Birds add interest, movement, color and even beautiful sounds to our gardens. Many species also feed on insects, and this can help hold down populations of pests that can damage plants.
Illustration by Kenneth Harrison / The Times-Picayune
Because of this, gardeners often put out feeders to attract birds. Some even design and plant landscapes that are particularly attractive to birds in an effort to make up for the loss of natural habitat facing many bird species.
So, what can we do to encourage birds to live in our landscapes?
The primary features of an inviting landscape are shelter, nesting sites, water and food.
Although people often provide food and water, shelter and nesting sites easily can be overlooked.
If birds can’t find natural shelter near the food and water sources you supply, they may be tempted to look elsewhere. If you can provide a place for birds to nest, you’ll have the pleasure of seeing them frequently at close range and have the advantage of allies in the control of insects.
A number of birds will nest in trees and large shrubs, although each species shows a strong preference for the specific elevation at which it feeds and nests.
This is apparent in natural forests, where some birds sing and feed in the high canopy level but nest in the lower canopy. Others may feed on the ground, nest in shrubs and sing from the highest trees. These bird movements demonstrate that a multilevel planting design is important.
Adding levels to a landscape creates more leaves, stems, nooks and crannies on which birds can nest, feed and sing. The use of various sizes of shrubs and small as well as larger trees planted in masses or groups will achieve this in a landscape design.
Build a house
Shelter for nesting may also be provided with birdhouses or bird boxes. These structures, if built properly to specific dimensions and located in the right spots, can provide nesting sites for birds that would rarely find suitable sites in urban areas.
Birds that nest in the cavities of dead trees, for instance, will find few sites available, as dead trees are quickly removed from urban landscapes. Birds such as purple martins, house finches, woodpeckers, robins and Eastern bluebirds, to name a few, would use bird houses.
If birds ignore the houses you’ve installed, make sure you have done everything correctly as to the dimensions and location of the houses — and then be patient. (Birds will rarely use decorative houses.)
Even if prepared properly, a brand-new house may be viewed at first with suspicion. Once it’s weathered a bit, birds are more likely to accept it.
Fall would be a good time to put up bird houses, as they would have some time to weather before the birds start to look for them next spring.
Inviting food
Include wherever possible in your landscape plants that produce fruit that birds will eat, such as native hollies, cherry laurel and hawthorns (Crataegus species).
However, putting out bird feeders is an increasingly popular option.
When setting up a feeding station, be sure you are willing to make a commitment to maintain a dependable food supply and to keep the health and safety of the birds in mind.
Seeds may be purchased by individual varieties or in mixed form. What and how you buy will depend on a number of factors, such as your bird-feeding goals, budget and seed availability.
Some of the seeds commonly found in inexpensive commercial mixes, such as wheat, milo, peanut hearts, hulled oats and rice, are relatively unattractive to many birds. You will generally attract more birds with preferred seeds.
This does not mean that unattractive seeds won’t be eaten, but preferred seeds will be eaten first and will tend to attract birds that might not otherwise visit a feeder.
Thistle seeds, hulled sunflower seeds, small black oil sunflower seeds, white proso millet and finely cracked corn are very useful for attracting particular species.
Get humming
Ruby-throated hummingbirds are found all around southeast Louisiana in spring, summer, fall and sometimes during winter. Attracting hummingbirds can be as easy as hanging a feeder, but because many hummingbirds are not accustomed to using feeders, that is not always successful.
Many gardeners have found success with planting a garden full of plants that attract hummingbirds in addition to maintaining feeders. Hummingbird feeders are most effective when located within view of flowers that attract the hummingbirds.
Place feeders high enough so that cats cannot attack the birds while they are feeding, and place them so you can clearly see them through your windows for maximum viewing pleasure. This advice really applies to all types of bird feeders.
Water is not food, but it can make a feeding station more attractive. By providing water, which birds use for both drinking and bathing, you may encourage birds to stay in your yard.
Several commercial watering trays are available, but you can use almost any shallow container. Make sure you regularly add fresh water to the bird bath and clean it as needed.
Not every gardener welcomes birds; some include them on lists of common garden pests. Vegetable and fruit gardeners, in particular, are often frustrated by birds eating newly planted seeds or pecking at or feeding on fruit or vegetables they are growing.
Nevertheless, despite these occasional problems, the presence of birds is almost universally welcome.
For more information on gardening with birds in mind, two excellent books are “Attracting Birds to Southern Gardens” by Thomas Pope, Neil Odenwald and Charles Fryling Jr., and “Hummingbird Gardens” by Nancy Newfield and Barbara Nielsen.
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