Celebrating and Protecting our Native Birds

Posted on November 22, 2023 by Lorna Harder

In the late 19^th century, the rising fashion of feather plumes on hats and an appetite for wild game had taken a steep toll on native bird populations in the United States. By 1900 more than fifty North American bird species were on the brink of extinction, among them the Great Egret.

*Great Egret at the Dyck Arboretum in March of 2022. Photo by Gerald Leinbach.*

The Audubon Christmas Bird Count

Alarmed, citizens joined with scientists and lawmakers to take action to protect birds. Among them were Boston socialite Harriet Hemenway, who initiated a boycott of feathered hats, and ornithologist Frank Chapman, who proposed counting birds on Christmas Day. Thus began the Audubon Society’s annual Christmas Bird Count (CBC), marking the beginning of the longest running citizen science project in U.S. history.

From that first count day in 1900, growing numbers across the country joined in. Among them were the Ruth Sisters and Dwight Platt, who initiated the Halstead-Newton (KS) CBC in 1949. Like their counterparts across the continent, local birders have, for the past 75 years, fanned out across local rural and urban landscapes each Christmas season, to count and record birds that are seen and heard. Their reports, combined with CBC reports from across the nation, have contributed to a rich and growing database of information – information that helps us understand the status of North American birds.

*Harris’ Sparrow at Dyck Arboretum in March of 2023. Photo by Dick Zerger.*

Declining Native Bird Populations

Despite century-old laws that protect native birds, in 2019, the first-ever comprehensive assessment of net population changes in the U.S. and Canada showed staggering across-the-board declines. All told, the North American bird population is down by 2.9 billion breeding birds in every biome – that amounts to 1 in 4 birds lost. Grasslands showed the steepest declines of all. Habitat loss is a major reason for these losses in the 20^th century.

2.9 Billion birds gone. Graphic by Jillian Ditner. — *Image: https://www.allaboutbirds.org/news/vanishing-1-in-4-birds-gone/*

Making a Difference for Native Birds

Yet, not all the news out of this assessment is dire. Some groups of birds are doing well, and for good reason—governments, societies and citizens have invested in saving them. Wetlands conservation efforts and dedicated conservation funding like the Duck Stamp have paid off with healthy waterfowl populations. Raptors benefited from conservation policies, like Endangered Species legislation and the banning of harmful pesticides such as DDT. The gains among game birds like the Wild Turkey are due to dedicated conservation funding and efforts of hunting groups. People can bring back our birds!

*Image: https://www.allaboutbirds.org/news/vanishing-1-in-4-birds-gone/*

Want to know how YOU can help save native birds? Here are seven simple steps!

Make windows safer, night and day. Up to a billion birds die each year colliding into windows. Screens, lines, or films break reflectivity during the day, and turning off lights at night during migration prevents birds from getting disoriented.
Keep cats indoors and work to reduce feral cat populations. Up to 2.6 billion birds are killed annually by cats, the #1 human-caused reason for loss of birds aside from habitat loss.
Reduce lawn and plant natives. Replacing 40 million acres of lawn in the U.S. with native plants offers huge opportunities to provide food, shelter and nesting areas that sustain birds.
Avoid Pesticides. Pesticides can be toxic to birds directly, or contaminate the seeds and insects they eat. Good for you and the birds!
Drink coffee that is good for the birds. Shade-grown coffee preserves forest canopy in tropical and subtropical regions of the world where migratory birds like orioles survive in winter.
Protect our planet from plastic. Waste plastic pollutes our oceans, harming sea-going birds. By reducing use of plastics, avoiding single-use plastics, and recycling, you are protecting our birds.
Become a community scientist! Watch birds and share what you see. Hundreds of thousands of people are reporting what they are seeing in backyards, neighborhoods, and natural places around the world. Join a project such as eBird, Project FeederWatch, Christmas Bird Count, or the Breeding Bird Survey. Your contributions will provide valuable information to show where birds are thriving—and where they need our help.

