Freedom Park Bird and Butterfly Garden Spring, 2011

News flash!  Its raining!! It was the evening of June 15^th as I began this update. It hadn’t rained for at least 8 weeks and suddenly ……..how wonderful! I emailed our trusty volunteer, Diane Shellack, who was poised to come down from her Roswell home in the am to water the new plants. Diane, who is a trouper, agree to take a rain check. Then I checked my rain barrels which had been down to their last drop and happily saw the rainwater pouring in them from the gutter spouts.

Extra, extra! Our mascot’s photo has been kidnapped again, that little imp with the tear in its eye for our disappearing habitat. The mystery-is the mascot loved or hated? Who is the culprit? In my investigation I did find out who gave us the original picture of the imp-it was Robert McLeod, neighbor across the street. He had placed it in the butterfly area and we loved his sweet addition. That picture was taken many months ago. But never fear, Fans of the Mascot, and do fear, you vile mascotnapper, I have many digital photos of the imp on my computer and the imp will appear again as soon as I get some colored ink. And on to the garden itself…..

New plants have been put in during the spring include 2 native azaleas, 12 Christmas Ferns, an Inkberry plant, some Black-eyed Susans and Blanket Plants.

Spring bloomers: Cup Plant (yellow), Milkweed (pink), Mohawk Viburnum (white), Fringed Bleeding Heart (pink), Wine Cups (magenta), Cumberland Rosemary (purple), Sweet Mock Orange, (white) and Thrift (purple).

Birds: My main function at the garden over the last months has been to water the new plants (the established plants are mostly taking care of themselves) so I hadn’t a chance to do much bird watching. I did see a House Finch, and the resident American Robin, as well as heard the White-breast4ed Nuthatch and Red-bellied Woodpecker. Phil Edwards, my co-coordinator, reports seeing a Brown Thrasher and a Red-headed Woodpecker in addition to Bluebirds in the nest box, the latter also reported by our roving correspondent, Meta Larsson.

The American Robin (Turdus migratorius) (See photo) is our featured bird this month, in tribute to his/her loyalty to the garden, The robin, that most familiar bird, is a year round resident in Georgia. It is found all over North America, from Alaska to Florida, according to Birds of Georgia by Fred Tekiela, and is migratory the northern states. Here in Georgia the robin can have 2 to 3 broods a year of 4 to 7 eggs. Both parents build the nest. Incubation by the female takes from 12 to 14 days. Both mom and dad feed the new birds which fledge in 14 to 16 days.

Robins, by the way, do love human beings (Homo sapiens). Rather than enjoy natural habitats like forests and open prairies, robins run-excuse me-fly to the nearest urban and suburban lawns. And why? Its a great place to find worms! And how do they find them, in case you want to try? According to extensive research by scientist Dr. Frank Heppner, they use their vision, not smell nor hearing, so put your eyes to the ground.

Life on the lawn is not entirely a good thing for robins. Lead in our lawns, leftover from the days of leaded paint and gasoline, often sticks to the skins of worms which the birds ingest. Studies show that city robins have twice as much lead in their bloodstreams as country birds. Also the antibodies of West Nile Virus are prevalent in the blood of robins which are apparently a mosquito’s favorite bite.

Robin populations, however, have slowly increased over the past 40 years. The bird’s ability to survive our unfortunate quest for new habitats has added to its numbers while at the same time many migratory bird populations have declined.

Butterflies: We feature the Silver Spotted Skipper (Epargyreus clarus), (See photo) as our butterfly this month. The Skipper is not a true butterfly though it looks like one, but is part of the family Hesperiiidae, which falls between butterfly and moth families. Skippers fly during the day as butterflies do, but like moths, have heavy bodies and dull colors. .The Silver-spotted Skipper almost never visits yellow flowers. It favors blue, red, pink, purple, and sometimes white and cream-colored ones, including common milkweed of which we have many in the garden.   .

Silver Spotted Skippers are resident throughout Georgia and have a very extensive range all over North America . They are active from February through December here. One of their host plants is the False Indigo which we have in the garden. Larval food includes the Black Locust. Larvae, yellow in color with brown heads, build their own individual shelters, using silk to tie leaves together. All this according to Butterflies of Georgia by Jaret C. Daniels.

Butterflies do seem scarce this spring. I haven’t seem many at the garden or in my yard; only the Cabbage White seems abundant. I’m wondering if others have had the same experience.

Our highlighted plant this quarter is Silphium connatum, the Cup Plant, (See photo) a member of the aster family. Its bright yellow flowers attract birds, insects and butterflies, particularly the Pipevine Swallowtail. The American Goldfinch loves its seeds. The Cup Plant likes full sun, is drought tolerant and prefers poor soil (wow-get me a bunch!). It grows to 8 to 10 feet tall and sports yellow flowers from June to August. It can be propagated by seeds or cuttings. The most fascinating thing about this plant is the fact that its large triangular leaves join at the base to form cups which can hold water. After a rainfall, birds can often be seen bathing in these cups.

The Cup Plant is native to Eastern and Central North America and grows in prairies, open woodlands and on stream banks. The genus name comes from an ancient Greek word for a plant of North African whose gum or juice was prized for medicinal use and as a condiment. Native peoples cooked the leaves and used them as a green; the Winnebagos believed this species had supernatural powers so we‘re keeping an eye on it. We have one cup plant, now blooming, in the garden.

We again call for volunteers to help water our new plants. All this involves is to carry about five gallon jugs over to the garden and water the plants that are marked with orange landscape flags. If you’re game enough to do so please let me know. Right now we couldn’t get along without the stalwart help of Dorothy Dabbs. A million thanks to Dorothy for her perseverance. And thanks, too, to Lisa Owens, and likewise to Knapp, who helps be with my home garden, as well, in addition the Freedom Park Garden.

Another cry for water:Mulberry Fields, a Candler Park Community Garden and green space, is having a fund raising drive to get money for installation of a water line and irrigation meter for their space. They are asking for donations and will also be having a benefit at the E. Church on July 31^st. Please see their website at http://mulberryforever.blogspot.com/ for complete details.

As I complete this update, on June 20^th (OMG, now its almost summer!), it has rained twice since I started on June 15^th. . Unfortunately the drought is predicted to come back again, so please remember our need for volunteers with jugs.

Thank you and happy gardening!

Carol Vanderschaaf

Co-coordinator  Cvanderschaaf@bellsouth.net

PS: If you want to be taken off this list, please email me.
PPS: And as I publish this update its the first day of summer!