Six weeks before the frost sets in (traditionally, Canadian Thanksgiving is the first-frost date, but it actually comes later), gardeners can often get an early start on the next year’s garden and crops. The six-week mark is perfect for doing transplants because roots are not likely to experience drought or heat stress. It gives them a chance to establish themselves before the coming winter.
I decided it was time for an event that I then publicized on EventBrite and Facebook: a fall-oriented gardening session to prepare a garden for next year and plant native species. This hands-on event for the avid or casual gardener was to be a collaborative learning opportunity about native and cultivated plants for biodiverse wildlife gardens. Attendees were also welcome to bring plants from their garden, for swapping with other gardeners.
So, Saturday morning, I got up early to make it up to Pepinière Jasmin – where you can always find some native/indigenous plants even at the end of the planting season. One of the native plant suppliers was Aiglon Indigo.
Beginning with the raptors (birds of prey) in March and culminating in Warbler Season in May, and then again from August through October, birds face an incredibly dangerous journey, flying between their summer nesting territory and their winter residences.
It’s always been dangerous for reasons related to weather and predation, but with the conditions imposed by us, it’s now a gauntlet. First we had the advent of guns and market hunting that, two centuries ago, began wiping many out. In the last century alone, communications towers and hydro lines and glass buildings and habitat loss and so on have amounted to Billions of birds lost.
The other day, I watched a documentary by New Hampshire Public Television on bird migration. I learned a few startling facts about habitat loss and other pressures that decimate bird populations. Most alarming of all was that birdmortality while migrating is as high as 85%. I doubt that’s due to hurricanes and low seasonal food, though these are real risks that birds have always faced. I’m sure that most are due to human activity:
Building and tower lights on at night throwing birds off course, exhausting and killing them. Birds migrate at night, and the light of the moon used to guide them. Now, our overlit cities and buildings misguide them.
Bird strikes on power and cellular telephone infrastructure — guy wires and towers also are responsible, it’s not just wind turbines.
Critical habitat loss on migration routes. Birds need to land and feed, timed with their food source according to the season and weather, before proceeding north (or south) again.
Bird strikes on buildings, now more than ever. Glass architecture is killing millions of migratory birds. And it’s not just big buildings! An individual home may only be killing a handful of birds a year, but there are so many homes out there that those numbers really add up quickly.
And the grand winner: Our pet and feral cats are the biggest killers by far. Do not underestimate the carnage that your sweet kitty causes. It’s not good fun. If you absolutely insist on putting your cat outdoors – you’re wrong, but still – do it only at night, when birds are in flight. During the day, they need to come down and search for food, water, and rest. They need it. The cat’s just playing. (So put a BirdBeSafe collar on kitty!)
In 2015, I posted about converting a standard residential parking spot into a green driveway. It’s a pictorial, part of our Project portfolio. Three months later (from mid-May to August), I’d gotten used to the results and I was quite happy!
I’m still pleased, having seen the results over seven seasons (spring through winter, then next spring through to now). It’s like an extra yard with cobblestone wheel paths, and after I got rid of my car, a space for my Adirondack chair.
The snowbank plowed on the other side of the streetThe walk I shovel when we have a major snow
Now the driveway is under a foot and a half of snow. With no car, I have little need to shovel it out. But if I did, the effort of shovelling a green driveway is different than that of a standard one. For example, you cannot use salt, but neither do you have to clear it right down to the pavement. You shovel out the right-of-way on the street, the wheel tracks, and access to the car doors. When the snow packs and turns to ice, you put down sand, crushed cinders/grit (which I actually collect in the spring from leftovers on the sidewalk and street gutter), or sawdust.
There are two problems I have to mention: If one parks for too long on the green driveway, without sun, the plants under the car die back. As soon as you move the car elsewhere for a day or two and water the driveway, the green comes back. So, if you use the car several times a week during the day: no problem!
The other issue I had was when someone else parked in my driveway and they had an oil leak (which would be a problem anyway). It kills the plants. But oil does biodegrade, so the vegetation came back only a little worse for wear in about two weeks. It still beats seeing an oil stain on your driveway! And if this occurs: just like with winter ice, throw down some sand and/or wood shavings on the oil. That will help get it gone.
Green driveways do the birds good
Last summer when I came home from a run, I had the satisfaction of more proof that this was a great thing to do. As I walked past the driveway on the way in, I startled a small flock of chipping sparrows who were foraging near the garage door. Success! They wouldn’t have been there if the driveway was asphalt or pavers. They felt at home.
Since 2012, when I really started paying attention to the birds here in Little Burgundy, the Chipping Sparrow seems to be increasing in numbers. It will fluctuate, but increases are good. At first I was confused about whether the birds were Chipping or American Tree Sparrows. I haven’t heard the distinct call of the Tree Sparrow, but I often hear the distinct call of the Chipping Sparrow in spring. This persuaded me which one it was. (You can easily see different photos and hear calls the birds make at the All About Birds links here, above and in the photo caption below).
So it’s not just that the driveway provides me all these physical and psychological benefits, from a cooler property with more leisure space, to retaining rainwater and helping prevent flood surges at the municipal level. The green space adds to green space. Cities need and homeowners can provide native habitat for the birds and animals that use it. More birds will then benefit from cities. There’s already ecological census data indicating that cities are beginning to be beneficial environments for many species, and not just skunks and raccoons!
If you have a driveway that could stand converting over from hot and ugly old asphalt to something a little more cool and welcoming, please don’t hesitate to reach out. I’m here to help!
I enjoy looking after the birds out back, where I feed the house sparrows and any other bird that comes by in winter. It’s good to have a garden that produces food for birds, but water is just as important as food in the winter. My pond is what makes my backyard home to so many creatures besides myself.But I also put the pond to bed when winter comes.
With the onset of truly cold weather, with snow on the ground that sticks around, water is pretty much everywhere — in solid or powdered form. Birds don’t do as well as dogs and humans at eating snow for water, so that makes it hard for our furry and feathered friends to get enough to drink. In fact, in winter, birds can suffer even more from lack of water than from lack of food.
Don’t feel guilty if this might not have occurred to you already. Even after creating a proper backyard habitat, it still took me years to provide them this basic need in winter.
(For those few lucky enough to have a solarium, their roofs are great for melting snow, giving you a real view of the birds that drink from it.)
I used to put out a dish outside the patio door (see image above). I cleaned and refilled it when needed. If you use this method, I should warn you: terracotta is ruined by freezing – the dish will crack and flake.
Then one day, I had the brilliant idea of how to make a heated water source with things I had on hand, in under 5 minutes (once all objects were located). And when you get to the bottom of this post, you’ll know why this is very timely, indeed!
This is a long-running “lifestyle” blog about the pleasures of living like a farm kid in an urban context. There’s a big focus on ecology and wildlife because this has brought me joy – and this is also the greatest potential we have of restoring some balance to nature where we live.
I write practical content for people to do little projects that basically make things beautiful, but also support climate readiness (energy efficiency, heat reduction, drought tolerance, flood prevention, and more). I’m a relentlless promoter of having a live-and-let-live attitude towards biodiversity.
Comments and questions are welcome! And if you’re anywhere near the Montreal region, you can also use my “Rewilding” service to landscape your property using native plants, convert to a green driveway, and prevent your windows from killing birds.