Have a happy holiday season with the birds! And be sure to visit the Kauffman Museum’s special travelling exhibit A Day with the Birds: Community Science and the Audubon Christmas Bird Count, on display January through August 2024.

*Northern Cardinal at Dyck Arboretum in February of 2015. Photo by Dave Osborne.*

Reference: https://www.birds.cornell.edu/home/bring-birds-back/

Plant Profile: False Solomon’s Seal

Posted on April 26, 2023 by Lorna Harder

Originally published in the Winter 2022 issue of the newsletter of the Kansas Native Plant Society.

It started with seed collection. Throughout this past spring, summer and fall, I’ve been collecting seed for propagation of native seeds, seeds to be shared with the Dyck Arboretum, and seeds for our prairie restoration. So when I gazed out the window earlier this fall and noted the scarlet berries of False Solomon’s Seal hanging from spent stems, I collected them. I’ve never propagated this species from seed, so clearly, research needed to be done. In that process, I’ve learned more about False Solomon’s Seal, and I’ve also come to more fully appreciate it!

Maianthemum racemosum, or False Solomon Seal, drawing by Lorna Harder.

False Solomon’s Seal

Maianthemum racemosum (formerly Smilacina racemosa)– is an herbaceous perennial, native to woodlands throughout North America. The common name reflects its similarity to Solomon’s Seal, but False Solomon’s Seal is easily distinguished by the flowers and later berries that are produced at the ends of the stems. Indigenous people have variously used the spring shoots, rhizomes and leaves for medicinal and food purposes; and deer will also browse on it.

In spring, this plant’s stalks emerge from fleshy rhizomes. Stems are slightly zigzag and grow from 18 – 36 inches in length. Leaves are smooth and alternate with parallel venation. In late spring, up to 80 feathery, quarter-inch flowers are produced at the ends of the stems. The flowers are characteristic of the lily family, having six tepals (look-alike petals and sepals), with six stamens surrounding the central pistil. They are fragrant and attract a variety of pollinators including small native bees, flies and beetles. The berries that form contain a few seeds each. Initially they are green with purple spots, ripening to crimson. Birds and mice disperse the seeds after eating the berries and eliminating the the seeds elsewhere.

How to Propagate

False Solomon’s Seal prefers moist, rich, well-drained soils and full to partial shade. The fibrous roots can be divided and transplanted, but it takes several years to fully reestablish in a new location. When grown from seed, False Solomon’s Seal can be sown directly into the soil in autumn for spring germination in a year or two. When propagating indoors, seeds require several rounds of alternating warm (room temperature) and cold (35 – 40 F) moist stratification before planting in pots. Here again, germination may take up to two years. Patience should definitely be included as part of the seed propagation protocol for this species!

The False Solomon’s Seal I planted nearly 20 years ago has flourished along the western side of the house. It receives light shade most of the day, but it also gets blasted by late afternoon summer sun, demonstrating this species’ ability to also tolerate drier, more exposed conditions. Over the years, the False Solomon’s Seal bed has filled in and reliably produces panicles of creamy white flowers each spring, graceful arching foliage in summer and bright red berries in fall; and it continues to serve as an elegant companion plant for Jack-in-the-Pulpit (Arisaema triphyllum), columbine (Aquilegia canadensis), prairie phlox (Phlox divaricata), wild ginger (Asarum canadense), and yellow violets (Viola pubescens). Slow starter though it is, False Solomon’s Seal is hearty, pollinator- and wildlife-friendly, easy to care for, long-lived, and attractive throughout the growing season – perfect for your native shade garden!

References

https://hort.extension.wisc.edu/articles/false-solomons-seal-maianthemum-racemosum/
https://www.mountroyalseeds.com/product/maianthemum-racemosum-false-solomons-seal/
https://plants.usda.gov/home/plantProfile
https://www.wildflower.org/plants/result.php?id_plant=marar

The Great Backyard Bird Count (GBBC)

Posted on February 24, 2023 by Lorna Harder

Recently I paused in front of a display at Kauffman Museum in North Newton that featured a pair of whooping cranes and a single Eskimo Curlew. I thought again about the two stories that are told here.

