Brandon's Birds Get an Extreme Home Makeover!

Seven and a half years ago, branch manager Linda Wolfe, with the financial support of The Friends of the Brandon Public Library, established a bird feeding and nesting area outside the west windows of the children’s area. It turned a weedy patch of unused lawn into a lively area where over 50 species of birds could drink, bathe, eat, and feed their young. The nest boxes have housed over 50 Eastern Bluebirds, as well as Carolina wrens and even flying squirrels. A patron built a set of indoor steps where children and parents can observe the avian visitors with binoculars generously provided by Bass Pro Shop, and identify the birds using donated field guides and a completely illustrated binder of every species reported at the viewing area.

As Linda’s retirement at the end of March approaches, a group of local Master Gardeners, led by Chris Purser, have organized a plan to dramatically landscape the feeding and surrounding areas with a variety of native seed- and fruit-bearing flowers, shrubs, and trees to provide essential food, shelter, and nesting areas for the birds. The project should begin in February and be completed well before the spring nesting season, so keep checking on their progress. If you haven’t seen the birding area yet make a point of it on your next visit to the library.

Stop in to wish Linda Wolfe a happy retirement after 17 years at the Brandon Public Library and 9 years as manager. If you think, like the staff does, that she is the reason our branch is the best and most welcoming branch in the Central Mississippi Regional Library System, then let her know!