Winter critters in search of food

Believe it or not, there’s a lot going on in the garden right now. And while many of the changes are subtle, some are right out there in your face and there are clues all around.

These clues have been in the snow, on your fruit trees and possibly your azaleas. And as my dog that thinks she’s a fox will tell you, there’s lots going on underground as well.

Earlier this month, I was checking on a property on Meadow Lane in Southampton to make sure the winter protection on the trees and shrubs hadn’t been damaged by recent storms. I also wanted to make sure that the deer fencing was in place.

It’s a very difficult property to protect from deer because it has a long beachfront and that’s tough to fence. But the other three sides of the property are enclosed, and while this offers some protection, it also tends to pen in any deer that come in from the beach.

Not everyone is aware that there is a large deer population on the beaches and on the narrow spits of land—such as the long stretch of Meadow Lane that has only one narrow connection to the mainland and is otherwise surrounded by water. But there are deer, lots of deer.

In very cold winters, when the bay freezes over, they can be seen walking across the ice. In warmer weather, I’ve occasionally seen them swim for some distance, not only down by Meadow Lane, but on the other side of Southampton Town, where they swim the channel between the National Golf Links of America and Ram Island.

But on this Meadow Lane property, the gardener had taken special care to protect the plantings, knowing that the deer could and would enter from the ocean beach. For example, there’s a low row of a dwarf, border-type of evergreen euonymus along the house. The plants were covered for the length of the planting—which was about 30-feet-by-2-feet—with a rigid plastic mesh used for deer and bird protection. This mesh, similar to C-Flex and Cintoflex, has a 1- to 2-inch weave. It’s a great idea and one that I’ve often thought of using on a long row of azaleas that the deer always seem to enjoy browsing on.

I noticed that there was something amiss, though. As I looked at one end of the row I noticed that none of the plants on the last three feet of the row had any foliage on them. The deer had simply figured out that the ends were not secured and they got their heads under the mesh and dined.

But then, as I inspected the rest of the row more carefully, I saw something even more disturbing.

In the middle of the row where the plants were fully protected, the deer had chewed through the plastic mesh and made holes large enough to get their heads in to get to the plants. I was surprised, but shouldn’t have been. I’ve seen fence lines that the deer have chewed through to get to food and this fence was no different. The deer were very hungry and they were not going to be stopped by the plastic.

Last winter I saw something even more remarkable. For as long as I’ve gardened, people have told me that they’ve had deer damage to their rhododendrons. Now I’ve had lots of rhody problems but I’ve never, ever had deer feed on their foliage.

But just to make sure, we spray our rhodies and azaleas twice each winter with a concoction that has proven to be deer-proof. It contains the pesticide Thiram, which is a known and effective deer deterrent, and has always worked for us. Until last year.

Two large rhodies in a formal garden were clearly browsed on about three feet above the ground. Coated with this awful tasting stuff and inside a fenced property, nonetheless, they’d been browsed.

The long and short of it is that there is only one way to stop deer and that’s with an 8-foot-tall fence. Not six feet, not seven feet. As far as I can tell, only an 8-foot fence will work.

Unfortunately (or fortunately for the deer), in most locales, a fence this tall is at least frowned upon and in some areas, illegal.

If you have a fence that’s loose or open more than six inches on the bottom without a tight, strong bottom wire pulled from fence post to fence post, the deer will push under it. Most people think that deer always jump over fences, but if they have the option of going under it’s always the route of choice.

As far as repellents go, deer get used to them as noted above. And when the feeding pressure gets high—too many deer and not enough food in very cold weather—anything is fair fodder.

The deer scoff at scarecrows and laugh at miraculous sound devices. And even the water shooting devices that seem to work in the summer don’t do so well when it’s 15 degrees outside.

Then of course there are people like my neighbor who feed the deer, which begs the question who or what should be fenced in.

But there is other feeding going on in the landscape, too. For many years now I’ve noticed that the robins haven’t been leaving for the winter. It really surprised me this winter, when even in the bitter cold of early January they were still around.

What do the birds eat, since the worms that they’d usually be pecking at are deep below the frozen crust? Well, at my place they feast on the tiny fruits on the crabapple trees.

We have five crabs that bloom like crazy in the spring and give a great foliage show in the fall; then the bright red fruits become the attraction when the leaves drop. Once the worms have headed south, the robins head for the crabapples and feast on the fruits for a couple of months.

The downside is that you don’t want to park a white car or truck near the area while this feeding frenzy is going on. The robins’ droppings now belie the color of the fruits, leaving very dark red stains. A small price to pay to keep them around if we can.

I also see several flocks of juncos around at this time of the year, which is also a nice touch when all else seems so quiescent. These small birds congregate under our pine trees, and as the pinecones fall, the birds scavenge for any pine seed they can find.

Though this pine ritual goes on for several months, these birds are also under the birch trees—most notably the black birches. Now these are not trees that most of us would think of planting, but they do occur in the wild. And from early to late winter, the seeds drop from last year’s flowers and the juncos cover the ground at the base of the trees as they search for treasure.

We’re also loaded with woodpeckers, from the tiny downy to the occasional pileated, and the red-headed and flickers in the middle. Not usually seed eaters, these birds usually travel up and down the trunks of trees searching for any signs of grub or beetle activity. When they’re lucky, they find the morsels near the surface of the bark. But when more serious digging is needed or a luscious section of rotted wood is found, you can hear these birds doing their work.

Down on the ground, we know the mice are active and desperately looking for the tiniest crack in your walls or foundation to come in and join you. In the winter they’ll rummage just about anywhere looking to eat the seed of just about anything. Any seed that dropped in your garden last summer or from your bird feeder is now good as gold.

In about two weeks, I’ll clean out our bluebird boxes and I know that in half of them I’ll find a family of mice snuggled warm and safe (momentarily) in a nest made from milkweed silks, string and anything else they can fluff.

Meanwhile, under the snow, there’s a more sinister feeding going on. You’ll see the evidence of this as the snow melts to the point where there’s only about an inch left on the lawn and garden.

In some areas you’ll see the remnants of an intricate tunneling system that will reveal the winter routes and travels of the meadow vole. This small rodent is one of the few that not only feeds all winter but reproduces all winter as well.

The vole will tunnel under the snow, mulch and leaf litter looking for soft spots in the ground where they can dig for the roots of perennials. They’ll also gnaw at the trunks of fruit trees, especially apple and quince. If you note a lot of damage, bait mouse traps with small pieces of apple.

Keep growing.

Andrew Messinger has been a professional horticulturist for more than 30 years. He divides his time between homes and gardens in Southampton, Westchester and the Catskills. E-mail him at: Andrew@hamptongardener.com. The Hampton Gardener is a registered trademark.