A story of loss and a story of near loss

The story of the Eskimo Curlew is the story of loss. The Eskimo Curlew was a small migratory shorebird, wintering in the Argentine pampas, and breeding in the Arctic. At the turn of the 20^th century, Eskimo curlews numbered in the hundreds of thousands. Yet, in less than 100 years, they would be presumed extinct. In North America, the last individual was seen in 1987 in Nebraska. Market hunting, loss of grasslands, and grasshoppers led to its demise.

Eskimo curlew https://news.mongabay.com/2011/06/last-search-for-the-eskimo-curlew/

The story of Whooping Cranes is the story of saving a species. With 33 known individuals remaining in 1950, whooping cranes were also on the brink of extinction. Whooping cranes remain on the endangered species list today, but through the combined, dedicated efforts of citizens and scientists, populations have increased. Citizens of all ages and interests, familiar with their plight, are helping and tracking the whooping crane migration between Texas and northern Canada. They experience both the joy of watching these magnificent birds, and the satisfaction of assisting in the efforts to preserve this species.

Whooping crane https://savingcranes.org/learn/species-field-guide/whooping-crane/

The loss of the Eskimo Curlew and the near loss of Whooping Cranes are both sobering and humbling, knowing as we do, that losses in North American and global bird populations continue at an astonishing pace.

Bird declines https://www.allaboutbirds.org/news/vanishing-1-in-4-birds-gone/

The first-ever comprehensive assessment of net population changes in the U.S. and Canada reveals across-the-board declines that scientists call “staggering.” All told, the North American bird population is down by 2.9 billion breeding adults, with devastating losses among birds in every biome … Grassland bird populations collectively have declined by 53%, or another 720 million birds.
(birds.cornell.edu/home/bring-birds-back/)

Enter the Great Backyard Bird Count

More and more, PEOPLE in every community are concerned, and PEOPLE are making a difference. Enter the Great Backyard Bird Count (GBBC). The GBBC is a global event held annually on the third weekend in February. The GBBC provides a snapshot of how many and where birds are present. This year citizens from across the U.S. have submitted more than 187,000 checklists, with 665 species reported. Globally, more than 325,000 checklists have recorded 7,417 species.

The GBBC is PEOPLE at work, seeing, hearing, identifying, listing, and enjoying the birds in their yards and gardens. The GBBC is PEOPLE at work as citizen scientists, helping conservationists and scientists and PEOPLE better understand what is happening to bird populations.

Great Backyard Bird Count https://www.birdcount.org/about/

The GBBC helps PEOPLE get outdoors, connect to birds, to nature, to an entire global community, as they discover that, “birds are everywhere, all the time, doing fascinating things.” The GBBC serves as a springboard for PEOPLE to care, to make a difference, to create habitats that welcome birds into local landscapes, to advocate for bird conservation at the local, state and federal levels, and to recognize a kinship with the natural world of which birds are such a beautiful and important part.

Seven steps YOU can take to protect birds:

Watch Birds, Share What You See
Make Windows Safer, Day and Night
Keep Cats Indoors
Reduce Lawn, Plant Natives
Avoid Pesticides
Drink Shade-Grown Coffee That’s Good for Birds
Protect Our Planet from Plastic

References

Audubon Society. audubon.org/conservation/about-great-backyard-bird-count

Cornell Lab. allaboutbirds.org/news/vanishing-1-in-4-birds-gone/

Cornell Lab. birds.cornell.edu/home/seven-simple-actions-to-help-birds/

eBird. ebird.org/home

Explore GBBC 2023 data. ebird.org/gbbc/region/world/regions

Great Backyard Bird Count. birdcount.org/

Smithsonian’s National Zoo and Conservation Biology Institute. https://nationalzoo.si.edu/migratory-birds/ecological-benefits-shade-grown-coffee

For further reading:

Ackerman, Jennifer. 2020. The Bird Way. New York: Penguin Press.

