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By: John Halderman
Category: Home Based Business

What are the long range prospects of your current job, career; is it reliable, does it pay well enough? Will it get any better, or worse? What about the overall job market, do you think the quality, reliability and pay of jobs in general will get a muc

If you’re a keen bird watcher, an incomparable holiday to try is a world tour, travelling to some of the world’s best bird watching locations.

Starting with the United States, many of the states have bird sanctuaries and aviaries where you can go, so if you’re a resident of the USA, you should have no problem at all finding somewhere for a spot of twitching. Everyone houses innumerable species of indigenous avian life, and assures a unique experience.

If you choose to go farther afield, here are a some of the more outstanding global sites you may wish to travel to:

South America – the jungles of South America are the natural habitat of thousands of exquisite birds. Bird watching hotspots in South America include the Itatiaia National Park in Brazil, which is home to approximately 350 different species of birds native to the Amazon. The Iguazu National Park is the foremost natural reserve in Argentina, with over 400 varieties of indigenous birds. Other excellent areas to check out in South America are the Hato Pinero and Hato Cedral ranches in Venezuela, which are particularly favourites for bird watching.

Europe – there are heaps of popular places in Europe for bird watching. In Britain alone, there are hundreds of bird watching areas. If you’re considering going to Britain, something to look out for is the yearly bird fairs and conventions held in several local districts. Scotland and Ireland are also popular bird watching areas, as the many lakes and islets around these two countries are home to numerous disparate forms of bird life that are specific to these islands.

The Carribean – the Carribean Islands, while normally associated with water orientated vacations , are in reality another good area to visit on a bird watching world tour. In the Bahamas, Grand Bahama Island is the most popular place to go for bird watching. Bermuda is another beautiful island to travel to, as there are seven major natural reserves there sponsored by the Audubon Society. In Jamaica, the Rocklands Bird Sanctuary is a favourite since the birds there are so tame they literally perch on the birders and eat out of their hands.

Asia – if you’re able to roam that far afield, Asia is a marvellous place to go for bird watching as many differing species live there that have no counterparts in the West. Japan alone is home to approximately 600 species of birds with Lake Utonai and Tateyama Bird sanctuaries being the most outstanding wildlife reserves where you can see many of them. China is not only attractive to serious bird watchers for its native species of birds, but for the fact that certain places like Beidaihe are migratory hubs for far-ranging birds from across the whole of Asia. Another good place to visit for bird watching is Thailand’s Doi Inthanon International Park, which features 382 nonmigratory species.

Liz Canham is webmistress of Worldwide Bird Watching.

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Hummingbirds are one of the most beautiful and active species of birds to watch; their colour and the way they dart around are so entrancing to the keen bird watcher.

There are over three hundred species of hummingbirds, native to the Americas and parts of the Carribbean. They are particularly renowned for their mid air hovering ability, sustained by the rapid flapping of their wings, between fifteen and eighty times per second, the humming sound of which gives them their name. They are the only species of bird which can also fly backwards as well as vertically, somewhat like a vertical take off and landing aircraft. Interestingly, their feet are not useful for walking, just perching so if they want to travel, they must fly.

There are seventeen species of hummingbirds which live in the USA, mostly in the warmer parts such as Texas, California and Arizona, although some can be found in the east and others in the Rocky Mountains. Most migrate to the warmer climes of Central and South America in winter but their route and destination is very much dependent on species.

Other than their extraordinary flying characteristics, the appearance of the hummingbird is what makes it so attractive. The iridescent sheen of the feathers and gorgeous colouring of blue, green, pink, purple and almost anything in between are quite irresistible to the bird watcher.

If you have a garden in a hummingbird area, you will know that they love brightly coloured flowers. These vary from area to area but Salvia, Buddleia, Nicotiana and Callistemon (Bottle Brush) are universally popular. Hummingbirds have long curved beaks, designed to suck nectar from plants with bell shaped flowers. While feeding, they will hover in mid air which is quite a spectacle and they need to feed approximately every ten minutes. They also eat small insects and pollen for protein so if you can avoid using insecticides in your garden, it would be much better for the hummers. If you want to provide food for your garden hummingbird population, there are plenty of feeders on the market from which to dispense nectar. Try to choose one which has a moat to prevent ants getting to the nectar.

Some people see orange and brown or zebra striped flying creatures in their gardens which hover and act just like hummingbirds. Don’t be deceived – these are probably hawk moths.

