We’ve learned a lot about living on an island, between the Gulf and Pelican Bay (the shallow, 3-mile wide inlet that separates St. George Island (SGI)from the mainland (with a bridge to Eastpoint). I’ll hope to compose some pages of lessons we’ve learned (mostly from others, sometimes through the contorted and often costly path of experience).
Until I’ve put together enough passages to imagine better organization, for the time being I simply give a list with brief comments along with links.
Wildlife: We are among the many people on the bayside of the island who maintain as much “forest” and native planting as is possible. That means we have extensive interaction with wildlife, some encouraged (birds), other unwanted (racoons).
Birds and Bird Feeders: When I first installed a bird feeder in 2023, I got no takers, for weeks. But once the first few birds discovered troves of seed, we’ve been swarmed. When in town, I hang the feeders off the front porch (to the North) and just outside the kitchen windows (facing South.) The ongoing movement of birds harvesting seed is delightful, both for us and for our house-bound cat Rose Levy Beranbaum. When we travel, I hang the feeders downstairs, below their normal locations, just under the footprint of the house (which is on pilings). The birds quickly move to the relocated resource, and it’s much easier for friends and neighbors to replenish the feeders when they can be serviced from ground level.
We support quite a congregation of regular visitors. The most aggressive feeders are Red-Winged Blackbirds. Their numbers are strong in winter and early spring, but seem to subside a bit (perhaps they migrate) as summer heats up. We also support a host of Ground Doves, some of which have learned to use the feeders, while most scavenge the ground for fallen grains. Otherwise, the most numerous birds are House Finches. I’m thinking we’ve watched two years of fledglings, with mature parents hanging out on nearby railings while their clearly immature offspring throng the feeders.
Not so abundant in numbers, but clearly evident are a few pair of Cardinals and several Red-breasted Woodpeckers. These are striking birds, the Cardinals in Florida seeming to be smaller than Cardinals abundantly present around our home in Lake Ozark. The Woodpeckers are pretty large, much larger than Red-Headed Woodpeckers (which we see on the mainland, but have not seen on SGI). Otherwise, we host occasional Wrens and Chicadees. Once in a long while there’s a beautifully yellow-colored smaller bird I’ve not identified (I’m not a birder, really). I see Mockingbirds around the area, but never see them at the feeders.
Our first summer I maintained a Hummingbird feeder, at which we saw occasional visitors. But our travels made it awkward. You can’t ask neighbors to take on the truly-intensive task of maintaining a Hummingbird feeder, so we dropped that effort, accepting the fact that irregular maintenance would be a disservice to the birds.
Grain Feeders, on the other hand, are simpler, though certainly not free of issues. When you visit a shop that sells bird feeders, it’s mesmerizing. The choices seem endless, as endless as the issues that surfaced when I began this delightful, yet somewhat demanding project. Of course, squirrels become the archenemy, and almost any expensive feeder touts anti-squirrel character. Experienced providers will likely tell you there’s not real device that will disinvite squirrels, but some are more effective than others.
One feeder I adopted, the Squirrel-Be-Gone MAX, not only discouraged squirrels, but had the benefit of a large canister that held more than a day’s supply of seed. After a few months of use, however, I realized the feeders were shedding more grain to the ground than was taken by visitors. Retrofitting that feeder to control seed loss led to its own set of trials and fixes – recounted in a recent post: Retrofitting a Squirrel-Be-Gone MAX Bird Feeder.
Link to this Page: https://botanyincontext.com/around-the-house/