Sibley, David Allen. 2014. Sibley’s Guide to Birds, 2^nd Ed.

Strassman, Joan. 2022. Slow Birding: The Art and Science of Enjoying Birds in Your Own Backyard. New York: Penguin Press.

Strycker, Noah. 2015. That Thing with Feathers. New York: Penguin Press.

Colorado Cousins of our Kansas Native Plants

Posted on July 14, 2021 by Lorna Harder

Hikers passing through high elevation mountain meadows often catch glimpses of a number of familiar flowers. In fact, many of the mountain meadow natives are closely related to our Kansas native plants.

With nearly daily rain showers, the subalpine grassland meadows of the southern Rocky Mountains are bursting with wildflowers this summer. Rocky Mountain subalpine wildflowers are adapted to high elevations with cooler, shorter summers, longer, colder winters, and intense sunlight. Small, silvery, sun-reflecting, hairy leaves, ground-hugging growth habits, and clumps of showy pollinator-attracting flowers help these Colorado species survive. With a short growing season, flowers are produced and set seed in what seems like record time.

Kansas natives often share similar adaptive features—silvery, fine, hairy, leaves, and similar pollinator-attracting showy flowers –enabling them to survive Kansas’ long, hot summers and cold, dry winters. Although time and physical barriers have separated most Colorado and Kansas native plants into unique species, a few remain as a single species. Let’s take a look at a few of these Colorado cousins.

Raspberries blooming on Raspberry Mountain in early July in the shadow of Pike’s Peak. Photo by Janelle Flory Schrock.

Columbine (Aquilegia spp)

Kansas’ wild columbine (Aquilegia canadensis) blooms during the cooler, moister spring months of the year, and seed is immediately dispersed. Blue columbine (Aquilegia coerulea) – Colorado’s state flower – blooms in July, taking advantage of the sunshine and warmer days of summer in the high mountains.

*Aquilegia spp.* near Pike’s Peak, Colorado in July.
Photo by Janelle Flory Schrock.

Yarrow (Achillea millefolium)

Yarrow (Achillea millefolium) doesn’t change species between Kansas and Colorado, but the blooming time does! While yarrow blooms in late spring in our Kansas prairies, in subalpine mountain meadows, it blooms in July, taking advantage of the sunshine and pollinators of mid-summer. There is little chance that, should they be grown together, cross-pollination could occur between these quite different ecotypes.

*Achillea millefolium*. near Pike’s Peak, Colorado in July.
Photo by Janelle Flory Schrock

Prairie Smoke (Geum triflorum)

Prairie Smoke (Geum triflorum) is another wildflower species that remains the same from Kansas to Colorado. Again, the time of flowering differs. Kansas individuals bloom in spring, and Colorado individuals bloom during similar temperature conditions that occur at the height of the high altitude summer.

*Geum triflorum* blooming in the shadow of Pike’s Peak, Colorado at approx. 10K ft altitude in early July. Photo by Janelle Flory Schrock.

Alpine Parsley (Pseudocymopterus spp.)

Members of the carrot and parsley family are commonly found in both Kansas and Colorado. Golden Alexanders (Zizia aurea) grace our gardens in spring, while high mountain meadows are filled with the yellow umbels of mountain parsleys in July.

*Pseudocymopterus spp.* blooming near Pike’s Peak, Colorado in early July. Photo by Janelle Flory Schrock.

Primrose (Oenothera spp)

The white, night-blooming showy evening primroses (Oenothera speciosa) typically appear in May and June in Kansas. Come July, their diminutive Colorado cousins, (Oenothera spp) make their appearance in rocky niches and along trails.

*Oenothera spp* blooming at the Florissant Fossil Beds National Park in early July. Photo by Janelle Flory Schrock.

Locoweed (Oxytropis spp.)

Locoweed (Oxytropis spp.) fills Colorado mountain meadows with patches of bright pinks, blues and lavenders. Like the wild indigoes (Baptisia spp) that brighten Kansas prairies and pastures, locoweed is a nitrogen-fixing legume. Both are also toxic to cattle, sheep and horses.

