DANDELION SEEDS AND PRETTY BIRDS

      Common dandelions grow cheery, yellow flowers on lawns in southeastern Pennsylvania from the middle of April into May.  Some lawns become wall to wall golden with beautiful dandelion blooms for a couple of weeks.  

     By late April, pollinated dandelion blossoms quickly go to seed on foot-tall-plus stalks, a reason why this plant is difficult to eradicate.  The stems grow tall to get the seeds up into the wind, which disperses them across the countryside.     

     Some dandelion flowers form on one-inch stems.  The plants that grow them adapted to repeated mowing that cuts off long stalks, but misses the short ones.  Therefore, dandelion blossoms on short stems produce seeds and, because of genetics, flowers on short stems, nestled in short grass, eventually dominate many regularly mowed lawns.  

     Many dandelion seeds blow away on the wind, carried along by their fluffy, white parachutes.  Some of  those traveling seeds sprout in soil.  But many other seeds are eaten off their stalks by a variety of pretty, seed-eating, small birds during May when few other seeds are available.  Those attractive, feeding birds make the parachutes float away without their seed passengers.

     Lovely, permanent resident northern cardinals, American goldfinches, house finches, song sparrows and house sparrows are adapted to lawns with short-grass, trees and shrubbery.  They are present to ingest dandelion seeds when those seeds are available.  

     Meanwhile, migrating singles and little groups of indigo buntings, rose-breasted grosbeaks and chipping sparrows stop on many lawns to consume dandelion seeds.  Chippies are the kind most likely to be in groups while feeding on dandelion seeds on lawns, though, being camouflaged, they are often hard to spot.  

     These lovely, seed-eating birds are a pleasure to experience on lawns, right at home.  Male cardinals, yellow and black goldfinches, blue indigo buntings and black, white and red rose-breasted grosbeaks brighten lawns with their brilliant feathering.  Their vivid colors help attract plain-hued mates for raising young.  And, although camouflaged, song sparrows, chipping sparrows and house sparrows are also a joy to see in their handsomely patterned feathering.

     Watch for these adaptable, pretty birds eating dandelion seeds on lawns.  Their colors and lively actions make many lawns more exciting and inspiring for a few weeks in spring.            

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