Avian Allies

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Many of us are lucky to live at the edges of green spaces. Santa Barbara not only has plenty of parks and tree-lined streets, but it is laced with many creek drainages that are still mostly populated by native shrubs and trees. Why is that lucky? Because these vegetated areas support a high diversity of animals. One group that is very mobile is birds. A number of birds exist mainly on a diet of insects, which can be a boon to gardeners. By including some of their favorite food plants, a source of water, and nesting sites, they can be enticed to spend more time in the garden. Here are some of the more desirable avian allies.

Swallows live entirely on insects. Locally, barn swallows may find their preferred nesting sites, such as the eaves of an outbuilding, suitable for their mud nests. They also prefer to live near a body of water, where the incidence of insects is high, so a large pond will also attract their attention. Barn swallows also feed over grassy fields. Like swallows, the black phoebe has a similar taste in insects, often foraging over bodies of water, and also prefers to nest under some kind of overhang. The aerial acrobatics of both of them while catching insects on the wing are highly entertaining.

Scrub jays can sometimes be a nuisance in the garden. They are aggressive defenders of their nesting space, even harassing small animals such as cats and squirrels if they feel threatened. Jays will also rob the nests of other birds in the area, but their motives are probably more to preserve their territory rather than to eat the eggs. Although they do eat lots of acorns and other nuts when available, they also eat insects, spiders, snails, even small fish and amphibians, totaling up to a quarter of their total diet. Jays are very secretive when not out feeding or on patrol and nest in trees or tall shrubs with dense cover.

The ability to change their diet with the changing season is common to many birds. One other welcome garden bird is the mockingbird. Yes, the males may keep you awake during the spring mating season, with their incessant night-long songs, but they eat a wide variety of pests. These include ants, flies, wasps, grasshoppers, caterpillars, and spiders. When berries and other fruits are available, they will include them on their menu. In our area, these can include toyon, cotoneaster, or pyracantha. They nest in dense shrubs and easily adapt to urban areas.

Both brown towhees and rufous towhees abound in our area. They dart in and out of low shrubs, scratching at the leaves and mulch. You can tell where they've been at work by the mess they leave on nearby paths and patios. Towhees are also omnivores, eating beetles, moths, caterpillars, crickets, ants, and spiders, as well as seeds and berries. The nesting habits of both are somewhat similar, choosing shrubs or young trees with dense branching at or near the ground.

Robins are characteristically illustrated pulling earthworms out of the ground, which they certainly do, but they also eat a wide variety of other invertebrates. These include grasshoppers, crickets, leaf beetles, tent caterpillars, and cutworms. The American robin (its new, more correct name) will nest almost anywhere in shrubs and trees. Their nests, made of twigs and mud, may be sited near the ground in cooler weather, but placed high in a tree when excessive heat may threaten the young. The thickness of the mud layer may also vary to provide more insulation.

There are a number of sparrow species in our state, but the ubiquitous, and nonnative, English sparrow is most prominent. Introduced in 1850 in Central Park in New York City, it made it to the West Coast in about 20 years. Sparrows eat both seeds and insects. Many of their preferred seeds are those of what most gardeners would consider weeds, like broad leaf plantain. They will find a nesting site almost anywhere that has a narrow entrance (they're called hole-builders by the bird community). In fact, even if you wanted to keep them out of your garden, you probably couldn't.

Another weed seed eater is the mourning dove. They have been recorded to eat seeds of crab grass, foxtail, panic grass, purslane, and other weedy species. Their nests are usually found in conifers such as cedars and pines, but they may also find other large shrubs to their liking.

Armed with this information, you may be able to attract and support a helpful population of feathered friends.

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