I love the sound of the birds chirping as I tool around in my garden–it’s such a tweet, ahem, treat.
If you want to turn your backyard into a bird-lovers paradise, here are a few sure-fire tips to ensure that you are a good bird hostess:
- Provide plenty of fresh water for drinking and bathing. This is especially true in the winter, when birdie resources are a little more scarce. Birds will stay close to a consistent, clean water source.
- Provide a variety of feed. Since variety is the spice of life, providing a couple of different feeders with different types of bird seed will increase your odds of lots of types of birds.
- Plant pine trees. In the winter, quite a few types of birds seek the protective qualities of pine trees. They can hide easily from predators and pines provide a little more shelter from the elements.
- No pine trees? No problem. Put a pile of branches and twig in the corner of the yard. A lot of birds prefer to make their homes on the ground in the safety of thick brush trimmings.
- If possible, provide running water. The sound of running water will attract birds from miles away. Obviously, this is easier to do in the summer, when fountains, etc. are on.
- A lot of birds dine consistently on bugs, but will supplement with fruits. Cut up apples or shrubs with fruits {think holly, elderberry, honeysuckle, etc.} provide another supplemental food source that will draw in the birds.
- Clean out bird houses {if you have them} yearly. Birdhouses can foster bugs and parasites, so for the safety of any new inhabitants, it’s best to give them a good cleaning once a year.
How do you bring birds to your garden?
~Mavis
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