Brush piles for birds | Create a Junco Gym™
Junco, there's no need to feel down. I said, junco, pick yourself off the ground. I said junco, there's no need. To. Be. Unhappy. Junco, there's a place you can go. I said, junco, when you're short on places that grow, you can stay there, and I'm sure you will find, many ways to have a bird time!
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Do you use a brush pile?
- Yes
- No
- I will now!
A lack of brush piles | Oh Brush, Where Art Though?
The 'American' lawn, a term used to describe the prevalent style of landscaping in North America, was packaged and sold to generation after generation of homeowners. For those unfamiliar, the 'American lawn' is typically characterized by its uniform, manicured appearance, often achieved through the use of chemical fertilizers and pesticides, which can be harmful to wildlife and natural resources. Initially, it was a way to display wealth (or imitate those who had wealth), offering passersby a false face of financial security. (Coveting, anybody?) However, as years passed and land around homes swapped from practical food production to a display of faked status, the lawn grew to become a symbol of the 'American Dream.' While maybe a dream for some, this green pit of despair became a waking sterilized nightmare for wildlife, water, and human health.
The manicured money hole was not the end of sterilization. Parks, green spaces, and urban forests became the next victims of those wanting to remove the already fallen and downtrodden. Yes, the lonely stick. What did the affable stick do to deserve a fate of being raked, picked up, and tossed into a dump with all manner of household refuse? It dared to pile up. It dared provide habitat for woodland beasts. It dared to fall... unorderly.
Thus, the fate of natural brush piles is etched into bags of fertilizer and non-native grass and flower seeds. For as long as the lawn lives, the brush pile cannot survive.
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Okay, my (not really) hyperbolic opinion of lawns has passed. The point remains that natural brush piles have faded into the annals of history with overmanagement of natural areas. Unfortunately, the species that suffer significantly from these overly manicured spaces are often small and overlooked.
Behold... the Dark-eyed Junco.
Habitat for juncos... and more | Don't brush me off
The Dark-eyed Junco is not on any shortlist for threatened or endangered listings. However, juncos share many struggles with species that may soon require listing status for additional protection. Can small changes in our yards be the patron light of hope for rapidly declining species? Unlikely. The unity of millions of lawns returning to a more wild state? I can smell what the yard is cooking.
What does the habitat for juncos look like? For most in North America, juncos are winter visitors, so we consider their nonbreeding habitat. The cold-season junco habitat consists of brushy and/or weedy areas, often along forest edges or near shelter belts of conifers. Juncos desire these habitats for two reasons: food and protection. Grass and weed seeds can be abundant, and protection from predators and weather is readily available.
Creating a space like this can be accomplished through multiple rounds of plantings of native plants, both big and small. Combine winter berry-producing bushes with tall flowering plants that produce tiny seeds. Add elements of conifers in small bunches where possible. Mimic the areas that grow naturally like this in your region, and the juncos will flock to you! Literally. But what if you do not have the ability to create such a space? Yard size is restrictive? Budget is too tight? Limitations on what you are allowed to change?
Well my friends, see me now and hear me later.
Enter... the Junco Gym.
Speak friend, and enter | Enter the junco gym
I understand the difficulty of converting turf grass back to a beneficial state. The time, money, effort, ordinances, and unhappy neighbors can be daunting. Yet, the buzzing, singing, displaying, and rearing that WILL result from such a change outweighs the drawbacks. But where do we start?
[Turn on infomercial bodybuilder voice.]
If the strategy listed in the previous section feels beyond your grasp, fear not! I offer YOU a simple solution in the Junco Gym (trademark pending). Even you, yes YOU, dear friends, can get pumped up (with juncos) to the max by getting your very own Junco Gym™! The Junco Gym™ is your remarkable way of creating space for wintering juncos to feel right at home in your backyard. And what does it take to obtain your very own Junco Gym™? Well, dear friends, it ONLY takes twenty payments of bending over, picking up medium to large tree branches, and building a brush pile. Not only will you build a golden pyre for your junco pump, but you might also pack on some serious mass (until you put the branches down).