*Oxytropis spp.* blooming at Florissant Fossil Bed National Park in early July. Photo by Janelle Flory Schrock.

Ragwort (Packera spp.)

Ragworts (Packera spp.) are delightful yellow flowers of shade and sun. Colorado’s ragworts are commonly found along a trail’s edge in July. Kansas’ golden ragwort (Packera plattensis) is one of the first wildflowers to brighten winter-weary landscapes in April.

*Packera spp.* near Divide, Colorado at approx 10K ft altitude in early July. Photo by Janelle Flory Schrock.

Penstemon (Penstemon spp)

Penstemons (Penstemon spp) are abundant in the Rocky Mountain subalpine meadows in July. Generally short in height and with smaller flowers, they nonetheless add deep, rich lavenders, blues and purples to rocky niches and trailsides. Their taller Kansas cousins precede them, blooming in late spring.

Penstemon spp. blooming at Florissant Fossil Beds National Monument in early July. Photo by Janelle Flory Schrock.

Jacob’s Ladder (Polemonium spp.)

Hike through a subalpine, shaded, moist forest, and suddenly you may encounter a faint scent of skunk, indicating that you have stepped on Jacob’s ladder, a lovely blue-flowered species that hugs the ground with ladder-like leaves. In Kansas, Jacob’s ladder (Polemonium reptans) is a woodland spring ephemera with striking blue, bell-shaped flowers, and yes, the scent of skunk!

*Polemonium spp.* near Pike’s Peak, Colorado at approx 10,500 ft altitude. Photo by Janelle Flory Schrock.

Shrubby cinquefoil (Dasiphora (Potentilla) fruticosa)

Shrubby cinquefoil (Dasiphora (Potentilla) fruticosa) is commonly found in high mountain meadows in July. It is just one of a number of cinquefoils that commonly grow at high elevations. Bright yellow flowers attract numerous pollinators. In Kansas, prairie cinquefoil (Dasiphora (Potentilla) arguta), also a shrub, blooms in scattered clumps throughout the summer.

*Potentilla spp.* near Pike’s Peak, Colorado, approx 10K ft altitude in early July. Photo by Janelle Flory Schrock.

Goldenrod (Solidago spp.)

Our Kansas goldenrods tend to be taller, filling the late summer prairies and pastures with swaths of yellow. They are the harbingers of autumn, blooming in late August and September. Subalpine goldenrods can’t wait that long. The diminutive Rocky Mountain goldenrod begins to flower in mid-July in the high montane meadows, adding their golden color to the seasonal procession of color.

*Solidago spp*., near Pike’s Peak, Colorado at approx 10K ft altitude, early July. Photo by Janelle Flory Schrock.

These are just a few of the many familial relationships that exist between Kansas and Rocky Mountain native plants. Next time you travel west, take a moment to find a familiar “face” in the wildflowers at your feet!

Soil Is Alive

Posted on May 5, 2021 by Lorna Harder

“ . . . most of us rarely give any thought to the fact that the ground beneath our feet is a complicated, ever-moving tangle of rocks and animals and plants and water and chemical compounds that rivals the ocean as a wild, dark mysterious, and inscrutable realm.”
Farming with Soil Life. https://www.xerces.org/sites/default/files/publications/19-051.pdf

Many of us garden for wildlife, choosing native plants that provide vital shelter, food and habitat for a diversity of species. However, the soils in which our native plants grow also play an important role in the success of our native gardens. Soil is alive! Let’s dig deeper into this “wild, dark, mysterious, and inscrutable realm that is soil.”

