Great Backyard Bird Count 2012

I'm really excited about this event. Are you? What is it? Well, it's pretty self-explanatory. The Great Backyard Bird Count is a 4-day event in which everyone is encouraged to tally up the species of birds they see in their backyard -- or anywhere! The event goes on this year from February 17 - February 20.

Although I'm not really a bird watcher like some, I do enjoy looking at the different species and take notice when I see a new one or one I haven't seen in a while. The Great Backyard Bird Count relies on bird watchers of all ages and skill levels to help determine some pretty important aspects of bird life and the ecosystem.

This is a great family event and wonderful way to get your kids involved in nature, even during the colder months like now!

Here are some things the Great Backyard Bird Count helps determine:

• Did this winter's snow and temperatures affect any populations?
• Were there any irruptive species this year (irruptive species are those which appear in large numbers some years, but not others)?
• Do the migrations of this year compare with years past?
• Are bird diseases affecting various species in different regions?
• What's the diversity differences in rural, urban, suburban and natural areas?
• Are any species in decline?

Pretty cool when you think about it. Science is relying on regular, every-day citizens to help keep track of really important data. 

How Can You Participate?

Participation is easy. Simply set up shop in your yard, or from the comfort of a warm house in front of the window and tally the different species you have in your yard. You should plan for at least 15 minutes of bird watching per day. Once you're done with your bird count, enter your results on the GBBC Submission page here. 

Need Some Resources?

The GBBC site gives you regional bird checklists and tally pages you can print out for easy viewing -- especially if you don't have a field guide or other handy resource. 

Local parks and natural areas across the nation are getting in on the fun, too! See if one of your favorite parks is having an event dedicated to the GBBC! The GBBC website also has a "Local Events Page" here.

Getting to Know: The Coneflower (Echinacea)

Coneflowers are a favorite perennial of many. You often see them in giant clumps of flowers throughout landscapes and even while enjoying a nature hike.

The purple coneflower, Echinacea purpurea, is among the most common and has several different varieties to choose from. The 'Magnus' variety is very common and won the coveted Perennial Plant of the Year Award in 1998. Aside from the purple magnus, the purple coneflower also comes in varieties showing off white, cream-colored, rosy or yellow petals, among many other newer, brighter, more vivid hues.

Most have the tell-tale "coneflower" shape: a cone in the middle surrounded by downward-pointing petals. Some, however, have petals that lay horizontal, almost perpendicular to the cone.

Upcycling What?

Kind of a confusing word. It's almost the opposite of recycling, which takes items and turns them into still usable, yet not as-high-quality products as they were before. Of course, not all recycling turns items into lower-quality items, but a lot of the time, that's what happens.

Upcycling, on the other hand, takes trash and turns it into treasure -- almost quite literally. When you upcycle an item, you turn it into something new that has equal to or greater value than it did before.

Here's an example of an item that is commonly both recycled and upcycled: The plastic bottle.

By now, most everyone recycles their plastic bottles. If you're not, I highly suggest you start doing so. But this product is so common that it has made its way into upcycle projects such as hummingbird feeders and automatic waterers for pets. Plastic bottles also make excellent mini-greenhouses for your seedlings.

Here, I upcycle quite a few things, even if only on the most basic of scales. A lot of what I do could be considered repurposing, which leads to more confusion. Repurposing is taking an item and simply using it as something other than what it was intended for. I repurpose small flower pots into pencil holders, but I upcycle small flower pots into decorative bells and knick-knacks.

Today, I cut off the bottom of a cereal box and decoupaged newspaper scraps all over it. It's going to hang beside my desk as a holder for my specialty markers. I'm going to make a few more when I'm done eating the cereal for note cards, stationery, etc.

Not finished yet, but you get the idea ...

It's all about finding things that you know you can use and using them instead of throwing them out. Another idea I recently saw was turning old feed troughs into garden containers. The picture I saw looked as though the feed troughs were brand new, but what an easy way to add a rustic look to your yard, deck or patio.

I also upcycled a long, rectangular, horizontal box into a vertical shelving unit. I turned old forks and a block of scrap wood into a coat hanger. I turned old forks into curtain holders and jewelry hooks. I could probably go on and on ..

