Birding Resources

Attracting Birds

As the human population grows, wild bird habitats are disappearing. What was once the country is now becoming the suburbs. Usually the birds will leave as their homes disappear, but there are some things you can do to attract them and keep them around for their benefit and your enjoyment. Doing things like putting up feeders, planting flowers, trees, and shrubs, and even putting up bird houses can help keep the wild birds around when they would normally leave. Having wild birds around can really help teach children about nature and can also be a fun activity for the whole family.

The easiest way to attract birds is with bird feeders. Start with a tray type feeder as it will make it easier for the birds to find the food at first. They will either easily see the food or other birds feeding. To really enjoy watching the birds at your feeder I recommend getting a good bird watching book. Any large bookstore should carry them and you can probably get one for just your region of the country.

Next you may want to consider putting up bird houses. You can do a little research here to find out where the best places are to place them. You will also need to find out what birds you can expect to use the bird houses. There are a large variety of bird houses you can choose from. They range from the simple to the ornate. You can also build your own bird house either from a kit or from scratch. This can be a good project if you have children. It gives them an opportunity to build something and then they can identify the species of birds that use the bird house. This is a good way to learn about life in nature from the beginning.

The third way you can attract birds to your property is by planting tree's, shrubs, and flowers. You should try to plant native species as they are what the birds are used to. You can do some substitution though. For example if you have hummingbirds in your area that normally feed on trumpet vine flowers and you don't have room for that, you can plant a flower like monarda. This plant has a red cluster of vase shaped flowers that the hummingbirds will see and feed off of. Depending on how much room you have will play a large part in what you can plant. IF your space is limited just putting in some flowers or small plants that may attract some of the insects that birds feed on will do the trick.

Those are three of the ways you can use to attract birds to your property. You can do only one or two or all three, depending on how much space and time you have. But no matter what you do, you will be rewarded by watching the birds on their busy days and listening to their sweet songs.

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