[Normal voice.]
Joking aside, building backyard brush piles and combining them with native or supplemental food sources can create Junco Gyms™ that will see returning visitors by the dozens each winter. Creating brush piles can serve those with some manicured lawn twofold. Sticks and brush can be relocated off the lawn to a less visible area to harbor juncos and other brush-loving birds! And it really IS as easy as picking up sticks.
You just gotta stick to it.
Photograph juncos in your brush pile with my favorite bridge camera, the Sony RX10 IV!
Birds that use brush piles | Who will join the Dark-eyed?
Dark-eyed Juncos are not the only patrons of the Cambium Colosseum™ (another way to say Junco Gym™). Most members of the Passerellids, the family of New World sparrows, love brush piles. For those of us in North America, feeder favorites like towhees will take advantage of an open Junco Gym™.
But the list does not end with towhees; here is a robust sample of other brush pile users:
Eastern Towhee
Spotted Towhee
Green-tailed Towhee
California Towhee
Canyon Towhee
Abert's Towhee
Indigo Bunting
Lazuli Bunting
Blue Grosbeak
American Tree Sparrow
Field Sparrow
Brewer's Sparrow
Clay-colored Sparrow
Chipping Sparrow
Harris's Sparrow
White-throated Sparrow
White-crowned Sparrow
Fox Sparrow
Song Sparrow
Lincoln's Sparrow
Gray Catbird
Brown Thrasher
House Wren
Ovenbird
MacGillivray's Warbler
Wilson's Warbler
and more!
Brush piles provide quick security for small—to medium-sized birds. However, these piles, filled with decomposing plant matter, also attract a variety of invertebrates. For seed eaters, the ample invertebrates might be less appealing. Still, we can remedy missing food sources through a proper setup.
Combine millet with your brush pile! Juncos, sparrows, buntings, and towhees LOVE white millet! Add some millet from above your Junco Gym!
**I like to use a ground feeder filled with millet next to a brush pile.
How to set up a brush pile for birds
A brush pile can be easily assembled without specialized tools, big muscles, or 30 acres of empty space. Instead, some gloves, a wagon or wheelbarrow (a tarp will work if lacking these), and an empty corner of your yard are enough for building up a brush pile. From there, follow these steps to kickstart your pile:
Prep your area by removing trash and other synthetic materials.
If prepping an area with gravel, try to minimize the ratio of gravel to bare ground.
Collect ample bedding of dead leaves, native grass, and other native plant material. Lay this material down as the base layer.
Mulch from turf grass is not recommended. Use only the tops of native grasses.
Gather medium-sized branches and sticks. Pick branches you can easily gather and transport them with your wheelbarrow, wagon, or tarp.
Arrange the branches over the bedding of leaves and grasses in a manner that creates gaps of various sizes. Create a sturdy tangle that is not easily disassembled.
Add new branches yearly, as the brush pile will be reduced from weathering.
Hang a bird feeder above the brush pile with a shepherd's hook, or occasionally toss some birdseed into the brush pile as a supplemental food source.
Enjoy your Junco Gym™!
Other elements can be added to a brush pile. A ground feeder near the edge of your brush pile will help attract ground-feeding birds like towhees and keep the seed from getting damp. If you use a Christmas tree, wreath, or other coniferous ornament and do not cover it in tinsel or other dangerous material, adding an old Christmas tree can really spruce up your brush pile.
But sometimes, too much Junco Gym can lead to fiery behavior...
Be fire aware with your brush pile | Don't get heated at the Junco Gym™
Yes, you have just assembled a monumental pile of tinder. So, if you live in a dry area where fire danger can reach critical levels, PLEASE wet down your brush pile or create a fire break around it to prevent home damage. If you live in an area with constant fire danger, a brush pile may not be feasible. Which is a bummer, but nothing some native plantings cannot fix!
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Now you know the place to go, to have-a-bird-time. It's fun to stay at the:
JUNCO G-Y-M, it's fun to stay at the JUNCO G-Y-M! Take it away, readers!
(Good luck getting that out of your heads.)
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