked
 Food for many birds (Dark-eyed
Junco, Quail, Thrushes, Robins,
Finches, Towhees and Jays)
© Project SOUND
Many possibilities
in the garden
 As a berry bush in the edible
garden; great for jellies
 As a shrub in backs of summer-dry
beds
 In hedgerows & hedges
 In a fragrance garden
 For wildlife habitat in a natural or
formal garden – some of the best
because they provide food &
shelter
 As an accent plant – showy flowers
& attractive foliage
 In large pots, planters
Last month we talked
about below-ground
food webs
 There are terrestrial food
webs in your garden ecosystem
as well – you might even want
to draw a simple one
© Project SOUND
http://greatneck.k12.ny.us/GNPS/SHS/dept/science/krauz/bio_h/images/53_12FoodChains_L.jp
g
Blue elderberry
insect Mockingbird
Bushtit
Sometimes high
level consumers
visit the garden
© Project SOUND
If you attract birds to your
yard, their predators may
also visit

3/7/2015
42
Cooper’s Hawk - Accipiter cooperii
 Most likely raptor in most gardens
 Size: 14.5-15.5 inches (medium hawk)
 A bird of forests & woodlands; fairly
common in urban/suburban S. CA
 Behavior:
 Swooping through trees to catch
medium-sized birds (Jays;
Mockingbirds)
 Swooping down to capture ground-
feeding Doves
 Perched (usually pretty well hidden);
always watchful – may hear it cry
(harsh cak-cak-cak-cak-cak etc.)
 Nest in tall trees (parks; preserves)
Things you can do to attract more birds
 Plant a greater variety of
plants to attract a greater
diversity of birds: taller and
shorter trees, shrubs, native
flowers, and grasses.
 Diversify the height, leaf
type, and food (fruits, berries,
and nuts) provided by the plants
in your garden.
 Plant shrubs and trees that
provide berries well into the
winter to attract fruit-eating
birds – including migrants like
Cedar Waxwings.
© Project SOUND
 Plant in groupings: more
food & edge effects.
 Include native wildflowers
and shrubs that attract
insects: the insects will feed
insect-eating birds and the
young of many seed eaters.
 Allow flowers/grasses to go
to seed to attract finches,
juncos, sparrows, and other
seed-eating birds.
© Project SOUND
 Provide clean, safe water
 Provide a spot of bare soil
about 20 inches across in a
sunny corner of your yard.
This will allow birds to take
dust baths to clean their
feathers and get rid of
parasites.
 You can supplement your
natural food sources by
adding some feeders, but
only if you choose to.

3/7/2015
43
If I had to choose just a few plants…
 Fruiting/nut tree (elderberry;
oak; other) that provides fruits,
insects, perches & nesting sites
 A mixed hedgerow of large
evergreen fruiting shrubs: Toyon;
Rhus; Ribes; scrub oak; wild rose
 Several large ‘bush sunflower’
(Mulefat; Goldenbushes)
 Anything else in the Sunflower
family: annual, perennial or shrub
 Annual/perennial wildflowers
 Native grasses
© Project SOUND
Native hedgerow : Heritage Creek
Preserve – CSU Dominguez Hills
Some books you might enjoy
 D. Tallamy – Bringing Nature Home
 R. Darke & D. Tallamy - The Living Landscape: Designing for
Beauty and Biodiversity in the Home Garden. Timber Press.
ISBN-10: 1604694084; ISBN-13: 9781604694086
 C.E. Sawyers – The Authentic Garden: Five Principles for
Cultivating a Sense of Place. Timber Press. ISBN-13: 978-0-
88192-831-0
 S. Stein – Noah’s Garden: Restoring the Ecology of Our Own
Backyards. Houghton Mifflen Press. ISBN-10:0-395-70940-7;
ISBN-13: 978-0-395-70949-5
© Project SOUND
Get involved with the PV/South Bay
chapter of the Audubon Society
© Project SOUND
Humans: top carnivores
and incredible
competitors
 The front lines of the battle
for nature are not the
Amazon rain forest or the
Alaskan wilderness but in our
backyards, medians, parking
lots, and elementary schools.
 A garden, by its very
definition, is an act against
nature.
© Project SOUND
http://www.ghoofie.com/ideas/16-gorgeous-summer-garden-
ideas/attachment/colorful-garden-design-ideas/

3/7/2015
44
A garden is a reflection of our beliefs
A garden of native plants is at least an attempt to understand
what we've altered and to heal the rift between our culture
and the natural ecosystems that once existed where we live.
© Project SOUND
Our gardens are our site of protest; our expression
of what we believe is morally right
© Project SOUND

Bird gardens 2015-notes

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