Local birds subject of garden club meeting

The DeSoto Civic Garden Club met at the M. R. Davis Public Library Tuesday, May 3, 2022.  Sandra Ehrlichman,  owner of Wild Birds Unlimited, 5847 Getwell Road in Southaven, delighted the members with a presentation on local birds and their habitat.  She encouraged everyone to plant pollinators such as lantana, salvia, zinnias, sunflowers, echinacea and black eyed susans to attract both our local birds and the migratory birds. 

 Just like humans, birds have a complicated palette.  Jaybirds prefer to eat whole peanuts, while woodpeckers, nut hatchers and chickadees prefer their peanuts shelled.  Cardinals prefer black oiled sunflower seeds and ground feeders prefer millet.  

Members were reminded that the geese and ducks prefer cracked corn.  Sandra reiterated not to feed geese or ducks bread, as it might put too much weight on the birds thus preventing them from being able to fly.

Sandra also provided a hands-on project where suet feeders were made by each attending member.  Suet is a fat made from bark butter that is a great attribute to add to our feathered friends’ diet particularly in the winter when food is scarce.    

The DeSoto Civic Garden Club is a member of the National Garden Club, Deep South Garden Clubs, Inc., and Garden Clubs of Mississippi. 

Submitted item

Photo: Sandra Ehrlichman presented the program for the DeSoto Civic Garden Club’s May monthly meeting. (Submitted photo)