It’s Prime Bird-Watching Season! Walking along Santa Rosa creek recently, during a break between atmospheric river events, I was delighted to see Common Mergansers—a male and two females— feeding in the fast-moving creek. Been hearing the Great Horned Owls,
Where to Start – it is easier than you think!
Sometimes we want to do something beneficial, like turning our backyard into a wildlife habitat, but it feels too big a task or we just don’t know where to start. The good news: you really don’t have to start over;
Want a bird feeder?
A Few Tips on Bird Feeders There are many ways to attract birds to your garden—water features, plants that offer seeds, nuts, fruit (especially California natives) and plants that provide cover and nesting sites. But If your habitat area
Plants for Birds
Use these plants to create a bird focused habitat. Bird Habitat Plants for Sebastopol Trees and Shrubs Big-leaf maple Blue elderberry California buckeye California hazelnut California wild rose Ceanothus spp. Coffeeberry Coyotebush Creambush (Holodiscus discolor) Dogwoods Hollyleaf
Tropical Milkweed
Nancy’s Final (I hope) Word on Tropical Milkweed As co-founder with April of our Habitat Corridor Project, I mostly talk about how to make gardens more wildlife friendly, and the habitat value of native plants. Though I have written
Fall Plant Sales
NATIVE PLANT SALE If you are looking to enhance the habitat value of your garden, you won’t want to miss the annual CNPS (California Native Plant Society) plant sale on October 8, 10am-1pm, at the Laguna Foundation, 900 Sanford Road,
Monarch Update
MORE ON MONARCHS On July 21 the monarch butterfly was declared endangered by IUCN (The International Union for the Conservation of Nature). Being listed on the IUCN Red List means it is the first time the monarch has been officially
All Butterflies Need Our Help
It has been encouraging to see so many habitat gardening enthusiasts plant more milkweed and work together to save the rapidly declining Monarch populations. While there was some good news of a significant increase in the overwintering Monarch populations on
Locals and Migrants
Locals and Migrants: Autumn in the Habitat Garden The white-crowned sparrows have come and gone. Their melancholy song marked the end of summer and the return of the autumn season. Golden-crowned sparrows, a female tanager and a male yellow rumped
What you can do.
WHAT CAN WE DO in our own gardens to help sustain our local wildlife? Because by all accounts, and many of our own observations, populations of many songbirds, butterflies and bees are going in the wrong direction, way too