A gardener’s relationship with birds is one of mutual benefit. The gardener provides for a few of the birds basic needs, and the birds help to keep down the insect population while treating us to an unending source of entertainment. Birds take their role as insect predator seriously. A single bird will gulp down 500 to 1,000 insects in an afternoon.

Birds have four primary needs: food, water, shelter, and a place to raise a family. As you’ll see, these needs are easily met.

Food Two types of seeds, white proso millet and black oil sunflower seeds, will attract most common seed-eating birds. These two seeds should be the mainstay in your feeders. To broaden the diversity of birds visiting your feeders, add species-specific seeds such as red proso millet, black- and gray-striped sunflower seeds, Niger thistle (for goldfinches, pine siskins and purple finches), milo and peanut kernels (for chickadees and white tufted titmice).

Beef suet helps birds maintain their body heat in cold weather. Hang plastic mesh bags of suet or pinecones dipped in melted suet from tree limbs. Woodpeckers are particularly appreciative of this treat.

Water An ideal water source for birds should be about three inches deep and three feet off the ground. Motion and sound will grab a bird’s attention. You can create moving water by suspending a leaky container from a branch over a birdbath. Fountains and waterfalls are favorite hangouts for songbirds, and misters place in the plants near your birdbath will attract a variety of feathered visitors.

Shelter Birds need shelter to protect them from the elements and allow them to hide from predators. Dense, twiggy shrubs and evergreens are the shelter of choice for most birds.

Nesting Sites Different species of birds have different nesting requirements, and you can find ready-made bird houses or build-it-yourself plans for almost every species of bird. Choose birdhouses that are weather resistant and have a pitched roof to shed rain. There should be holes in the sides and bottom for ventilation and drainage. A hinged or removable roof is a bonus for you because it makes cleaning much easier. The birdhouse should be cleaned after each nesting season.

When hanging your birdhouse, position the entrance hole away from prevailing winds.

Jackie Carroll is the editor of GardenGuides.com, a leading internet destination for gardeners, and GardenGuidesKids.com.

http://www.gardenguides.com

http://www.gardenguideskids.com

Birds, birds, birds. They come in all shapes and sizes. They range in type from carnivores to herbivores. Birds have been the stars of their own movies. Birds have taught children the importance of personality over looks. Some are even the leaders of nations. Is it any wonder that bird watching is one of the world’s most practiced hobbies.

People from all walks of life enjoy bird watching. Anyone can do it. All it requires is patience, a pair of binoculars and most importantly, a bird feeder. And there are many types. Depending what birds you want to attract will determine what kind of feeder to get.

Hummingbird feeders are the most popular and come in two styles; inverted and basin style. The feeder usually has a small receptacle in which a sugar solution is placed. It has an opening just big enough for the hummingbird to put its long beak. But the solution is really just an energy boost for the hummingbird. A hummingbird’s main diet is gnats and other small bugs. Here’s a hint when choosing a hummingbird feeder. Choose one that can be taken apart easily. Your feeder needs to be cleaned every three-to-four days due to the unfortunate clotting habit of the sugar and water solution.

If you are a Woody fan, you might consider a peanut feeder. Woodpeckers, starlings and titmice are big fans of peanuts. But be sure you purchase the peanuts from a dealer that supplies aflatoxin-free peanuts. Aflatoxin fungus can cause disease and death for some birds. Also, make sure the peanut feeder is built to keep out squirrels. Squirrels are the biggest enemy to the peanut feeder.

Hopper feeders are the type of feeder most people picture in their mind when they think of a bird feeder. Most look like a small house and have a tray at the bottom. Tray feeders attract chickadees, sparrows and blue jays. Sunflower seeds are the most popular feed for tray feeders. The bigger the feeder, the easier they are to clean.

Next on the agenda, tube feeders. Most tube feeders are made of a clear plastic and have holes drilled in the side with a small perch beside each hole to make the seed accessible to the bird. Tube feeders attract a large variety of smaller birds like finches, titmice and grosbeaks. When buying a tube feeder, look for ones with a large storage capacity. Also look for feeders with metal reinforcing to help keep out squirrels and larger birds. A tube feeder with a tray at the bottom will help catch the seeds that fall when the messy birds come to dinner.

