Are you interested in creating a bird-friendly habitat in the yard during the summer or winter? A place where all your winged friends can gather and feast? If so, we explain the benefits and how you can attract birds to your yard to create that lovely backyard you have always fantasized about.
Let me take a wild guess: You’ve probably tried throwing out seeds, hanging up bird feeders, and installing birdbaths and fountains, but to no avail? Here’s the thing, It’s effortless to attract birds to your yard if you do it right.
The best way to attract birds to your yard is to create a bird-friendly landscape that involves proper planning. And this is what we do while trying to attract birds to the yard. Birds need a comfortable habitat of food, water, and shelter to fulfill their basic needs, and a well-planned bird-friendly landscape can only achieve this.
Birds won’t come to an empty yard, so with a bit of basic planning, you can design an area that meets their needs and has them returning for more, providing you both with years of enjoyment.
Implement the various ways below to attract birds to your yard and create that backyard paradise you have always imagined.
Benefits of attracting birds to your yard
Before diving into the various ways of attracting birds to your yard, let’s look at the benefits of having birds. If you have been contemplating whether or not to have birds in your yards, perhaps knowing the benefits of doing so can change your mind.
Are you anxious to know what will be the advantages of having these winged friends around? Below are the advantages of having the feathered friends around your yard.
Pest Control
Attracting birds to your yard is a great way to get rid of pests without pesticides. It’s a win-win situation for anyone looking for a more natural, environmentally-friendly approach to pest control.
Birds are especially good at eating insects and other pests that wreak havoc on your plants and shrubbery. This is because many birds are omnivorous, so they’ll eat small invertebrates like snails, slugs, and aphids.
They may also eat rodents like mice and voles, which will help you keep those pests out of your garden. Doing so can reduce the need for pesticides and other chemicals that can harm your plant life.
Stress Relief
Birds can be a very calming presence in your yard. Their songs and chirps, movements and activity, beauty, and grace in flight can help you relax and reduce stress levels after a long day. Studies reveal that birdwatching can lower blood pressure and improve your general well-being.
If you think about the bird sounds you’ve heard around you, I’m sure you’ll find that most of them are soothing rather than irritating. Whether taking a quick break from work or watching the birds in your yard, birdwatching can help you unwind.
Weed Control
Birds are natural weed-eaters. If a bird has access to seed, it will likely eat it before it germinates and produces a weed. This means that if you want the birds in your yard to be able to take care of the weeds for you, you need to ensure an ample supply of seeds for them to eat.
By seeding your grass with bird-friendly seeds and plants, like niger seeds and sunflowers, you’ll provide a valuable food source for wild birds such as Finches, towhees, and sparrows, which in turn, will provide a valuable service to your yard by eating the weeds around it.
This will provide them with a natural food source and reduces the number of times you need to refill the feeder.
Increased Property Values
In one study, houses with a view of birds had higher property values than those that didn’t. For example, researchers found that homes with bird feeders in the yard were valued 2.6% higher than homes without feeders.
That may not sound like a lot, but for a $200,000 home, you could be making an extra $5,200 from a simple bird feeder.
Flower Pollination.
Birds are important pollinators; they can help you grow flowers in your yard even if you don’t have a lot of time to tend to your garden.
The nectar-feeding birds like the hummingbird, loon, and honeyeater are very effective pollinators because they get pollen on their heads as they feed on flowers. In addition, when the pollinated birds move from one flower to another, pollen is transferred from one plant to the next.
Wildlife Conservation
It’s easy to see why wildlife conservationists recommend attracting birds to your yard. Not only do you benefit from having beautiful creatures flying around, but it also helps you contribute to their survival as a species and spread their genes, helping them adapt to new environments.
In addition, birds add color, excitement, and a unique song to any environment, so you can be sure your neighbors will be impressed with your efforts.
By providing them with food and water, you are giving them a place to rest and recover from their migratory journeys. This keeps them strong so they can reproduce more successfully and keep their species going.
Environmental Conservation.
There are many benefits to attracting birds to your yard, but the one that stands out most has to do with environmental conservation. Birds play an important role in the balance of nature. In addition, they’re typically not territorial and therefore can help your yard feel more welcoming and like a part of the greater world.
How to attract birds to your yard
Create a bird feeding station
The first thing you have to do when trying to attract birds to your home is to create a bird feeding station. This station will consist of different feeders with different feeds to attract various types of birds.
Some species of birds are known to show preferences for one style of feeder over another. For example, nuthatches and Inches are known to feed on hanging feeders, while Blue jays and Juncos will prefer feeding from the ground.
So equipping the feeding station with various types of feeders placed at different heights will, in turn, attract different species of birds. It is important to site your feeding station where you can view it from every angle of the yard, especially the outdoor living space.
Lastly, properly placing these feeders at the right level is key when creating a feeding station. Different birds re
Provide Different Feeds
Providing different foods is another great step when attracting birds to your yard, after creating a feeding station with different types of feeders placed at different heights.
The next step is to fill these feeders with different types of feed to entice and create a comfortable space for them.
Different birds eat different foods, and providing them with different food choices will entice them and give them the proper nutrient to stay healthy. While at this, ensure investing in quality feeds that are best suited to them.
Sung birds like Blue jay, grosbeak Cardinals, and Chickadees love Black Oil Sunflower seed. While birds such as Nuthatches and finches like small seeds like Nyjer and millet. You can also provide berries, nuts, peanuts, and nectar which many of these like to attract them to your yard.
