Attracting birds to the backyard garden

In the past week here in Colorado, the birds of summer have arrived and Matt, the kids, & I have been glued to our picture window just waiting for the next new bird to visit our newly-added feeders. I have already blogged about the migration of juncos, who vacate Front Range gardens each spring, but the summer showing thus far more than makes up for their absence.

Matt has a running tally of the interesting birds we’ve sighted, but I want to talk more about how to attract birds to your garden so that you, too, can enjoy their presence.

There are lots of things you can do to attract birds to your garden, and, as with so many other things, there is a continuum based on the time, effort, and money you want to commit to creating a bird habitat in your yard.

Choosing a Feeder
The type of birds that come to your garden and the types of seed you’re putting out should influence your choice in feeder as much as aesthetics. If squirrels are a problem, one of the many squirrel-free feeders might be a good idea, although providing squirrels with abundant food elsewhere in the garden might be a better deterrent. If you want woodpeckers and flickers, which abound in the Front Range, mature trees and suet feeders will provide the best food and shelter.

The opening of seed feeders should be of an appropriate size for the feed you put in it. If you want thistle to attract American Goldfinches (one of my favorites), make sure you put the feed in a thistle feeder so it doesn’t just slowly spill out of the feeder onto the ground. Feeders should also have a platform if you hope to attract some of the larger backyard birds–they might not perch on the side of a typical feeder.

Hummingbird feeders should be easy to fill and clean, and, if you live in an area of high winds, should be hung far enough from solid objects like fences, buildings, and trees to prevent them from breaking in strong winds.

Whatever feeder(s) you choose, be sure to clean them periodically with hot water and a mild soap or white vinegar.

Choosing Bird Food
Nobody wants excess seed to sprout in their mulch and plantings. Selecting feed based on the types of birds that actually visit your yard can help avoid this problem. Talk to your local wild bird center about the type of bird food that is right for you, but the following is a general guideline:

• Finches, especially American Goldfinches, like thistle seed, also called Niger.
• Woodpeckers, nuthatches, and flickers will flock to suet feeders.
• Hulled sunflower seeds will not sprout in the garden and yet provide food for multiple types of birds.

And don’t bother buying the expensive hummingbird nectar. Instead, make your own by adding 1 part sugar to 4 parts boiling water. Cool before adding the home-made nectar to the feeder and do not add food coloring–either your feeder or the plantings around it should be red; food coloring is harmful to the hummers! We’ve had the added surprise of watching bright yellow Bullock’s Orioles drinking nectar from our hummingbird feeders. According to our bird book, they’ve adapted to drink from hummingbird feeders until later in the season when other foods are more readily available to them. Now that’s a smart bird!

Bird Attracting Plants
Plants not only provide food for birds, but shelter in which to roost and raise young. When adding trees or shrubs to your landscape, keep birds in mind and plant a mix of fruit & seed bearing deciduous trees and shrubs for food and evergreens, thorny plants, or dense, twiggy shrubs for shelter.

Trees and shrubs are not the only plants of interest to birds. Hummingbirds feed on tubular flowers in shades of red and orange. Some hummingbird-attracting plants that do well in the Front Range include honeysuckle, members of the Agastache family, Asclepias, butterfly bush, Bee Balm, pentstemons, salvia, agava, yucca, and columbine.

Native plants provide the best low-maintenance landscape for attracting birds because the birds are already adapted to and know how to use native plants. One of Colorado’s most problematic non-native plants, the Russian Olive, has endangered many native bird populations. Its wood is much harder than the other native trees it has out-competed, threatening birds that nest only in trees with softer wood.

Other Considerations
According to the National Wildlife Federation (http://www.nwf.org), a 1992 study conducted by the Cornell Laboratory of Ornithology found that window strikes caused 51 percent of bird deaths. Predators, primarily household cats, caused 36 percent of bird deaths. Disease caused only 11% of bird deaths. They recommend placing feeders within 5-12 feet of low shrubs and trees to provide cover for the birds as they feed.

Backyard bird watching provides an easy way to connect with your children and with Nature. So consider putting out a feeder and watching the birds that come to visit; they’ll enjoy the food you provide, and you’ll enjoy the (*almost*) free entertainment.