Recently, we’ve gotten a lot of questions about the mysterious “garden” that is situated at the end of the Bird Of Prey loop, right by the Barn Owl exhibit.  The garden is not accidental or mysterious by any means, it is actually a past Intern Project created to keep some of our birds healthier!

During the summer of 2010, our Avian Care Intern, Keith McHugh, developed this garden project to benefit the game birds in our Leslie Tassell Upland Game Bird Display.  Keith’s intern project made use of one of our empty enclosures and modified it to become a garden.  The Upland Game Bird Garden supplements our game birds' diet of dry food and is weeded, watered, and maintained all summer long by each summer Avian Care Intern.  The garden sits inside an enclosure to protect the fruits and vegetables from being eaten by wildlife that frequent the Bird Sanctuary.  Food is harvested for the game birds as it becomes available.

This year, we used compost from the Kellogg Biological Station Grounds Department to amend the soil.  We were then able to plant Watermelon, Butternut Squash, Acorn Squash, Cherry Tomatoes, Grapes, Strawberries, Blackberries, and Red Romaine Lettuce.  The nearby sloping roof of the Barn Owl barn provides water to the garden via a gutter system and barrels which collect rain water.  A solar panel and battery were installed next to the garden to provide power to the hose, which can then be turned on and off to water the garden.

Although it is small, the garden provides a great variety of different fruits and vegetables to the upland game birds.  The cherry tomatoes, blackberries, and squash are especially enjoyed and are readily eaten when we offer them to the birds.  All of the garden items also serve as enrichment for the birds, giving them something new and different to eat while allowing them to participate in some of their natural foraging behavior.  The next time you walk through the Bird of Prey loop, take a look at our Upland Game Bird Garden!

Northern Bobwhite, Photo Credit Jessica Caton