Install a birdbath
After providing a reliable food source for the winged friends, the next is to make water available for them; they need this water to bathe and drink, So this is an important factor while trying to lure birds to your yards.
You can start by installing a basic birdbath. But do you know that the sound of moving water is magnetic to most birds? So if you want to attract more birds, you can upgrade to a solar birdbath to create that trickling sensation in your yard.
You can as well install a fountain or make pounds to create a bigger body of water to attract more birds. You can also use multiple birdbaths, such as having a fountain, basic birdbath, or a pond, to attract different types of birds and prevent overcrowding.
Install a perching stick
If you don’t have a tree around your home, then you will need to install a perching still to provide these birds with a place to rest or preen their feathers. With the installation of perches, these birds can scan the area for possible danger, thus deciding the safety of the feeder.
When installing these perchers, don’t place them close to the feeder, as it gives predators undue advantages and takes away the opportunity to scan the area by the birds.
However, trees are always the best option, so planting one of the fastest-growing trees is advisable after installing some perchers.
Perchers can be made of varieties of materials, such as wood or metal, and they are readily available for purchase. Also, you can use old branches to mimic a more natural setup.
Lure them with the right plants
Having the right plants around is another way to attract these winged friends to your backyard. Of course, most birds are attracted to native plants, but there are some other considerations you should take into account.
Include plants that produce berries for birds to eat, such as Winterberry bushes, Crabapple trees, Serviceberry shrubs, and many more. You can also research what kind of plant attracts s specific type of bird. Having varieties of these plants in your yard will attract different species of birds, creating that soothing and charming space you want.
Attract them with color
Birds are naturally attracted to colors, and that is why they fly around flowers and plants with bright colors. In the absence of these flowers and plants, you can draw their attention to your using varieties of bright colors.
Make your backyard alluring by placing different bright colors known to attract birds around the area. Knowing the color that attracts a specific bird will help you determine which color to have around your space.
Yellow is known to attract goldfinches and Orioles, while red attracts hummingbirds. And if you are interested in having singing birds, include blue in these colors.
This principle is why many bird feeder comes in a bright color to attract these birds. If you use birdhouses, you can paint them to draw more attention around the yard.
Install a birdhouse
You already provide your feathered friends with food, water, and a safe and comfortable space to relax and preen. But if they don’t have the space to sleep, birds are natural travelers and will leave your yard in no time.
However, with the installation of a birdhouse, you are inviting these wing friends to stay forever. Although not all birds like birdhouses, but there are many of them that will love to use the birdhouse. This is an option if you don’t have trees or plants where these birds can build a nest.
Additionally, large birds will like large birdhouses, while small birds will like small birdhouses. Some of the birds that will use a bird’s house include Bluebirds, chickadees, sparrows, and many more.
Encourage nesting
Since not all birds will use the birdhouse, encouraging nesting in your yard is another way to provide safety and shelter to your new winged friends. In addition, making available materials that can be used to build nests will make your yard attractive for nesting.
Some of these birds will use available resources within the yard, while some will look for nesting materials. Either way, once a nest is built in your yard, these birds will see your yard as a safe space for them to live.
Don’t forget that nesting is only made possible with the availability of trees or shrubs around your yard because this tree will be the host of the nest. So if you are keen on attracting birds to your yard, take your time to plant some trees or shrubs.
Squirrel-proof your bird feeder
Squirrel is a pest you will always have to contend with when trying to attract birds to your yard. Although you may want to have them around, but they can quickly become a nuisance by taking over the feeder, thus warding off the birds.
Squirrels have insatiable appetites for bird seeds and can be difficult to control. So to keep squirrels away from your feeder, you will need to squirrel-proof it. There are various ways of squirrel-proofing your feeder; however, many squirrel-proofed feeders are on the market.
Some of these feeders come with a barrier to keep squirrels away, while some are weight-balanced to throw off the squirrels. Another method included using a feeding pole with grease to prevent squirrels from climbing the pole. Also, placing your feeder where squirrels can’t easily access will reduce attacks on the feeder.
Keep your feeders clean.
Birds will avoid dirty and unclean feeders, so it is important to always clean your feeder from time to time. Funnily, this is one of the most overlooked tasks when trying to attract birds to the yard. However, these feeders need to be cleaned regularly to prevent contamination that could endanger the birds’ health.
Wet and moldy seeds are unattractive to your winged friends, which could cause a drop in their attendance. Regular cleaning will allow you to discard such seeds early. This will ensure your feather friends are kept healthy.
These birdfeeders can be cleaned with warm water, bleach, and a mild dish soap mixture and let air dry before refilling for use.
What attracts birds to a bird feeder
There are many things to consider when looking for ways to attract birds to your feeder, some of which have nothing to do with what you’re putting in it. So if you’re wondering “what attracts birds to a bird feeder or how do birds find bird feeders?” here are three things to think about that may help:
Use a bright color
Bird feeders come in different colors, but it’s generally suggested that you use bright colors when possible. Bright colors stand out among the natural setting of trees, plants, and the sky, making the bird more likely to notice your feeder.
Consider wind direction
Birds don’t want to be caught in an unpredictable windstorm any more than you do. So if your feeder is attracting birds, chances are it’s not located in one of those spots where the wind is constantly blowing around. Your best bet is to place your bird feeder on a tree branch or on a stand that won’t cause too much movement.
Choose the right food.
While some birds will eat just about anything, the type of food you put in your birdfeeder can significantly affect how often birds come by for a bite. In addition, different types of seeds have different nutritional values, so consider what works best for various species.
