Food Trucks for Birds ?
It’s a metaphor – install three or more native plants as food for the birds: aka the food truck
They rely on native habitats for food and shelter. And, we are changing the habitats faster than a bird can find the right food for themselves. They only recognize food given to them as babies. If they do not know the new plants, they will probably not eat them. If they do not have the fat storage for the trip. They become weaker and less able to make the biannual journey.
In ecology there are several different terms to describe the natural world: patch, corridors, matrix, boundaries, and edges etc. These terms describe the habitat size and function. In this case, we are creating patches of native plants for the birds. Three is a magic number to draw their attention. Native plants provide food and shelter for them. It’s important to have the native plants because a bird’s diet evolves slowly over many generations. It can take 40 years for a bird to change it’s diet.
We are changing our environment too rapidly.
They need a little “QVC” and 3 nights “hotel” shelter
The migration highway is busy twice a year. This is a radar website: Bird Cast tracks their movements. Its a long journey to either South Florida, the Carribean islands, or South America. It takes much energy to survive the trip. Ecologists recommend a “hotel” for three or four nights (aka native trees), water source, and native shrubs for berries or the insects they attract. If you do not care for bugs, then attract the birds. They love to eat them!
Birds need a fresh water and bath
Ont their 2000 mile journey, the birds need water for bathing and drinking. I would suggest adding a fresh water bird bath to your native planting area. It’s quite entertaining to watch them flitter and fly around a water spray. At his point, I’m not opposed to also offering a small seed bird feeder. I have found that organic sunflower seeds appeal to most species. They do need our help on this journey and it’s not going to happen over night.
Can you spare a small patch of your yard for the wild birds? They offer plenty of morning and evening entertainment. I can’t think of a better way to enjoy my sunrise coffee/tea than watching the birds.
How did you come up with this idea???
On the road again…
Tricia was heading south on the 18 mile stretch from Florida City to Key Largo late one evening. While thinking about her Hammock Bird project, she looked up at the stormy skies rolling in. The song AC DC Highway to Hell came on the radio. Which sparked an idea. “These birds are in the highway in sky trying to navigate food deserts and glass buildings etc. It’s a highway through hell for them. How can I provide food for them? I can stop for a cofee, food, or gas but thes birds have no rest stops”.
Food Trucks – these birds need a food truck for their migration in the sky journey!
An idea was born but it needed more work. “How could I encourage people to plant native plants for ecological patches?” Tricia is a former dolphin trainer with a BA in Psychology. She combined her education with inspiration from Free Little Librarys to launch “food truck” plans on this website.
It’s about giving people positive vibes for taking action with the educational materials.
Inspiration – Free Little Little Libraries
Tricia grew up going to the libraries during summertime breaks. “I love the free little library concept” she said. She was brainstorming some ideas to encourage people to follow through with the educational handouts. “Too many times we give away free handouts – but there is no follow up to find out if people take action”.
I developed this website to encourage people to “take action” from the free materials to install and register their food trucks. Everyone gets gold stars 🙂 As a bonus, they can join the socials and hashtag their food trucks (minimum of three native plants together).
There is always a facebook public group.
Everyone who registers their food truck on the website can choose their level of privacy. As the program rolls out we would like to offer people a small plaque for their registered trucks.
The logo?
“I was looking for inspiration from songs on YouTube. When I googled bird songs, Born to be Wild by Stephanwolf poped up. The video was perfect. The band members were on motocycles on the open highway. At one point, they even stand up on the bike and flap their arms. I had to laugh. This is perfect for a logo.”
Tricia learned graphics from her BA in Art at Florida International University. She set about to find the perfect bird and motorcyce to assemble for a logo. There you have it. A bird on a motorcycle on the migration highway looking for a food truck for a pit stop.