Tray feeders are the simplest and least expensive types of feeders. They can be as simple as a plate from your kitchen cupboard. Because they hold less seed than other types of feeders, the ones made close to the ground are usually best. Tray feeders attract sparrows, doves, cardinals and other birds that prefer eating close to mother earth. When purchasing a tray feeder, look for ones that allow for drainage in case it rains.

But the number one thing you should look for when purchasing a feeder of any kind is convenience. Make sure they are easy to clean, easy to refill and durable. From personal experience, I have learned that once the birds get used to being fed in the same place at the same time every day, you can’t get rid of the little buggers.

You may use this article as long as the 3 URLs are hyperlinked.

Allen Shaw is a successful author who provides information on birds, bird feeders and tips on buying a feeder.

"I am the news director at USA News Network and have been working as freelance writer for 2 years. I’ve been published in a few magazines, newspapers and websites and my specialty up to this point has been movie and music reviews."

One of the most common problems faced by gardeners is the one of slugs and snails. Even experienced gardeners tear their collective hair out at the destruction these creatures can cause. So I thought I would give you a few tried and tested tips, and some others perhaps not so well known, to help you deal with them – you won’t get rid of them all together, but at least you will be able to keep them under some sort of control!

They may not all work for you – a lot depends on just how bad the problem is where you live – but it is certainly worth trying some if not all of them.

Barriers:

These methods will be more effective against snails than slugs, as slugs live in the ground and can therefore avoid barriers.

On your garden borders, you can use barriers around plants, such as crushed eggshells, grit, bran, or wood-ash or soot. The theory is that slugs and snails are reluctant to cross these materials and will therefore wander off elsewhere to look for their next meal. Make sure you put plenty down without any gaps.

Scatter oat bran around your plants – slugs love it, but if they eat enough, they expand and die!

Petroleum jelly smeared thickly around the rims of pots has a similar deterrent effect.

You can purchase copper tape with an adhesive backing, which you can stick around the pot sides – this gives the snail a small electric shock as it tries to cross.

Traps:

Use beer traps – very effective at dealing with both slugs and snails, and you can buy these from a garden centre. Place the trap, filled with cheap beer, in a hole with the top at soil level. You can also use out of date fruit juice, or even milk just about on the turn. Alternatively, make your own by cutting off about 3-4 inches off the base of a plastic drinks bottle.

After eating your half grapefruit, cut a small hole and place the skin upside down on the soil. Slugs love it and will congregate inside and each day you can collect them up.

Collect all the slugs and snails you can find in the late evening, when they start to become active and drown them in a bucket of heavily salted water. Plain water will not work – they will simply swim to the surface and crawl out! Or, if you know where they hide out, you can gather them up during the day – try looking under logs or bricks, and shrubs, any dark, damp corner.

And what to do with the slugs you’ve collected? If you put live slugs or snails into your compost heap, they will probably stay there, as there is plenty of matter for them to feast on. You can also put the dead ones in there too, those in the beer traps including the beer – but scoop the dead slugs and snails out of the salty water first.

Predators:

For a biological control, you can use nematodes – microscopic parasites that kill the slugs above and below ground. Obtained from organic garden suppliers, you simply mix the powder with water and spray on to the soil using a watering can. This can be effective for around six weeks.

If you are lucky enough to have the space, adopt some chickens or ducks – they just love eating slugs – and you can have some free eggs into the bargain.

Make your garden wildlife friendly, to encourage the natural predators of slugs and snails to come and visit. Dig a pond to encourage frogs and toads; leave out food for hedgehogs; and put up bird feeders. This will not provide an ‘instant fix’ for the problem, but in the long term will give you a healthier garden with fewer pests.

Till next time, happy slug hunting!

Fran Barnwell is a self-taught gardener, learning through experience in her own garden. Fran understands the difficulties that face new gardeners, and has written The Ultimate Guide to Gardening for Beginners, a successful eBook that helps anyone new to gardening to get started, explaining the basics in easy to understand terms. To find out more and to sign up to receive a free series of articles, go to http://www.NewToGardening.com

Many people have asked us over the years "Should I add goldfish or KOI (or both) to my pond? The answer is "it depends."

