During this time of year, the bird feeders at my farm are filled with chirping hungry wildlife.
Winter is a difficult time for wild birds, especially here in North America - days are short, nights are often cold and long, and natural food supplies are scarce or hidden by snow. I have a number of bird feeders at my farm, and all the birds love to come by and feast on the seed I provide. I also set out fresh water and cut holes in the burlap covers over the boxwood, so birds are able to take shelter during inclement weather. Helping the wild birds is important to sustain local wild bird populations, but it is also one of the easiest and most beautiful ways to observe and appreciate wildlife and to understand the types of birds that frequent the neighborhood.
Enjoy these photos. And remember, Daylight Saving Time returns this weekend, so be sure to “spring forward” one hour before you go to bed tonight.
Behind my carport I keep a long row of bird feeders for visiting avian friends. During winter, I hang 20-feeders under the eaves – in spring and summer, about half that amount. They are checked and refilled every morning around 7am. It’s important that I feed the birds all year long – they depend on it.
Feeders should be set up where they are easy to see and convenient to fill. They should be placed where seed-hungry squirrels and bird-hungry cats cannot reach them, and if near a window, no more than three feet from the glass to prevent possible collisions.
All my wild bird seed is stored in galvanized metal cans and kept inside my generator room next to the carport.
This is a wild bird seed mix. This includes white millet, black oil sunflower seeds, striped sunflower seeds and cracked corn. The birds love this seed.
When filling the feeders, we use a pole with a hook on one end. Each feeder is carefully removed from its hanging location and refilled on the ground.
Here is a closer look at the pole with the handy hook at the top – it works very well and makes filling these feeders very easy.
Phurba fills every feeder to the top – depending on the time of year, these feeders can quickly empty.
These tube feeders allow the seed to flow only when birds peck at it, which helps keep any spillage to a minimum.
My bird feeders are refilled every morning – sometimes midday as well, if the birds are extra hungry. Each tube feeder holds about three quart-sized containers of seed. This is a black-capped chickadee. These birds are highly curious about everything, including humans. Its black cap and bib, white cheeks and gray back, wings and tail make it an easy bird to distinguish and identify.
This bird is at a feeder filled with nyjer. Nyjer is a great seed to offer birds, especially in winter because it contains more oil, and a higher calorie content, so birds can store fat to survive the season.
Some of the birds perch patiently in nearby trees until they’re ready to feast.
Others sit on the branches of the apple espalier.
Many birds prefer tube feeders – hollow cylinders with multiple feeding ports and perches. Tube feeders attract small perching birds such as finches, goldfinches, titmice, and chickadees.
Here’s a downy woodpecker – the smallest woodpecker in North America. Even if your bird visitors are not entirely dependent on your food supply, try not to leave them without food. If you plan to be away, fill extra feeders, or ask a willing neighbor to continue feeding your birds until you return.
On the other side of the carriage road, under my clematis pergola, are several more feeders that need refilling. This is my Martha Stewart Copper Bird Feeder available on Martha.com. This handsome feeder attracts many avian visitors through the day. The birds love to perch on the copper lip and watch the activities around the farm. You can also find wild bird seed on my web site at Martha.com.
Phurba begins at one end and brings down each bird feeder. Here, he stops for a quick photo.
This feeder has four feeding ports and the lipped tray to catch any fallen seeds.
Phurba uses the long pole to return the feeder to its hook – always careful not to step in the garden bed below, especially at this time as many of the precious bulbs are just beginning to emerge.
It won’t take long before the birds come flying – the birds love this location.
Phurba also puts seeds in a couple metal trays on the ground. My peafowl love to come up to my terrace parterre for afternoon snacks.
I also feel it is important to make sure all the wild birds have access to fresh water. I use one of these double wall metal chicken waterers on top of a heater to prevent freezing. Made of galvanized steel, these waterers are clean, durable and can hold a couple gallons of water.
