MUSKOKA LAKES LIBRARY

by Lorna MacFarlane

Feb 20, 2008

Take a bird in hand @yourlibrary

There are many reasons for having birds around our homes but perhaps at this time of year, the most obvious is that birds enliven a winter landscape. The practice of attracting birds to live in close proximity to us isn’t a new one. Members of some First Nations communities hung hollow gourds to attract nesting purple martins. The territorial martins were valued because they’d drive away turkey vultures, which might otherwise dine for free from the racks of meat laid out to dry in the sun.

During the Middle Ages in Europe, starlings and sparrows born in erected birdhouses provided a regular food source, as fledglings were regularly harvested and eaten. Many nest boxes are built today for practical reasons. Gardeners, for example, have always waged war with insect pests. With an increased awareness of the long-term environmental impact of chemical pesticides, many flower and vegetable gardeners have again turned to mankind’s oldest allies in this struggle: the birds. Robins, wrens, thrushes, warblers, swallows and martins are all happy to take up residence in man-made structures and patrol a nearby garden.

Birds have also come to function as early warning systems in the face of environmental hazards. Just as a caged canary in a coal mine provides the first signs of potentially deadly gas, so too have our feathered friends given us early notice of the hazards of chemical pesticides and offer some of the best alternatives to these poisons. By erecting suitable structures, you can encourage avian populations to do the “debugging” for you!

The Norma and Miller Alloway Muskoka Lakes Library in Port Carling offers a variety of books to get you inspired to welcome birds to your garden. Wintertime is a perfect time to construct nesting boxes and feeders to be prepared for the spring return of our feathered friends.

Hi Sibley’s Birdhouses, Feeders You Can Make offers a no-frills collection of design and construction plans for a variety of styles of feeders and houses. Bruce Woods and David Schoonmaker give instruction on “how to build fanciful birdhouses and feeders, from the purely practical to the absolutely outrageous” in The Bird House Book. Charles R. Self presents Making Birdhouses & Feeders and Making Fancy Birdhouses & Feeders.

The Complete Book of Birdhouses and Feeders by Monica Russo provides brief characteristics and history on various birds in addition to numerous plans for birdhouses and feeders, squirrel problems and birdscaping. The weekend woodworker will appreciate Edward Baldwin’s Birdfeeders, Shelters & Baths, a collection of over 25 complete step-by-step projects. Architectural Birdhouses by Thomas Stender challenges the more experienced woodworker to build one of 15 famous buildings for your feathered friends.

Young woodworkers can find plans and design ideas for bird feeders and houses in The Kids’ Building Workshop: 15 Woodworking Projects for Kids & Parents to Build Together by Craig and Barbara Robertson and Birds Will Come to You by Charles Fox.

Muskoka Lakes Library Book Group: Meet on the last Tuesday of each month in the activity room of the library in Port Carling at 1 p.m. Meetings are open to all. For information contact Kathy Callaghan at 762-3956. Feb. 26 — discussion led by Mari Carson, Latitudes of Melt by Joan Clark.

Seniors’ drop-in: Every Thursday, 1:30 p.m. in Port Carling. All welcome.