Goldfish are better suited to smaller water gardens and ponds, in the 50 - 500 gallon range. Goldfish are extremely hardy and easy to care for, which makes them the perfect choice for the new pond owner or water gardener.

KOI Feeding

KOI, on the other hand, require a little more knowledge and better water quality in most cases, than goldfish and are better suited to the more experienced pond keeper. KOI generally thrive best in ponds over 500 gallons (the bigger - the better.)

This is becuase KOI can grow quite large and therefore require more water in the pond for proper biological breakdown of waste. KOI are also more expensive (and harder to replace) than goldfish, so this should also be taken into account before filling your new pond full of KOI fish. More considerations…

Goldfish are an excellent choice for the average water garden that is usually also full of a variety of potted plants. Lilies, Lotus, Iris, and submerged annuals - these all do well in a water garden pond with goldfish. Goldfish will not disturb the plants, and will enjoy playing around under the lily pads without disturbing the plants.

Pond Goldfish

Japanese KOI on the other hand, and especially the larger ones, will often create a huge mess out of submerged potted plants. They seem to enjoy ‘digging’ in the soil of the plants and sometimes even knocking them over. This all leads to added mess in the pond, and can create a real problem for the pond owner.

Generally, it’s best to not have submerged plants in large pots, when also keeping KOI. The ideal KOI pond is much deeper than the average water garden, so the necessity for plants to help with water quality and shade is reduced.

However, if you still do want to keep potted plants in your KOI pond, we recommend wrapping netting over the tops of the pots, to keep the fish from digging in the pots. Another thing you can do is to top the pots with 1" of pea gravel, and then larger river stones or similar over that. The KOI will not be able to get past the larger rocks.

As far as mixing Goldfish with KOI, this is fine and very common, we’ve just tried to highlight the most important differences between the two and between the average water garden and KOI pond. Feel free to experiment with both, and then decide which fish is more to your liking.

**************************************************
Brett Fogle is the owner of MacArthur Water Gardens and several
other pond-related websites including MacArthurWatergardens.com
and Pond-Filters-Online.com. He also publishes a free monthly
newsletter called PondStuff! with a reader circulation of over
9,000. To sign up for the free newsletter and receive our FREE
‘New Pond Owners Guide’ visit MacArthur Water Gardens today!
**************************************************

When the warm weather of summer finally arrives most pond owners are faced with a very common problem called pond algae. Pond algae can strike any size pond at any time, but usually a few very specific things have to be present for it to spread rapidly.

Knowing what allows algae to prosper is the first step to treating it naturally. First though, let’s make one thing clear. Algae, or it’s presence in a pond is not always bad. A little bit of it here or there is actually a positive sign that the pond is healthy and balanced. When algae takes over the pond entirely however, things are not very balanced at all.

Algae is very dependent on excessive nutrients in the water to grow. Therefore this should be your first priority…to reduce or eliminate excess nutrients in the pond. These can come from decomposing organic matter like leaves or grass clippings.

Nutrients can also come for fish waste or decomposing fish food. With these things in mind, it’s best to remove any organic matter from the pond before it starts to decay at the bottom. Skimmers can help with this in smaller ponds. Also, if you have fish, be sure to not overstock them in a smaller pond. Generally 1 inch of fish needs about 10 gallons of water to stay balanced. If your ratio is over this, you may be overstocked. Be sure to not overfeed your fish as well. Provide them enough food to consume in about five minutes time.

Pond algae also needs adequate sunlight to grow aggressively so if you can minimize exposure to the sun, this can often help.

In some cases, you can’t always keep sunlight from entering the pond or keep all the debris from settling in it. Then it’s often best to turn to other treatments or options.

In smaller ponds adding plants is a very beneficial thing to do. Surface plants like water lilies help absorb excess nutrients and also help shade the pond. Water grasses are great at helping clear a pond as well.

Since it can take up to 60% coverage of a pond’s surface to keep algae at bay, some people like to also use a natural beneficial bacteria product to help consume some of the excess nutrients and assist in the breakdown of organic matter in the pond. Bacteria and enzyme products have been proven to be one of the safest and most effective ways to keep a pond clean. There are many varieties available on the market today.