Pet bowls of water are also left out. Night temperatures are still freezing here in the Northeast, so every morning, Phurba removes the ice and replenishes the supply.
Some of you may have seen the holes cut out of the burlap here at the farm. I purposely create these holes for the visiting birds. They love to go in and out, especially when it is windy.
The feeders are visible from my Winter House steps – it’s always so nice to see what bird come to eat at my feeders. Look closely – this feeder was filled to top shortly before the photo was taken. The wild birds are hungry!
When starting to feed birds, it may take time for new feeders to be discovered. Don’t be surprised if the feeding station doesn’t get birds right away. As long as feeders are clean and filled with fresh seed, the birds will find them. According to our Audubon Society, more than 125 bird species visit my farm – and in summer, guess what? They take care of all the bugs – I never see any pesky flying bugs near my home. Helping the wild birds – it’s a Good Thing!
The calendar says spring starts in just nine days, but the recent snow and nighttime temperatures below freezing in the Northeast remind us just how unpredictable Mother Nature can be.
Yesterday, I shared photos from this week's snow storm at my Bedford, New York farm. Because of the erratic weather, a lot of that snow has already melted. And temperatures today are expected to hit 43-degrees Fahrenheit before dropping to the 30s this weekend. There are similar conditions up in Seal Harbor, Maine - a day of rain followed by a blizzard that dropped more than five inches of white powder over Skylands last week. Sunny skies are expected there today before a cold front moves in tomorrow.
Cheryl DuLong, who helps me care for Skylands when I am not there, took these photos after the last snow fall. Enjoy.
This is one of our favorite views – it’s taken from my kitchen window and is a reflection in the dining room storm window – so amazing. Cheryl took this snapshot early in the morning, when the skies were still gray.
This view is through a leaded window in the dining room looking out onto the high tops of the spruce trees.
Area residents were only expecting flurries on this day, but woke up to several inches of white. Local forecasters called this weather system an “over achiever snow flurry.” To protect the large urns on the terrace from the winter elements, they are covered with these plywood boxes – the urns are three to four hundred pounds each, so it is much easier to cover them during the cold season.
These are the doors in living room going out to the West Terrace. In the summer, I usually keep a table out on the terrace where we can enjoy shaded brunches.
There are many original kiwi vines that continue to grow and thrive at Skylands. These vines are growing on the posts over the West Terrace. They have survived many snow storms over the years.
Here’s a photo taken from a second floor window looking out onto the Counsel Circle. On the right are the hoof prints of deer that have strolled through underneath the spruce and hemlock trees.
Many of you probably recognize the Counsel Circle even when covered in snow. The fire pit is in the center. The void around it is the circular sitting area.
Here is one of the tall spruce trees that can be seen off the terrace. I love how it towers over the others.
This post holds a hose during warmer months. It is also covered with snow.
Thrumcap Island, or wool cap, as French sailors in the 1600s called it, can be seen from this vantage point. The rocky island is on nearly 15 acres and supports the nesting of many birds each year.
A doe rests beneath the evergreen boughs – she doesn’t seem to mind the cold one bit.
By 10am, the clouds disappeared and the gray skies turned sunny. Here, one can see some of Rockefeller’s Teeth guarding the edge’s ledge.
Snow on the branches weighed them down, but luckily there was no damage to any of the trees on the property.
A view out my back door to the porch where lush, bold green Boston ferns hang during summer.
Here’s the same kitchen window Cheryl looks through to see the reflections on the dining room storm window. It looks so sunny out there, but still quite cold.
Through the trees is Sutton Island in the distance. The views of Seal Harbor are always breathtaking. It looks very different in summer when it’s filled with boats.
These steps go down to a footpath leading to my guest house and playhouse from my large “cracked ice” terrace.
These are the bottom of those steps. Despite all the beauty, it’s a lot of snow to shovel around the house. Fortunately, the warmer day temperatures helped to melt it.
