In 2021, my Aunt Hilde and Uncle Don visited from Kelowna and brought with them a homemade birdhouse, it was beautiful. We had never had a birdhouse and hadn’t thought too much of the birds. We installed the bird house near a tree on our back deck and a swallow family took the the house and raised their young. It was fascinating to watch the parents – papa standing guard and mama working tirelessly to feed her young (or perhaps it was the other way around). They were so dedicated, I couldn’t help but want to do more for them.

I called a local bird store to let them know I knew nothing about birds, but I had a bird family raising their young. I asked if there was anything I could do to make their lives easier, did they have enough food? What could I do to help? The person who answered the phone said if the parents are regularly coming back with food, they have enough and not to worry about that but suggested I add a water source if I don’t already have one. Brilliant.

We decided to get a heated bird bath so we could provide a water source to the birds year round. This bird bath has been through two cold winters already and has been extremely reliable. All creatures need a water source and providing a clean, reliable source year round is helpful to all beings. This is a wonderful starting point, if you do nothing else, a year round water source is a wonderful addition to your yard.

We recommend placing the bird bath where you can see it from a window and enjoy the view of birds splashing around. You will be more incentivized to keep the water filled and clean if you can see them enjoying it.

This winter we had 9 different bird species visit: bluejays, magpies of course, lots of finches and sparrows, northern flickers, chickadees, one nuthatch, one downy woodpecker and a dark eyed junco. This made a long, cold winter extremely exciting for us. I loved peeking out the window and was sad on days I missed out due to leaving for work in the dark and coming back home in the dark.

If you do put out a water source, please scrub it weekly with a scouring pad. I also put boiling water in weekly and scrub to kill any germs and to keep the water fresh and clean but the boiling water isn’t necessary, a good scrub is fine. No need to use soap.

2021 the sparrows successfully raised and fledged their young in the bird house, but 2022 tragedy struck. The birdhouse was made in BC and I don’t think the bottom was meant to sustain the weather in Calgary. We didn’t realize the bottom had rotted. I am not sure if they had laid eggs at this point, but if they did, they didn’t hatch as we never heard any sounds. It was an extremely windy day, we almost lost a tree and had to tie it to the fence and the bird house flew off its post and crashed on the lawn. The bottom rotted and the house slid off the screws. I didn’t have the heart to look inside, but my husband fixed up the house and re-attached it to the post. The parents did come back to check on things but ultimately left. I imagine they lost their chicks. I was shattered. They trusted us. We failed them. I thought about that bird family all summer long, wracked with guilt. This guilt led me to do better so this never happened to another bird family in my yard.

I went back to the bird store website and found they recommended Andrew from Birds and Bees to do an on site consult. Jackpot. Andrew came to my house and asked me what my goals were and he created recommendations such as what nestboxes, feeders and other materials to buy and even included pictures like this one so we could see exactly where to place nest boxes. Money well spent. Highly recommend. I’ve already booked Andrew to come back this summer so we can see what else we can do to make a better home for the birds who live around us.

Earlier in May 2023, maybe April, I was sitting with my brother on his porch and there was a finch sitting on a tree branch closest to us. It felt out of character as the finch sat in that same spot barely moving the entire time we were out there. We watched the chickadees go in and out of their nest box, checking out a potential space to raise their young and the finch sat in the tree branch, nodding off. As I was obsessing over the finch, my brother tried to assure me the finch was napping. When the finch did open his eyes, I talked to him sweetly and he cocked his head a little, either unbothered by me or too sick to care. Even if he was sick, what could I do? I felt helpless. I decided to just bask in his presence and try to enjoy the sweet moment.

Two hours later we were making dinner in the kitchen and I looked out the window and the finch was on the ground and a magpie swooped in and ripped his head off, then gutted him down the centre and ate his insides. Nothing left but feathers and heartbreak.

I don’t know what happened to this finch but the next day my brother saw another finch barely alive sitting on the road. I wondered if the birds who flew to Calgary for the summer brought in the avian flu from factory farms so I looked up symptoms of birds infected with the avian flu. One or more of these symptoms could mean avian flu:

• lack of energy or movement
• nervousness, tremors, or lack of coordination
• swelling around the head, neck, and eyes
• coughing, gasping for air, or sneezing
• diarrhea
• sudden death

Factory farming is sadly the cause of zoonotic diseases, further increasing the risk of pandemics. This article from the Guardian states ‘the highly unnatural conditions of a factory farm – where up to tens of thousands of animals are crowded together indoors – provide the perfect environment for the rapid spread of viruses and bacteria to many animals.’

From our own Canadian source , it states that avian flu ‘originally evolved in domestic birds in 1996, is now circulating widely in Canada and in many parts of the world.’ If we had left animals off our plates, we wouldn’t be in this mess and the birds in my backyard wouldn’t have suffered the consequences of our choices.

Everything is connected don’t you see. Each action has a re-action for better or worse.

We have 5 nest boxes between my house and my brothers, one bat house and a year round water source. The birds have recently inspired me to think of the entire ecosystem and all life that live here and creating a safe space for all – trees, bees, insects, the worms in soil and the soil itself. More on that in a future post.

Peace, love & plants,

Michelle 😊

p.s. What can you do to change your corner of the world? Can you add a water source? Plant a bee garden? Plant native trees, flowers and shrubs? Stop using pesticides? Start somewhere. Please do something. Discovery the great joy in making life easier for all living creatures around you and bask in the life that thrives in your yard. This is how we teach children to care, not by taking them to zoos with animals locked up in cages. If everyone who had a yard made it more friendly for all life that surrounds us, we could make a difference. One of the best ways you can help our pollinators is to plant native plants. Those who are local can purchase native plants here: https://alclanativeplants.com/plants/