All of the methods outlined above are highly preferred over using chemicals in a pond or water garden. Chemicals come with inherent risks and also don’t help much in cleaning a pond in a natural fashion. Over the long term they can cause many more problems than then solve.

Mark Washburn is an experience pond treatment specialist that uses natural solutions to keep ponds and watergardens clean and algae free. Learn how to keep your pond clean naturally by visiting http://www.algae-solution.com

For as long as I’ve been gardening, I have shared my love of the outdoors with one-of-a-kind dogs ("mutts" to most people). I certainly can’t imagine gardening without a dog keeping me company. Here are some tips to help you make this work for you too.

Set the ground rules first

• Be clear about how you want your dog to behave in the garden. Set the ground rules for your dog from the start. As with people, pet habits, once established, can be a challenge to change.

Dogs and gardens - training tips

Dogs like to be where people are, so when you’re in the garden, take your dog with you for at least part of the time, and when you’re not, keep your dog with you indoors.

• When you’re with your dog, you have lots of opportunities to encourage and train behavior you like and discourage actvities that are destructive to the garden.

Garden safety and your dog

When you have dogs or other pets spending time in the garden, choose alternatives to chemical lawn and garden care.

• If you use pest control products, even organic ones, keep pets out of the garden when you’re applying them.

Yvonne Cunnington is an avid gardener and dog lover. For more information about which garden chemicals you must keep away from your pet dog, see http://www.flower-gardening-made-easy.com/Dogs-and-gardens.html | If you have problems with dogs and lawns, visit http://www.flower-gardening-made-easy.com/dogs-and-lawns.html | For pet-friendly garden design ideas, see http://www.flower-gardening-made-easy.com/Pet-friendly-garden.html

I’ve been feeding and caring for birds for 40 years now. I started as a 10 year old boy with a simple platform feeder. Today, feeders come in many shapes, sizes and colors. The most common feeder today is the tube feeder.

Tube feeders come in a variety of sizes and colors, Their price range and use also varies greatly. Knowing what to look for in any bird feeder will say you headaches and money in the long and short run.

There are tube feeders made to stick on windows. Tube feeders just for goldfinches and still others for small birds in general. Not to mention tube feeders that claim to be squirrel proof.

Manufacturers want to get your dollar by putting feeders in colorful packages and making the feeders for our eye appeal. You want a feeder that is functional and durable. One that is easy to fill and clean and a feeder that will last more then a year or two.

Feeders that are easy to fill can be filled in a matter of seconds. Tops lift up easily and secure quickly. No screw off tops or gizmos to remove first. The last thing you need is to be messing with feeder tops in a snow storm or rainy day.

Look for a tube feeder that has drainage holes on the bottom. Rain or water soaked feed can spoil quickly. Birds can get sick if they even try to eat moldy and sprouting feed.

A quality tube feeder has an inverted V shape on the bottom for even feed distribution and to minimize spoilage from old feed that may sit at the bottom of you feeder.

Stay away from all plastic that squirrels and raccoons can destroy. Look for metal wire and chains to hang from. ropes and cords rot with time and can be chewed off.

Your new feeders should have metal tops and bottoms as well as metal perches and feeding ports.

Does the feeder come apart for easy cleaning? Clean bird feeders are very important on minimizing sickness and disease.

I don’t like trays on my tube feeders for that very reason. However, a tray can be an option not mandatory. Look for feeders where you can add a tray later if you want, not a tube feeder with a tray attached already.

Reputable manufacturers offer quality goods, often with guarantees.Look for guarantees on your new feeder. Go with quality companies that have built a name on quality and service.

Now it’s your choice. Do you want a feeder with two feeding ports or many as 8 to 12 ports.

Choose your colors from silver to antique gold. Polished bronze and copper, or forest green and burgundy.

A good tube feeder can last you a lifetime and the only reason to buy another one is to add to your feeding stations.

Ask questions and do some research first before you go out and purchase another feeder.

When it comes to bird feeders, you do get what you pay for.

