Attracting Wild Birds – Getting the Most Out of Your Outdoor Bird Feeder
I am often asked “How do I effectively use a decorative bird feeder for attracting wild birds to my garden?” The answer is to keep in mind that there are actually three kinds of birds with regards to the kind of food they eat. There are the:
- seed eaters,
- insect eaters and
- fruit and nectar eaters.
Within these 3 general groupings there is a lot of overlap. For example, Chipping Sparrows, Meadowlarks feed on seed in the wintertime but eat bugs all summer. While Cedar Waxwings are mainly fresh fruit eaters, they feed their young with bugs as well as berries. So the heart of the answer of “how to attract the greatest number of wild birds” is, you must provide the food for all three groups.
Many, who are a new comer to birding, start off attracting wild birds that eat seeds.
There are a number of commercially available wild bird seed mixes and some specialty mixes as well. Now our answer gets a little come complex because among the birds who eat seeds you’ll find three basic feeding styles. So, of the seed eaters, there are:
- the clingers,
- the perchers and
- the scratchers.
There is no one bird feeder for attracting wild birds of all 3 types.
- The clingers include the most popular backyard birds in the country: Pine Siskins, Redpolls, Purple Finches, and Cassin’s Finches, and House Finches, and woodpeckers, chickadees, nuthatches and… Continue reading
Birdwatching, to me, comes automatically as a naturalist.
I live just off of a small lake that is filled with different birds at different times of the year (we live on a migration path). There are even families that we have become somewhat familiar with and some new chicks have arrived! Birdwatching is a side benefit of being a gardener!
The birdwatching backyard phenomenon has become growing in popularity with a new breed of hobbyists. It has some very real advantages as well as some shortcomings . It allows for the opportunity to relax in ones own backyard without the drudgery of tramping through forests and swamps in search of your avian objective . If there are irritating bugs or other less than desirable company , relief is just a few steps away back into the house .
It usually takes a bit of skill and luck at times to find the rarer birds but happily is something anyone can do. By enticing different birds into your yard it becomes fairly easy to observe and record sightings .
For the enthusiasts the first thing is creating a habitat attractive to your favorite different varieties . But remember that birds are natural prey just about all cats. It does absolutely no good to deliberately attract birds only to have the cats attack them. Carefully situate your birdbaths or feeders to prevent a sneak attack.
A birdwatching backyard can be initiated by planting an array of shrubs, trees, flowers and greenery .… Continue reading
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