Hummingbirds court visually. The male may raise his feathers edging the gorget and shake his head from side to side, all the while, making shrill noises. He also does dive displays, accompanied by various sounds made vocally or by the wing feathers. Alternatively, the male may perform a shuttle dance involving flying back and forth very quickly in arc shapes only about ten inches wide and sometimes right in front of the face of the female.

In some species, the males all group together and sing to attract nearby females into their territory. The males and females have separate territories, the females for nesting and the males usually to protect a source of food.

All in all the hummingbird is not only beautiful and active but fascinating to watch in terms of other behaviour.

Liz Canham is webmistress of Worldwide Bird Watching.

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By: Phil Rogers
Category: Gardening

Growing grapes is not restricted to hot climates. They have been grown in the United Kingdom for 2000 years. They will grow outdoors in most parts of the UK, especially in the south, and equally well in a greenhouse. Although it takes a little effort

By: Phil Rogers
Category: Gardening

Many people who live in a temperate climate often react with surprise that melons can be grown successfully in their country. However, anyone who has grown cucumbers in their greenhouse could also grow melons. The two plants are from the same family;

Most gardeners know that daffodils, snowdrops, hyacinths and tulips grow from bulbs and that many other flowers grow from rhizomes, tubers or corms but what is the difference and can they all be treated in the same way?

There are many different definitions to be found, but I think these explain the variations in quite simple terms:

Bulb – a central bud surrounded by a fleshy layer. The bulb serves as a store for nutrients as well as a reproductive structure.

Rhizome – a reproductive stem which grows horizontally underground, topped by shoots and with roots below. The stem also acts as a food store. Some rhizomes are edible, such as ginger, galangal and turmeric but common flowers are irises and various types of lily.

Tuber – a plump fleshy stem which divides for reproduction and stores food. Dahlias of all sorts of varieties are popular flowers but the humble potato is also a tuber.

Corm – A corm, as with the other types above, stores nutrients for the plant and also reproduces. It appears similar to a bulb but is usually smaller and harder in texture. Popular garden varieties are gladioli and crocuses.

You will see that all the different types of the generic “bulb” act as a food storage area for the plant and this is not only during the growing season but continues when the leaves die off and the plant becomes dormant. This is why all these perennials can be left in the ground as they all have their own survival system. Thus, when the weather conditions become suitable for growth, the plants reappear without human intervention. However, in order to maintain this annual reappearance, bulbs should be planted in well drained soil with plenty of moisture and, in most cases, sunshine. Soil that is too wet and retains a lot of moisture will cause the bulb to rot.

My experience of bulbs in Southern England is that snowdrops appear first, followed by crocuses then daffodils (in a sheltered spot) even while the weather is still frosty. Tulips, hyacinths and bluebells need more warmth so won’t usually appear until spring is well under way and dahlias and gladioli will flower in the summer.

Planting time varies, depending on climate but most spring bulbs and rhizomes should be planted in late autumn or winter and summer flowering varieties in the spring.

Most bulbs enjoy full sunshine but if they are normally woodland plants, such as bluebells and snowdrops, then dappled shade will be more suitable, such as under deciduous trees. Planters, pots and window boxes are all suitable for growing bulbs too, as long as there is approximately three times their own height in depth of soil beneath the bulb. If you have problems with squirrels digging up and eating your bulbs, try planting them in a wire cage.

When the spring flowers are over, the leaves should be left to die off naturally as they provide the nutrients for the bulb to store for the following year, so don’t cut them off or mow grass in which they are planted. If you want to reuse your tubs for summer bedding, you can, if you wish, dig up the bulbs complete and lay they out to dry in a warm dry place. When the leaves are quite dried up, they can be pulled off and the bulbs stored in a paper bag for replanting in the autumn. Unless your climate is very dry, tubers such as dahlias should be dug up when their foliage wilts with the first frosts as they are very prone to mould growth. Lay them out in seed trays or wooden boxes to dry and store in a dark dry place. The tubers will shrivel up, but don’t worry, just before you want to replant them, remove them from the dark, sprinkle with a little compost and water very sparingly. You will notice that the tubers become plumb again and green shoots start appearing and this is when you can plant them out again as long as the danger of frost is past.

There are lots of varieties of all the above-mentioned plants to be found in garden centres but if you want some really exotic and exciting types, mail order companies have done fantastic work developing some real beauties!

Liz Canham
Liz is a keen gardener who has exchanged the relative ease of gardening in Southern England for the trials of gardening on the Costa Blanca in Spain, where her garden is at a 45% angle on the side of a mountain. She is webmistress of Gardening for All.

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