Ron Patterson has been caring for backyard birds for more then 40 years. Because of his love of nature and gardening, Ron became a Michigan Certified Nurseryman. This has enabled him to landscape and garden for birds more effectivly. Ron helps others in birdscaping there yards as well. Ron shares his love of birds and gardening in his weekly newsletter called "Backyard Birding Tips" To get his free newsletter, go to: http://www.backyardbirdingtips.com/

Early in May here in west central Wisconsin, I can count on seeing a Ruby Throated Hummingbird hovering in front of my kitchen window, flitting back and forth, as if to say, "there was a hummingbird feeder RIGHT HERE last year. Where is it?"

And then I know it is time to put out hummingbird nectar. I feed a 3-to-1 mixture of water and sugar (3 cups of water and 1 cup of sugar brought to a boil and cooled to room temperature). After the hummingbirds’ long trip from South America, they are thin and hungry.

The general rule-of-thumb is a 4-to-1 mixture, but to start out in early spring I always use a 3-to-1 mixture. Later on in the summer, when there are more flowers available, I switch to a 4-to-1 mixture.

I know it is important to wash the hummingbird feeder when I fill it to clean out any mold. I know it is also important to thoroughly rinse the hummingbird feeder when I am finished cleaning it to remove any soap or other chemicals.

If the feeder has visible mold, I use a bleach solution (1 teaspoon of bleach to several cups of water) to kill off the mold and mildew. Then I rinse the feeder thoroughly, under running water, for several minutes with hot water and for several minutes with cold water.

The best hummingbird feeder I’ve found is a Rubbermaid feeder. It holds two cups of nectar, and it is as sturdy now as it was when I bought it four years ago. Other hummingbird feeders cracked when I tried to wash them, either at the end of the first year or the beginning of the next.

I also set out two of those little "flower balls" for the hummingbirds — little round balls that hold about a quarter cup of nectar with a large, brightly-colored plastic flower that fits down inside the neck. The flower balls fit into a holder that mounts on a steel rod pushed down into the ground. The hummingbirds love the "flowers" that give them another source of food.

Usually, right around our yard, we have between four and six pair of Ruby Throated Hummingbirds. Later on in the summer, when their offspring start coming for the nectar, we have many more hummingbirds flying around the yard. Pine trees on the east and north sides of the yard provide a perch for the hummingbirds while they wait their turn to get at the feeder.

Not that the hummingbirds are especially patient about waiting their turn at the feeder. They chase each other around and chatter and scold. I am scolded, too, when I have the audacity to remove the feeder from its hook in front of the kitchen window so that I can wash it out and fill it with fresh nectar. On more than one occasion, I have ducked to avoid a collision with a hummingbird.

I have learned not to wear a red shirt when taking down the hummingbird feeder during the day. A red shirt causes the hummingbirds to flit back and forth in front of my face, as if searching for the perfect access to this huge, glorious RED flower they see before them.

Instead of filling the hummingbird feeders during the day and risking a collision with the tiny birds, I often wait until after dark to take down the feeder, wash it and fill it with fresh nectar. That way, when the hummingbirds are looking for food early in the morning, they will find a clean feeder filled with fresh nectar.

As the season progresses, the hummingbirds dramatically increase their nectar consumption so that by July, I am filling the hummingbird feeder at least once per day. I like having the hummingbird feeder in front of my kitchen window where I can closely observe the hummingbirds as they perch on the feeder and dip their beaks into the nectar. When the light is just right, I can see their impossibly long tongues darting out to suck up more of the liquid or to lick off the tiny droplet hanging from the end of their beaks.

When the light is just right, it is also easy to see why they are called "Ruby Throated" hummingbirds. The red feathers at the base of the male’s throat glow like the ruby slippers in the Wizard of Oz.

All summer long I watch the hummingbirds, and as September approaches, they became more and more frantic to eat as much as they can, in preparation for the long flight back to South America.

And then, early in September, one day it will dawn on me that I haven’t seen as many hummingbirds. As more days pass, the remaining hummingbirds leave too. Eventually I don’t see any hummingbirds at all, and I know it will be many months, with a long hard winter in between, before I can once again feed the hummingbirds that hover in front of my kitchen window.

