Attracting songbirds to your garden can be both pleasant and helpful. Birds keep the insect population down, while bringing yearlong enjoyment with their songs and beauty. Whether you are a birdwatcher or just looking for a way to bring them to your garden for the helpful benefits they provide, all they need to hang around your garden are these four basic necessities:
1. Shelter
The first thing to consider when making your back yard “bird friendly” is what plants, shrubs and trees are native to your area. Planting species that already are adapted to your area will save you the added trouble of trying to keep them healthy.
Mimicking nature in your plantings will make your landscape more inviting to songbirds and other creatures. As in a natural habitat, you should plant flowers, bushes and trees of differing heights with the tallest toward the back of your yard or garden.
When choosing plants, keep in mind the needs of birds year-round. Choose some evergreens that will be a good source of food and cover through the long winter months, when food is scarce. Some to consider are cedar, pine and spruce trees. Chickadees, woodpeckers and goldfinches, as well as many other birds, eat the seeds from the cones of pine and spruce trees and take shelter in their branches during storms or at night. Evergreen shrubs like Holly provide berries and cover also.
Other plants to consider are vines such as the trumpet, honeysuckle and the many varieties of berries. Honeysuckle and trumpet vines are favorites with humming birds and the berry vines, as well as rose bushes, are excellent in offering cover and nesting areas that will keep predators away with their thorny branches.
Dogwood trees have berries that songbirds love to eat, and cherry trees will attract many birds, from crows to songbirds to woodpeckers. Many birds also feed on acorns from oak trees. Oaks are a good choice if you want to attract turkey and quail.
Keep in mind also that since birds eat insects, you should not use pesticides in your yard or garden. This is another reason for planting native species, since they will be healthier and can better withstand some of the pests that may feed off of them.
Don’t forget to leave a few dead trees, if you can safely do so, for woodpeckers and other birds that can search the decaying wood for insects. If you have a place out of sight where you can leave a pile of brush, this will be a source of cover for birds, as well as other backyard wildlife.
2. Feeding
With careful planning when designing your garden and landscape, as mentioned earlier, much of the birds’ diet will be provided by the plants, shrubs and trees you choose. For those times when you want to supplement that food, or just to draw the birds closer to your home, you may want to put out a few bird feeders around the yard. There are many feeders to choose from, with just as many designs. Some birds, such as blue jays and cardinals, like to feed on platform feeders. These can be as simple as a cookie sheet with seeds or pieces of fruit and bread scattered inside. Others consist of a frame with a mesh bottom for drainage to keep the seeds dry.
Other feeders, with perches for the birds to stand on while they are eating, are hung from trees or porches, or placed on posts in the yard. Popular seeds for filling feeders are black oil sunflowers. Some of the birds that will visit these feeders are titmice, chickadees, nuthatches and even woodpeckers.
Thistle seeds will attract the showy goldfinch to your garden, and are either offered in hanging tube feeders, with special holes to keep the tiny thistle seeds inside, or “socks” made of netting that the birds grasp with their feet while pulling the seeds from the tiny openings in the netting.
Suet feeders will attract a wide variety of birds to your yard and are especially tempting to all varieties of woodpeckers. Suet blocks, as well as the “feeder cages” to hold the blocks, can be found anywhere that wild bird feed is sold.
3. Water
Providing water for birds can be as easy as purchasing a bird bath or, some prefer to build a small pond for birds and other wildlife. Either way you choose to go, birds are drawn quicker to water that is moving. A small water fall or fountain in your pond, or a drip or mister near your bird bath, will be irresistible to the birds. Shallow pools are better than deep ones, so make sure that the sides of the bath or pond have sloping sides. And, rocks that reach above the water are good places for the birds to perch after bathing.
Whichever water method you choose, make sure to place it close to some source of cover, in case they need to make a quick escape to avoid a predator. Do not place it near enough to shrubs that cats or other predators can hide behind them, though.
4. Nesting areas
Although trees and shrubs make natural nesting areas, as with feeding you can bring the birds closer to your house and garden by offering nesting boxes or houses. The varieties are endless when choosing a bird house, with styles to suit any taste.
If you are crafty and want to make your own, there are many books and web sites where you can find patterns. The size and height of the entrance hole will determine what kinds of birds will make their home in your house. Bluebirds, for instance, need an entry hole that is about 1 ½ inches. This will keep other birds, such as starlings and cowbirds out and keep them from taking over the house before the bluebirds move in. Place your house where it will be out of the wind but will still get some sun.
Don’t forget to place nesting materials nearby to give them a helping hand. Yarn, grass, small twigs and even hair will be welcome additions to their new home. Some people use suet feeders to hold their offerings, or just throw them on the ground.
Providing these four basics will have your garden full of songbirds in no time. Watching the birds that feed, bathe and nest in your garden will bring you hours of enjoyment. And, you can know that they are benefiting your garden in the process!
