Whether it is Winter, Spring, Summer or Fall, birds are a wonderful part of our yard and gardens. It is fascinating watching them come and go, flitting about, feeding and drinking. We so enjoy bird watching and if you do too, let’s talk about attracting birds to your yard and garden.
Feeding the birds
Obviously putting out bird food is the number one way to attract birds. However, consider these items before you go out and buy just any bird food.
- What kind of birds are you hoping to attract?
- What birds frequent your part of the world?
- What is your area like? – open, wooded, shady, etc.
At our place in Minnesota, we are fortunate to live with a wooded area behind us. Also, our yard has a lot of trees and bushes for the birds to land in and inhabit. We have our regular visitors: Cardinal, Chickadee, Goldfinch, Nuthatch, Bluejay, House finch, Robin, Oriole, Hummingbird and a variety of Woodpeckers – Downy, Hairy, Redbellied and Pileated.
Here are some feeding suggestions for these birds:
- Cardinal, Grosbeak – Sunflower and Safflower seed.
- Chickadee and Finches – Black oil Sunflower and Niger seed.
- Woodpeckers – Suet and shelled peanuts.
- Oriole – Nectar and Jelly.
- Hummingbird – Nectar
- Robin – not usually a seed eater but they do like suet.
Try to avoid the generic mixed birdseed. It has a lot of fillers that most of the best birds do not like as much. Besides the Black-oil sunflower seed, Safflower seed and Niger seed, we also use a Fruit and Nut or Nut and Berry mix that is a special treat.
You may have different birds in your area than this list. Do some research as to what they are and what kind of food they prefer.
Here in the midwest, If you have more of an open area, you can look to attract Bluebirds. They will eat mealworms, suet, berries and sunflower chips. Perhaps in a future post we’ll talk about the different type of feeders.
Water
After food, the next best thing to attract birds is water.
One of the reasons we have so many fountains in our yard is that birds are attracted to the sight and sound of running water. If you don’t have a fountain, at least use a birdbath – and change the water regularly.
We enjoy watching the birds trying to take baths in many places – the stream of the waterfall, various sections of the fountains, and in the birdbaths.
Most important is that birds need water to drink. If it’s a dry season or during the winter, there is not a lot of convenient water to drink. During the winter here, we provide a birdbath with a heater and the birds are there constantly.
Habitat
The great majority of birds love the shelter that trees and bushes provide. It’s important for them to have some place to land other than the ground near your feeders. It can also be something man made. We have a metal gazebo that the birds use just as much as a tree or bush.
Our current house is in a tree covered yard. The smaller birds have bushes and tree branches to hide in. We will often see a Hawk come in, and all the birds scatter.
In a previous house, we had a more open yard. At that place there were more birds that preferred open spaces, such as Eastern Bluebirds, Swallows and Killdeers. Even those birds liked somewhere to land.
A Place to Nest
It is always nice if you can provide nesting places in your yard, but you need to be careful where to place birdhouses.
The first best practice is to place them away from food sources if possible. Many birds will become territorial when they’re nesting. If their nest is too close to the birdfeeders, they may chase away other birds trying to feed.
Also, the size of the hole in the birdhouse is important. Consider what kind of bird you are trying to attract. If the hole is too large, undesirable birds may move in. For example – House Finch houses should have a 1 1/2 inch hole, Chickadees and Wrens prefer a 1 1/8 inch hole. Robins prefer an open sided nesting box or platform.
And that’s about it for a summary of this topic today.
Note: All of the photos included in this post were taken in our yard.
Look for more great bird photos on our gallery page.
Thanks for viewing!
So fun to see your blog. I guess I better replace my heater in my bird bath. I just don’t have the energy you do to keep changing the water like I used to do.