Soils Function

Soils are a medium for plant growth, anchoring roots, and also soaking up the nutrients, water and air that plants need to grow.
Soils store and filter water. The pores between soil particles, created by roots and animal tunnels, capture and hold precipitation, where it is available to plant roots. The water-holding capacity of soils is also important in reducing erosion and flooding. Soils also filter water, degrading and removing contaminants as it moves downward through soil layers to become groundwater.
Soils recycle and store organic material. Bacteria, fungi, insects and a host of other organisms decompose once-living plants and animals, producing organic material that can be used by living plants and animals for growth, maintenance and reproduction. Organic materials also store carbon, sometimes for centuries! This function helps mitigate climate change.
Soils are habitat for wildlife. From large to small, many animals burrow, nest or hibernate in soil. Animal movements in soils contribute to soil health by continually aerating, churning and mixing.
Soils are an engineering medium. Humans use large amounts of soil for construction and engineering projects. Little construction could be done without soils.

Soil Composition

Soils are composed of both living and non-living elements. Non-living minerals and rocks – soil particles of silt, sand and clay – intermingle with living elements to produce a unique mix of physical, chemical and biological properties that vary from region to region.

Soil Life

A teaspoon of healthy soil holds more living organisms than there are people on earth – 700 billion plus. Moreover, there are more different kinds of living organisms in the soil under our feet than there are living on top of the ground, from the microscopic to large insects. Together these soil organisms form a complex food web that makes life more livable for all of us.

Let’s take a look at some of these “little things that run the world.”

Bacteria. Microscopic soil bacteria are by far the most ubiquitous organisms living in soil. Bacteria play important roles both in decomposition, and in fixing nitrogen.

Rhizobial bacteria live in nodules on the roots of legumes (pea and bean family), converting atmospheric nitrogen into compounds that the plants use. In return, rhizobium receive sugars from the legume – a symbiotic relationship.

*Rhizobial nodules on the roots of a legume.*

Protozoans. Living in the water film surrounding soil particles are single celled protozoans. As predators, decomposers and consumers of bacteria, protozoans are important in nutrient cycling.

*Single celled protozoan between soil particles*

Fungi. Soil fungi are diverse in shape, size, form and function. Some are single-celled, others are multi-cellular. Most are beneficial, contributing to decomposition and nutrient recycling.

*Mycorrhizae on roots. Note the web-like extensions that absorb water and nutrients from the soil.*

One noteworthy group, the mycorrhizal fungi, live symbiotically with roots, enhancing nutrient and water uptake in the roots. In return, mycorrhizae receive sugars. More than 80% of the plants on earth have relationships with mycorrhizae.

Tardigrades. Also known as water bears, tardigrades are as big as the period at the end of this sentence. Tardigrades are predators and omnivores.

*Tardigrades generally live in leaf litter and the top 1-inch of soil.*

Nematodes. Nematodes can be predators, fungivores, bacterivores, omnivores, or plant parasites. They also disperse bacteria, carrying and excreting bacteria as they move through the soil. Nematodes tend to be found in water films within soil.

Mites. Mites are important predators and decomposers. They break leaf litter down, making it available to smaller organisms. Mites are abundant and diverse and can be found from the soil surface to deeper soil layers. Depending on the species, mites feed on everything from bacteria, fungi, algae, and dead plants and animals, to insect eggs, nematodes, other mites and springtails.

Dwarf millipedes. Dwarf millipedes are decomposers, fungivores, herbivores and scavengers. Moving through pore spaces in the soil, they are typically found around roots.

Springtails. Springtails come in all shapes and sizes. They feed on dead plant and animal materials, often in the top layers of soil and in leaf litter. They are so named because of their tail-like structure that enables them to jump a short distance. As decomposers, they contribute to nutrient availability in soils.

Earthworms. Earthworms are perhaps the best known of soil creatures, and their contributions are well-known: mixing and aerating soils, and distributing nutrients and minerals in their waste.

*Worldwide there are more than 7,000 species of earthworms.*

Centipedes. Centipedes are predators, and they are fast runners, sometimes chasing their prey. They eat earthworms, and other insects, large and small, injecting venom to paralyze and kill their prey.

*Centipedes can be found in shallow to deep soil layers.*

Spiders. As predators, spiders are important in controlling other insect populations. Underground dwelling spiders also contribute to soil mixing and aeration.

