bird sh-t Archives - A Way To Garden https://awaytogarden.com/category/nature/bird-sh-t/ 'horticultural how-to and woo-woo' with margaret roach, head gardener Sun, 06 Jul 2025 14:53:25 +0000 en-US hourly 1 9651199 the genius of crows and ravens, with dr. john marzluff https://awaytogarden.com/the-genius-of-crow-and-ravens-with-dr-john-marzluff/ https://awaytogarden.com/the-genius-of-crow-and-ravens-with-dr-john-marzluff/#comments Fri, 04 Jul 2025 19:38:39 +0000 https://awaytogarden.com/?p=57184 A COUPLE OF RAVENS have been shouting at each other across the garden each day this spring-into-summer, and their loud-mouthed antics reminded me of a somewhat less bawdy conversation about crows and ravens that I had a decade ago on the podcast with ornithologist Dr. John Marzluff—a conversation I want to reprise. Possessing large brains for their body size, a knack for social networking that requires no internet connection, and keen powers of observation, crows and ravens are among the big personalities of the bird word. They are also what Dr. Marzluff calls, “black-feathered practitioners of lifelong learning,” and from him I learned about the capacity of their avian brains and the range of things it allows them to do–from the funny to the daring, much of it almost unbelievable. Dr. Marzluff is a renowned ornithologist and urban ecologist, and professor emeritus of wildlife sciences at the University of Washington. He is author a number of books, including ones about his area of particular expertise, the corvids—crows, ravens, jays and their relatives.  Around the time that we recorded this conversation, I had just read the book he created in collaboration with illustrator Tony Angell called “Gifts of the Crow: How […]

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]]> https://awaytogarden.com/the-genius-of-crow-and-ravens-with-dr-john-marzluff/feed/ 299 57184 welcoming bluebirds, with julie zickefoose https://awaytogarden.com/welcoming-bluebirds-with-julie-zickefoose/ https://awaytogarden.com/welcoming-bluebirds-with-julie-zickefoose/#comments Fri, 21 Feb 2025 19:36:03 +0000 https://awaytogarden.com/?p=55786 THE SIGHT OF Eastern bluebirds rates high on my happiness scale, so I say bring them on. But what makes a place look like inviting habitat to these charismatic birds, encouraging them to maybe stick around during breeding season? And if your site meets with their approval, and a pair perhaps shacks up in a nest box you provided, how can you then be a good bluebird landlord? Those and other bluebird-centric questions were the topic with expert birder Julie Zickefoose, a writer, artist, naturalist and wildlife rehabilitator who lives on an 80-acre wildlife sanctuary in the Appalachian foothills of Ohio. She’s a contributor to “BWD Magazine,” formerly “Bird Watcher’s Digest,” and is also the author and illustrator of multiple books, including “Saving Jemima: Life and Love with a Hard Luck Jay,” “Baby Birds: an Artist looks Into the Nest,” and “The Bluebird Effect: Uncommon Bonds with Common Birds.” Plus: Enter to win a copy of her bluebird book by commenting in the box near the bottom of the page. Read along as you listen to the Feb. 24, 2025 edition of my public-radio show and podcast using the player below. You can subscribe to all future editions on Apple […]

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]]> https://awaytogarden.com/welcoming-bluebirds-with-julie-zickefoose/feed/ 356 55786 drought: the challenge for gardeners, plants and wildlife, with julie zickefoose https://awaytogarden.com/drought-the-challenge-for-gardeners-plants-and-wildlife-with-julie-zickefoose/ https://awaytogarden.com/drought-the-challenge-for-gardeners-plants-and-wildlife-with-julie-zickefoose/#comments Fri, 13 Dec 2024 21:11:07 +0000 https://awaytogarden.com/?p=55343 DID YOU HAVE an abnormally dry growing season this year—one where it felt like you just couldn’t keep up with the watering, maybe? Today’s guest, naturalist and artist Julie Zickefoose, and I both did in our otherwise different garden locations—places that usually have plenty of rain. Besides prompting frustration and some plant failures, the dry times also had us making observations about the impact of drought on various forms of wildlife. Julie Zickefoose lives and gardens in the Appalachian foothills of southeast Ohio. You probably know her from one of the books she’s written and illustrated like my favorite, “Saving Jemima: Life and Love With a Hard Luck Jay,” and besides being an author and artist, Julie is a wildlife rehabilitator and a keen gardener, too. I’m glad to welcome her back to the show to commiserate about a season that really threw us both—and what we learned from it and its impact on gardeners, plants, and birds and other wildlife. Plus: Comment in the box near the bottom of the page for a chance to win a copy of “Saving Jemima.” Read along as you listen to the Dec. 16, 2024 edition of my public-radio show and podcast using […]

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