healthykids
Photography, outside Ithaca, New York, builds birdhouses and nesting boxes with his kids. They also participate in the annual Christmas bird count for the Audubon Society (
Birds.Audubon. org/Christmas-bird-count). The Great Backyard Bird Count, a joint project between nonprofits Audubon and the Cornell Lab of Ornithology, follows in February (
gbbc.BirdCount.org). “In our yard, we have five nesting boxes made from reused wood. Once or twice a week, we check to see who lives there and how many eggs there are,” says Hoebbel. “So far, we’ve seen bluebirds, chickadees and house wrens.”
Backyard Birds
and Butterflies Native Habitats Draw Critters and Delight Kids by Avery Mack
C
reating a backyard wildlife habitat pro- vides valuable teach-
ing moments. With plan- ning and care, birds, bats, butterflies and bunnies can view yards as safe havens and sources for food, water and shelter, providing end- less fascination. Josh Stasik, a father of
three and owner of Sweet-
Seed.com, in Syracuse, New York, sees firsthand how feeding winged wonders can be an inex- pensive way to start a new family activity. “My mom taught me about flowers and bird feeders. I hope my kids will someday pass the information along to their children,” he says.
Habitat plantings and
available foods determine what creatures will visit.
50 NA Triangle
“Native plants attract native bugs that are eaten by native birds and bats,” observes Stasik, noting that staff at extension services and garden centers can provide helpful advice. Based on his own re-
Hummingbird Nectar Recipe
Measure one part ordinary white sugar to four parts water (no unhealthy red dye needed). Boil the water first, and then mix the nectar while the water is hot; the sugar will easily dissolve.
Source:
TomatoEnvy.com www.natriangle.com
search, Stasik knows, “Bird species have definite tastes in food. Bluebirds love mealworms. Humming- birds like floral nectars. Orioles look for citrus fruit. Butterflies are eclectic sippers of both floral and citrus.”
Hummingbirds pose particular appeal for kids and adults because they appear always on the move.
Hummingbirds.net/ map.html follows their migration sites. Videographer Tom
Hoebbel, owner of TH
He laments the rapid decline of bats in the Northeast due to pesticides killing bugs, the main course for birds and bats. “In the winter, bats live in caves, so we put one-by-one-foot boxes in the yard for their summer homes.” Warm evenings on the patio are more enjoyable when bats clean up the mosquito population; a single bat can eat as many as 1,000 in an hour. The monarch butterfly population
is another favorite species in decline, with the spectacular annual migra- tion on the verge of disappearing due to illegal deforestation, climate change, expansion of crop acreage and imposition of genetically modi- fied plants that reduce the growth of native species. “You can help them by planting perennial milkweed in your garden,” advises Brande Plotnick, founder of Tomato Envy, in Jenkintown, Pennsylvania. Milkweed is the food of choice because it makes the caterpil- lars and butterflies toxic to birds and other predators. Also consider planting
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