*Wolf spiders live underground. Females can carry up to 100 young on their backs.*

Beetles. The tiger beetle is just one of a host of insects that spends the larval stage of its life in soil. Both larva and adult are predators. Larval tiger beetles are predators, feeding on other insects on the soil surface. Tiger beetle larval burrows can be 18” deep.

*Tiger beetles are fast-moving hunters, chasing prey on the ground surface*.

These are just a few of the millions of organisms that live in the soil under our feet. All are important in maintaining healthy, productive soils.

Here are four tips to support underground wildlife, large and small, in the soils in your garden:

Disturb the soil as little as possible. Tilling and digging disturbs and damages the soil food web.
Grow a diversity of plants. Different species of plants add and remove different compounds from the soil, creating more diverse conditions for the organisms living in the soil
Keep living roots growing in the soil for as much of the year as possible. Roots feed living organisms in the soil.
Keep the soil covered with dead plant material. Mulch not only protects the soil from drying out fast, but it also feeds the decomposers, which are then eaten by other living things. If you want healthy soil, you should not see it very often!

Soil wildlife makes your prairie garden grow. Protect it!

All photos courtesy of USDA Soil Resources Conservation Service. https://www.nrcs.usda.gov/wps/portal/nrcs/photogallery/soils/health/biology/gallery/?cid=1788&position=Promo

Reference:

Hopwood, Frische, May and Lee-Mader. 2021. Farming With Soil Life: A Handbook for Supporting Soil Invertebrates and Soil Health on Farms. Xerces Society for Invertebrate Conservation. https://www.xerces.org/sites/default/files/publications/19-051.pdf

Insects: The little things that run the world

Posted on September 23, 2020 by Lorna Harder

They pollinate 90% of the flowering plants on earth; and they eat plants, the crucial first step in changing plant energy into the fats and proteins that feed hosts of other animals. In so doing, insects sustain Earth’s ecosystems. They truly are, in E.O. Wilson’s words, “The little things that run the world.”

Yet globally, insect populations have declined by 47% since 1974, a loss that translates into a decline in the very ecosystems that sustain all life on earth, humans included!

https://www.audubon.org/news/yards-non-native-plants-create-food-deserts-bugs-and-birds

What can be done to reverse this trend? By restoring native plant communities in yards and gardens, we can help reverse insect losses and restore ecosystem health to our yards and gardens.

Why native plants? In study after study, it has been shown that native plants host many times more insect species than do non-natives.

Which insect groups are most important? In Nature’s Best Hope, author Doug Tallamy suggests selecting native plants that support two important insect groups: large, nutritious insects (think caterpillars of butterflies and moths) and bees. Caterpillars are the mainstay of most bird diets; and native bees perform the lion’s share of pollination.

https://www.fs.fed.us/wildflowers/pollinators/pollinator-of-the-month/halictid_bees.shtml

Where can I find resources for host plants native to my area?

The National Wildlife Federation has compiled listings for every county in the U.S. www.nwf.org/nativeplantfinder.
The National Audubon Society native plants database lists the best native plants for birds. www.audubon.org/native-plants
The Xerces Society provides a recommended list of native plants that attract pollinators – native bees, butterflies, moths, and hummingbirds. www.xerces.org/pollinator-conservation/pollinator-friendly-plant-lists

Planting a diversity of native plants chosen for their ability to provide food for caterpillars and flowers for nectaring bees, ensures not only a prairie garden filled with a diversity of insects and birds, but also a garden that contributes to a healthier environment. And it is all happening right outside our door!

Reference:

Tallamy, Douglas W. 2019. Nature’s Best Hope: A New Approach to Conservation that Starts in Your Yard. Portland, Oregon: Timber Press.

Gardeners make EVERY DAY Earth Day

Posted on April 29, 2020 by Lorna Harder

One week ago today was the 50th Anniversary of the first Earth Day demonstration in 1970. The Environmental Protection Agency, the Clean Air, Clean Water, and Endangered Species Acts are lasting results of that first Earth Day! Yet much more remains to be done, and it can’t happen on just one day of the year. Earth Day reminds us that every day is Earth Day.

