The birds and the bees: Garden is abuzz
A madly singing mockingbird wakes us up most mornings. Through another window I can hear a nest of new chicks peeping for breakfast. Though no morning person, I headed outside with the camera to see what has all the birds in a tizzy.
Well, it’s spring, of course. The mockingbird eluded me, but I did see a pair of flirty black-crested titmice. First, the long shot. There’s the male, perched at the edge of the stock-tank pond. If you care more for the plants, from upper-left to right you see my new ‘Peter’s Purple’ monarda, Yucca rostrata ‘Sapphire Skies’, ‘Color Guard’ yucca, purple coneflower, boxwood, and, at the base of the limestone slab, Texas sedge.
A closer look at the titmice. The male is on the left, the female on the right.
They flew off, chasing each other, and then the male landed on a tuteur for a cheeky pose.
I’d spotted a nest of cardinal chicks in a ‘Will Fleming’ yaupon at the front of the house, so I went to check on them. Here’s how they looked on Thursday—three begging chicks, naked, eyes sealed shut.
Today, only one remains, and though bigger and with a little fluff, he lay quietly in the nest. I looked for the others on the ground, but I couldn’t find their tiny bodies amid the ferns, if they were even there. It’s not easy raising chicks, obviously. I hope this one makes it.
In the raised beds along the back of the house, the Aloe saponaria just won’t quit—and I’m not complaining. Another bloom cycle has begun, and the bees love it too.
They climb up inside the tubular, pendant blossoms, and you don’t even realized how many are working unless you watch for a while and see them climbing in and out.
The sweet almond verbena is also luring the bees.
The sweet scent lures me as well, but I watch where I’m putting my nose.
Update: I forgot to add this sweet image of a very camouflaged Carolina wren sitting on her nest, which she’s tucked under the arms of a ‘Macho Mocha’ manfreda in a blue pot.
All material © 2006-2011 by Pam Penick for Digging. Unauthorized reproduction prohibited.
Your garden is well feathered and abuzz.
It is indeed, Lisa. It’s fun to watch. —Pam
It’s fun to watch birds, isn’t it, Pam? I like the titmice, too. Too bad about the poor little cardinals. Many birds come here to drink & eat, but our evergreens are a lot smaller than those in neighboring yards so we seldom see a nest. Maybe the parent cardinals will have better luck next time!
Annie at the Transplantable Rose
I was surprised to see the cardinals nesting so low, actually. The nest is about 5 feet off the ground, in the center of a columnar holly. —Pam
Wonderful shot of the bee in the aloe flower! I have aloes blooming in So Cal (not right now, they are done), but never got that shot. Your garden is lovely & full of life!
Thanks so much, Kathy. 🙂 —Pam
So I’m curious, is the aloe in a pot, or does it really have the same water needs as the daylilies behind it? Or do you use a drip system to target individual areas?
Thanks for always putting up with my questions 🙂
Hi, Juliet. The aloes (there are two) are in the ground in the same raised bed as the daylilies. I run the sprinkler system once a week, generally, which means the aloes get more than they need (they don’t mind extra water if they have good drainage), and the daylilies would prefer a little more but do fine because they get some shade for part of the day. I sometimes give the daylilies an extra squirt with the hose if they look thirsty. I’ve actually considered pulling out my daylilies to put in more drought-tolerant plants, but for now I keep them for sentimental reasons and seasonal color. —Pam
Exciting times I’m sure.
We have our moments. 😉 —Pam
Wow, you have Echinacea blooming already! Ours is just leaves about 6 inches from the ground. We’ve had a very cool Spring-the coolest in memory (northern Calif). Mostly Jays and Towhees in our backyard, gathering nest materials and stealing the catfood. Great pics, Pam!
The echinaceas have been blooming for more than a month—we get early summers around here. We have jays too but no towhees that I know of. Aren’t the birds fun to watch this time of year? —Pam
Pam – We love your round tank pond. How does it stay so clean without a pump? We are thinking of copying your idea. We have a smaller tank but we use a pump with it. Thanks. Judy
Hi, Judy. I wrote a post about making a stock-tank pond. Here’s the link. Good luck with yours! —Pam
You’ve got a houseful! It’s wildlife frenzy here too. Just too fun! I’ve got to get the monarda–keep forgetting. Where did you find yours?
I got it from Plant Delights online, Linda. Which probably means Home Depot will be selling it on discount tomorrow. 😉 —Pam
I hope the Macho Mocha lives up to his name and protects that little bird-family!
We will see, Chookie. The nesting birds have been having a tough time of it in my garden lately. Yesterday I checked on the single cardinal chick that was left, and it’s gone too. 🙁 —Pam
The Black Tufted Tit Mouse is new to me, but I love his Nashville cousin~Tufted Tit Mouse. The garden looks lovely and the bees look happy! gail
I thought it was a tufted titmouse when I first spotted it, Gail. Then I noticed the black crest and ID’d it on the web. Pretty cute little birds. —Pam
Lucky you! Pollinators AND baby birds? I’ve seen so very few insects this spring in Nebraska. Last year we had our first bird nest, brown thrashers, but cats got to the eggs. I’m envious.
Well, the baby birds are having a tough time of it, Benjamin. The wren is still on her nest in the blue pot, but the cardinals lost all three of their chicks, and the nest is desolate now. —Pam
The garden looks wonderful…so full of color and texture! I can’t wait to see the verdict of the Mondara…I would love to add more, but have been avoiding it due to PM…yes, even our summers aren’t perfect for those temperamental beasties!
I will be sure to post updates about the monarda as the season wears on, Scott. I’m keeping my fingers crossed! —Pam
that monarda is really beautiful. Up here in the north we have no problem with anything killing monardas. The trick is to find someone to take the extras. Things look wonderful in your garden right now.
I gathered that monarda is a bit of a spreader in cooler climes based on the Plant Delights description, which claims that ‘Peter’s Purple’ is not one. However, I wouldn’t mind if Peter’s took over a bit more. I quite like it. —Pam