Unexpected Benefit

Saturday was the big day! Seven glorious new trees finally were delivered and planted in our yard. For awhile we have been wanting to add trees to our "new housing addition look" landscape, so last weekend we made some decisions and got a red maple (Autumn Blaze), a Winter King Hawthorn, 2 Norway Spruces, 1 White pine and 2 Blue Spruces. Almost immediately after the trees were planted, an exponentially larger number of birds were noticeable. It was wonderul! The back yard had the feel of a park like setting.

Interestingly enough, one of the unexpected benefits to the tree planting turned out to be the dirt. You see, all the birds around us had evidently been dying for places to take dust baths. So, all the fresh turned earth around the newly planted trees provided a dust bath oasis for all the birds in the neighborhood. Sparrows, Finches. Doves, Cardinals - they all were finding their special spot in the dirt and rolling in it over and over again. What a treat to watch these guys. Several of them followed their dust bath with a trip to the water bath for a little wet time afterwards. Watching them enjoy the dirt so much kept us entertained for hours.

If you would like to provide a dust bath for the birds in your yard, here is a nice article on how to do so.