As gardeners and stewards and of our immediate environment, we are already making a difference in our own backyards and communities. As we explore and connect with nature each day, we are establishing a care ethic to make positive decisions for the environment, present and future.

Support biodiversity at home

This year, Earth Day recognized the enormous challenges – and vast opportunities – of climate action. So, what better place to start climate actions than in our native prairie gardens? Native prairie gardens are – by their very nature – pollinator gardens. They attract an abundance of pollinators (and other small creatures as well) throughout the growing season. In so doing, they help conserve biodiversity, protect species threatened by climate change, and restore ecosystem balance.

But native gardens do so much more to mitigate climate change. They hold and conserve water, store carbon in extensive root systems, build fertile soils, and help maintain cleaner air. In tending native gardens, we benefit as well by experiencing beauty, joy, and a sense of well-being.

Pollinator Garden Resources

You can celebrate Earth Day every day by joining Earth Day 2020’s campaign to Protect Our Species. Because the Monarch butterfly is currently vulnerable and declining, it is one of ten species directing the Earth Day Network’s conservation efforts in 2020. Earth Day 2020 provides an informative Pollinator Garden Toolkit, and Pollinator Garden Worksheet to help you plan or add to your pollinator garden.

Then, attend the online FloraKansas Native Plant Festival, with its large selection of hearty, native flowers, grasses, trees and shrubs suitable for a diversity of habitats. If you have questions, FloraKansas has experts available too!

Connect to the broader community

Last, but not least, invite your neighbors, friends and family to join you in your efforts to create pollinator-friendly spaces. Garden by garden, we can create a mosaic of native habitats that benefit a broader community of both pollinators AND people!

Photo: A native metallic green sweat bee Agapostemon sp gathering pollen from wavy-leaf false dandelion Microseris cuspidata. (Lorna Harder photo taken 20 Apr 2020)

References:

Earth Day 2020

Fall Gardening for Spring Bees

Posted on September 25, 2019 by Lorna Harder

Shorter days, cooler nights, bronzing prairie grasses and asters in bloom – all herald the arrival of fall on the prairie. However, as this year’s abundant growth recedes, our garden’s care and keeping into the fall and winter will affect both plants and pollinators in next year’s garden.

Mason Bees

One of our most desirable spring pollinators is the Mason Bee; and our prairie gardens provide great habitat for this species. You can begin planning now to attract this special native bee species.

*Mason bee (*Osmia sp) females carry dry pollen in a patch of hairs on the underside of the abdomen, a feature they share in common with other females in the leaf-cutting bee family (Megachilidae).
Photo By Rollin Coville (https://www.motherearthnews.com/nature-and-environment/wildlife/types-of-bees-osmia-mason-ze0z1311zcov)

Mason bees are solitary nesters. They are incredibly efficient pollinators (one Mason bee can do the work of 60 honey bees), and they are docile. In March, adult females emerge, mate, lay eggs for 4-6 weeks, and then die.

Eggs are laid in a series of small chambers the females build within tunnels of dead wood or hollow plant stems in a protected spot. Each egg is provisioned with pollen and then plugged with mud, hence the name “mason.” Eggs develop for the remainder of the year. Allowing stems and dead woody plant materials to remain in our gardens in fall and winter preserves developing Mason bee larvae that may be present.

Create a Nesting Box

Because a number of our North American native bees, including Mason bees, are in decline, native gardeners can further encourage Mason bees by adding nesting bee boxes. Bee boxes are simply made, whether from wood, bamboo or cardboard.

*Simple, untreated wood block nesting bee box with holes plugged.*
By Red58bill – Own work, CC BY 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=6022789

As you plan for spring, you might include a bee box-making day as a winter project. Install your bee box in a dry, warm, protected spot early next spring, make sure there are a number of nearby sources of pollen and mud, and you are welcoming one of our most interesting native bees, the Mason bee, into your spring prairie garden!

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Further information on Mason beekeeping: