Monday, February 28, 2011

Freedom Park Bird and Butterfly Garden Fall/Winter Update 2010/2011

Here, finally, is the Fall/Winter (OMG its almost Spring) issue of the Freedom Park Bird and Butterfly Garden Update.

The Freedom Park Bird and Butterfly Garden. BTW, was started as a joint project of the Atlanta Audubon Society and the DeKalb Master Gardener Association. Our first plant was put in the ground in the spring of 2005, and we’ve been planting every year ever since. The purpose of the garden is to inspire the use of native plants to attract birds and butterflies (and bugs). Its located at the corner of North Ave., and Candler Park Drive, NE. The garden is one aspect of Atlanta Audubon's major focus on conservation, See "Conservation" on the Audubon website at http://www.atlantaaudubon.org

Here’s the latest news:

On January 28th my co-coordinator Phil Edwards and his merry troop of DeKalb Master Gardeners, Bert Weaver, Jimmy Dorsey, David & Jean Otness, Mary Evans, Stella Chamberlain,. and Betsy Abrams did a gigantic clean-up at the garden which yielded 28 bags of yard waste. Thanks to the city of Atlanta Sanitation Dept. for picking them up! The Master Gardeners also planted several new plants in the garden, including two Native Azaleas.

As I pulled up to the garden in early December, I saw a flash of red in a flock of blackbirds flying in front of my car. Wow, a another first for the garden-a Red-winged Blackbird ! I was quite surprised and so checked with my friend and birding expert, Gordon McWilliams, who verified that the species is a year round resident here though it can be a partial migrant in some areas. The Red-winged Blackbird is one of the most abundant birds in North America. According to National Geographic, there were 190 million of them in 1970, and populations are considered stable.

Red-winged Blackbird females build their nests over or near water. The Red-winged male is the veritable sheik of birds. He will sometimes have up to 15 females nesting in his territory. But, in spite of his valiant efforts to secure his harem, it turns out that up to one half of the chicks will have been fathered by another male. Hmmmmm.... Red-wings will have up to 3 broods per year which seems to keep the population stable in spite of the fact that their average lifespan is only 2 years. See the wonderful photo of a Red-winged Blackbird which was contributed kindly by Dan Vikers.

In late fall I spotted a Cloudless Sulphur butterfly (see photo) in the garden. This yellow fellow ( or gal) enjoys fluttering in fields, gardens, beaches and other open spaces. Sulphurs are found from South America to southern Canada. The field guide, Butterflies of Georgia, classifies them as visitors to north Georgia and residents in south Georgia. The guide also notes that there is a “massive” migration of sulphurs in the fall, calling it “one of the south’s most impressive natural phenomena”.

The Cloudless enjoys getting nectar from long tubed plants such as bougainvilla, cardinal flower and wild morning glory. It uses Wild Senna both as a nectar and host plant. In warm areas the butterflies breed year round, in warmer areas from midsummer to fall.

And speaking of Wild Senna, this native plant is attractive to bees, hummingbirds and other butterflies. Blooms, from mid-summer to early fall, are bright yellow. Seed pods form on the plant in the fall. You can propagate the plant by allowing the seed pods to dry on the plant before opening and then collecting the seeds. Wild Senna is a hardy plant that is drought tolerant once established. It thrives in moist open woods and disturbed ares. Native peoples used the roots to make a tea for fevers and heart problems and used a poultice of the root to treat sores. You can find one blooming in our garden later this year.

Our roving correspondent, Meta Larson, reported that in late February, that the “garden is sprouting ….with green everywhere” and some volunteer “daffodils are blossoming. …There is lots of twitter in the trees and there are little yellowish warblers in the tree tops above the garden...I did see a nuthatch, blue birds, cardinals, and lots of robins.” Meta also notes there is “a whole new ecosystem” forming around a new pond near the garden. “There is a great blue heron almost every morning at the pond, and bats at night.” Meta also reports 6 Mallards, a Red-tailed Hawks, and an occasional kingfisher as well as flocks of Red-winged Blackbirds.

Late last year I opened a checking account at the BOND Federal Credit Union for the garden so I could deposits donations. If you’d like to help out you can mail a check to the credit union at PO Box 5286, Atlanta, GA 30307 for Freedom Park Bird and Butterfly Garden, account 261073591:71093008129. Please email me if you do so, so I can send a big THANKS!

And thanks to Bob and Norma Mayers of New Jersey for a generous gift and to Diane Shellack and Annette Burgess of Roswll, for contributing several native plants to the garden, both donations in memory of my mom, Kathryn Grzesiak, who passed away on June 30, 2010.

In closing, I’d like to welcome Ecoaddendum to Freedom Park. They’ve started a native garden down the block from us and will be doing extensive plantings in the future. For more information check http://ecoaddendum.org Let’s hope between the two gardens the birds, butterflies (and bugs) will be swarming in the park this summer!

And soon Spring should be here (or is it here already?). We’re looking forward to a whole new season of plant, bird and butterfly surprises.

Carol Vanderschaaf
Co-coordinater
Cvanderschaaf@bellsouth.net