© LeAnn R. Ralph 2004

About The Author

LeAnn R. Ralph is the author of the books *Christmas in Dairyland (True Stories from a Wisconsin Farm)* and *Preserve Your Family History (A Step-by-Step Guide for Writing Oral Histories).* She is working on her next book *Give Me a Home Where the Dairy Cows Roam.* You are invited to order a book from Rural Route 2. You are also invited to sign up for LeAnn’s FREE! monthly newsletter, Rural Route 2 News. Visit — http://ruralroute2.com

bigpines@ruralroute2.com

Visualize watching a bright green hummingbird in your garden moving from flower to flower in search of the tasty nectar within. These beautiful and tiny birds weigh about 2 to 20 grams and are found in a wide variety of environments from the high Andes to lowlands, and from dry desert areas to rainforests. They have slender beaks, extensible tongues, ten primary feathers, and tiny feet suitable for perching but not walking.

Hummingbirds can fly straight up, straight down, backwards, left, right, and even upside down. While most birds obtain their flight strength only from the down stroke, hummingbirds have power on the up stroke as well.

Most hummingbirds flap their wings about fifty times a second and have a very fast heartbeat and high body temperature. They feed every ten minutes or so throughout the day and typically consume two-thirds of their body weight in a single day. Their source of nutrition is primarily nectar from flowers, as well as sources of protein from insects and tiny spiders.

The key to attracting hummingbirds to your garden mainly consists of the right type of flowers and places where they can perch and rest during the day, such as trees or large plants. Hummingbirds are guided by visual means and are particularly attracted to certain shades of red. According to The Hummingbird Society, there are several possible explanations for their preference of red blossoms. Given that insects also see nectar, they can be regarded as competitors. Nearly all insects see well in the visible and near-ultraviolet light but poorly in the red end of the spectrum. Also, a red blossom may appear nearly black and unattractive to a number of insects, but not to the hummingbird, which can see the full visible spectrum but also some in the ultraviolet. This makes it less likely that an insect has taken nectar from a red flower. Another likely explanation is that during migration, red blossoms effectively contrast with a green environment more than other colored flowers do.

Hummingbirds are welcomed guests to nearly all gardens. By planting flowering shrubs and plants that are their favored food source, we can easily attract them to become regular visitors to our gardens. Below is a short list of their preferred flowering plants by common name, separated by region:

Southeastern United States:

• Butterfly Bush

• Cardinal Flower

• Coral or Trumpet Honeysuckle

• Cypress Vine

• Native Trumpet Creeper

• Texas Sage

Southwest United States:

• Indian Paintbrush

• Lantana

• Lily of the Nile

• Mexican Honeysuckle

• Texas Sage

• Western Coral Bean

West Coast United States:

• Beebalm

• Bottle Brush

• Cape Fuchsia

• Colombine

• Salmonberry

• Woodland Orchard

Northeastern United States:

• Blue Lobelia

• Cardinal Flower

• Hollyhock

• Red Morning Glory

• Salvia

• Scarlet Sage

Midwest United States:

• Coral Bells

• Coral Honeysuckle

• Foxglove

• Hosta

• Impatients

• Lilac

Even though flowers are the natural means to attract hummingbirds to your garden, man-made feeders filled with a mixture of water and sugar (sucrose) are an essential alternative. Sugar, whether from a flower or a feeder, is a necessary nutrient in a hummingbird’s diet. Tests have shown that hummingbirds favor sucrose in flower nectar more than other sugars such as fructose and glucose. Therefore, with the proper ratio of ingredients, your feeder becomes a good substitute to the flowers that hummingbirds like best.

The formula for the mixture used in hummingbird feeders is 4 parts water (not distilled) to 1 part table sugar. Boil the mixture for one to two minutes, then cool and store in refrigerator. The mixture can be stored in the refrigerator for up to one week. Do not use red food coloring, honey, or artificial sweeteners in your mixture, as this could be harmful to the hummingbirds.

If one of your goals is to attract hummingbirds to your garden, a visit to your local nursery is a great starting point. Find an experienced employee who can tell you which species of plants grow well in your area and have a history of successfully attracting hummingbirds. Most importantly, be imaginative and have fun planting and growing your garden to attract beautiful hummingbirds.