Outside the front door is my circular driveway and these large boulders covered in snow.
And don’t worry – Aristide Maillol’s ‘La Riviere’ is safe and all tucked away for the remainder of winter.
Daylight Saving Time begins this coming Sunday, March 13th - that’s just three days away, when we all advance our clocks one-hour in order to make better use of natural daylight in the warmer months.
This season’s winter weather has been extremely erratic. Last weekend, we had a day of beautiful warm weather with temperatures nearing 70-degrees Fahrenheit. And then yesterday, our area was hit with snow and rain. This particular snow was wet, heavy, and only accumulated a couple of inches, but still really quite beautiful.
Enjoy these photos.
The snow started falling by 10am. It came down fast and strong, but because the temperatures were hovering around 35-degrees Fahrenheit, there wasn’t much accumulation – only a couple of inches by day’s end. Here are three of my five donkeys keeping watch from their run-in shed. Billie, Jude “JJ” Junior, and Truman “TJ” Junior. Clive and Rufus are out grazing underneath the falling snow.
Majestic trees stand tall in the middle field with smaller saplings growing below.
A little further down the carriage road, one can see a bit of color in this grove of golden yellow weeping willows. Look closely and see the visiting geese – geese love to gather here at Cantitoe Corners.
This is a picture of my field of Christmas trees – they have all grown so much! They were all just little saplings when I planted them 13-years ago. I planted a total of 640 Christmas trees in this field – White Pine, Frasier Fir, Canaan Fir, Norway Spruce, and Blue Spruce.
In the back hayfield is this mighty sycamore – the symbol of my farm.
Here’s a stand of dawn redwoods, Metasequoia, with their straight trunks – impressive trees by any standard, and beautiful in any season. Thankfully, the wind was not very strong, so none of the trees lost any branches.
The streams in the woodland were all full.
Here’s a view looking at my Summer House from the footpath of the sunken garden. The boxwood hedges are still well protected under their burlap covers.
The pachysandra is almost unrecognizable under this thin coating of white.
This is my herbaceous peony bed at rest – I cannot wait to see it overflowing with white and pink peony blooms this year. One can still see the outline of the beds through the snow.
One one side of my long and winding pergola is a lone weeping copper beech with its interesting branches. When leafed out it shows off rich, dark purple foliage.
This corn crib has been here since I purchased the farm. Located near my Winter House and long pergola, it’s become a favorite photo for guests who visit. The allee of lindens runs perpendicular to the Boxwood Allee that leads to my stable. This view is between the paddocks looking north.
Across from the clematis pergola is a stand of bald cypress trees, Taxodium distichum, surrounding my Basket House.
And on one side of this “soccer field” are six weeping hornbeams, Carpinus betulus Pendula. These are such graceful and shapely specimen trees, very densely branched and adaptable to various soil conditions.
My blueberry pergola is located between my hay barn and my flower cutting garden. These bushes are so prolific during summer – they produce lots and lots of delicious, juicy blueberries.
Here is a view of my large Equipment Barn. The finials on top are antique. I bought them years back. They are perfect for this structure, don’t you agree?
Here is a view from one of the main intersections of the farm – to the left is my long boxwood allee, and to the right is the path to the woodlands and straight ahead is this grove of American beech trees and the antique fencing surrounding one of the horse paddocks.
When putting up the burlap, we always make holes for the birds who wish to take refuge in inclement weather. I wonder if any are in there now.
The great eastern white pines from a distance. They can be seen from many vantage points at the farm.
Hundreds of young boxwood are growing in this garden. I order them as bare root cuttings and then nurture them for several years before transplanting them to their more permanent locations.
This layer of snow will fall or melt off the boxwood covered frames, but I am glad they are all still protected. The outdoor grounds crew did such a wonderful job constructing these protective tents this year. Today is expected to hit 50-degrees Fahrenheit, and more snow may come this weekend. Winter is not quite over yet, but spring does start in just 10-days.
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