Getting to Know: Brown Marmorated Stink Bug

By now many of us have seen these pesky little stink bugs coming into our homes in late fall and reappearing throughout the winter. I personally like to watch their antics as they crawl about. However, I'm not too fond of invasive species, so I'm at a crossroads when coming upon a straggler within my home.

Fortunately, these bugs don't bite, they don't ruin the insides of your home or anything like that. They're simply winter visitors that just happen to enjoy being warm in the winter. It's what they do outside that's the problem.

Like many of its relatives, the BMSB feeds on a variety of fruits, vegetables, ornamentals and agri-crops. Examples include peaches, pears, apples, raspberries, grapes, beans, peppers, soybeans, corn, redbud, walnut, maples, catalpas, holly, butterfly bush, honeysuckles and roses, just to name a few.

As you can see from the photograph, they have the common "shield" shape that other stink bugs have. However, you will notice the distinguishing characteristics as circles and marked in red.

Controlling the BMSB inside the home is as simple as finding where they are coming in and sealing the hole. Common points of entry include cracks around window frames and doors, exhaust fans, baseboards or chimneys. They may not be the only things getting in; other arthropods could use these same entrances and you may be losing energy to these holes. 

Stinkbug crawling on my phone charger.

Although you can't tell from this picture I snapped with my phone, the BMSB has white stripes on its legs and antennae, along with an almost checkered pattern along its sides.

Outside it's a bit more complicated. As an invasive pest -- it came to PA around 1996 from China or Japan -- it doesn't have the common predators that other stink bugs do; yet like other stink bugs, they will swarm and infest crops. Chemicals are being developed and introduced as a way to help curb the populations, however, that just sounds horrible to me.

For a more detailed photo, check out Rutgers' BMSB page here.

Emerald Ash Borer General Information

By now we've all heard of the emerald ash borer and know that it's bad. But why? Most of us know that these beautiful but extremely devastating insects kill off ash trees in large numbers.

The EAB came to North America during the 1990s, although a specific year is unknown. In 2002, the Detroit and Windsor areas first began reporting ash trees dying off due to the insect. As of now, the EAB is destroying ash trees in the Great Lakes region of lower Michigan, northern Indiana, Ohio, the Chicago area, Maryland and Pennsylvania. (US Forest Service). Other states, including New York, Missouri, Tennessee, Kentucky, Virginia, West Virginia, Wisconsin,  and Iowa also have either localized or state-quarantined areas of infestation.

Description:

• Metallic green wings, although sometimes seen as metallic reds and purples
• Cylindrical and linear body shape
• Approximately 1/3- to 3/4-inch long
• Top of abdomen metallic purple or red
• Blunt head
• Larvae are transparent white to creamy white and up to 1-inch long

Plants I'm Considering

Well, we all know I've been excited about planting more natives this year. There are so many to choose from, and the best part is they all will lend greatly to a natural look and habitat.

One of my all-time favorite flowers is the black-eyed susan. There's a couple different varieties, but I think the more common ones will be what we choose. I'm also gonna go a bit crazy with monarda (also known as wild bergamot and bee balm). If you've never had the chance to smell bee balm, it is a wonderfully refreshing scent with characteristic, fun-shaped flowers. Purple and yellow coneflowers will look nice; as mentioned before they are also a favorite food source for more than a few species. Beautiful asters will lend to the fall color, and I absolutely love them! I have a feeling asters will make it into my pressed-flower art and resin casting next year.

To round out the look, I'll probably plant some bluestem, little or big, along with a few prairie roses and sedges.

For shrubs, I'm thinking maybe some arrowwood viburnum and maybe ninebark. Dogwoods also are abundant in Indiana and who doesn't love those?

We will be cutting down our silver maple this year; it's seen the best of its life and is slowly dying and becoming a sad eyesore. We're not sure which tree we're going to plant there, although we were going to go with a bald cypress. Not anymore, considering our pact to only go with native plants. It has to be a tall, shade-giving tree. We have a baby thornless honeylocust growing close to it right now, we may just leave it where it is and skip replanting in the place of the old silver maple.

If you live in Indiana, or even the surrounding region, I urge you to check out Indiana Native Plant & Wildflower Society to get an idea of natives to spruce up your garden!