Lesley Dietschy is a freelance writer and the creator/editor of The Home Decor Exchange and the Home & Garden Exchange. The Home Decor Exchange is a popular home and garden website featuring resources, articles, decorating pictures, free projects, and a shopping marketplace. The Home & Garden Exchange website is a link exchange program and directory dedicated to the home and garden industry, as well as offering free website content and promotional ideas. Please visit both websites for all of your home, garden, and website needs.

http://www.HomeDecorExchange.com

http://www.HomeGardenExchange.com

When I was a teenager we walked the banks of Utah’s Jordan River and counted the birds for the Audubon Society during the Christmas Bird Count. Right after WW II, we recorded our maximum count. We saw 139 species of birds and many thousands of individuals.

Then construction of new housing moved in.

In just a few years the Christmas count for that area dropped from 139 species to 13 species. The river had considerable hunting pressure, but the majority of birds were not affected. Those species that were affected had habitat in which to hide when the bullets were flying.

Not all birds can maintain population in the face of hunting. That’s why we now have laws outlawing the killing of birds. Hawks are particularly susceptible to hunting pressure. They are out in the open and can be killed by rifle fire from a great distance.

Many bird speicies along the river could tolerate hunting pressure. What they could not survive was the loss of habitat. Those species that could not find new habitat disappeared.

The sad thing was this: The habitat could have been preserved if someone had thought about it. Just how difficult is it to maintain habitat along the banks of a river? Do builders have to buy every inch of ground, remove all the foliage, and drive birds and other critters away?

You would think that maintaining the habitat, with walking paths for the new families moving in, would be something to be desired. There could be an economic advantage.

To learn more on the loss of habitat for birds and other wildlife go to: http://training.fws.gov/library/Pubs/mbd_habitat_loss.pdf. The last 50 years have been devastating. Any bird watcher (birder) who was alive at the end of WW II can show you by his annual bird list, or will tell you, that birds are rapidly disappearing.

Here are some ideas to preserve our birds and wildlife:

1. Teach your children to never trap or kill birds and other wildlife.

2. Take them bird watching. Teach them the value of birds.

3. Visit local and even more distant wildlife preservation areas. See a refuge map at: http://www.refugenet.org/new-general-info/map.html. If you buy a Duck Stamp, you will save money on entrance fees.

4. Buy your children binoculars, telescopes, telescope cameras, magnifying glasses, bird books, and other items to create interest in wildlife.

5. Join a local club such as the National Audubon Society. Take part in the club activities. You will meet some nerdy but delightful friends. (Well, they are not all nerdy, just the best birders.)

6. Watch wildlife features on television. If they conflict with Wheel of Fortune, record them for later viewing.

7. Contribute to wildlife preservation activities.

8. Create a layout of your home and yard. Study ways to make your areas more wildlife friendly. Buy or build a few bird houses. Hang a feeder for song birds. Place feeders for humming birds. Plant bushes and foliage according to what you learn from books and the Internet. Make sure they are suitable to your area by visiting a local garden shop. Learn what you can do to your yard to promote wildlife and bird habitat at: http://www.audubon.org/bird/at_home/.

9. Enjoy wildlife through photography. Grab a paintbrush and paint a bird on your mailbox. Teach your children to draw and paint birds or buy them a book on how to do it.

10. Have your community place wildlife provisions in building codes. Use local ordinances to protect all beneficial wildlife.

Once you take a personal interest in wildlife and wildlife management, things can only improve where you live. You will be a person that cares and changes things for the better. Life will be more meaningful.

Your children will continue your family tradition I taught my children how to identify birds. One of my sons is very busy in his medical practice but he often calls me when he sees a new bird species and he sends or emails me photos of birds and other wildlife.

Where does he see birds and wildlife? He sees them in his yard, but mainly in a park near his home.

If you create an environment for wildlife, you won’t have to go that far to see it.

John T. Jones, Ph.D. (tjbooks@hotmail.com, a retired VP of R&D for Lenox China, is author of detective & western novels, nonfiction (business, scientific, engineering, humor), poetry, etc. Former editor of Ceramic Industry Magazine, Jones is Executive Representative of International Wealth Success. He calls himself "Taylor Jones, the hack writer."

More info: http://www.tjbooks.com

Business web site: http://www.bookfindhelp.com (IWS wealth-success books and kits and business newsletters / TopFlight flagpoles)