If you’re like most gardeners, hearing wild-birds sing and flutter around in your garden or seeing a hummingbird magically feeding on your beautiful flowering plants or hovering around your hummingbird feeder is one of the greatest delights in being outdoors.
There are so many possibilities for attracting wild-birds in general. Birdfeeders, bird house designs and bird baths to meet the needs of virtually every type of bird, are the most common and obvious ways.
Certainly, these are fun and practical ways for feeding, watering and providing shelter for your birds to protect them from the elements and to raise their young. But there’s a huge bonus in it for you as well! They also make beautiful and delightful garden accents.
However, all the things I’ve mentioned just touch on the surface of the many methods you can employ. When we think of wild-birds and wild-bird watching, we often think about planning a trip, and donning our most protective outdoor gear to trudge through a damp forest or tropical jungle just to get a glimpse of a few of these beautiful creatures. Here’s a novel idea …. there is no need to leave your own home if you have a garden and you’ve put a little effort into attracting wild-birds!
It’s really quite simple to attract wild-birds and other small wildlife and so pleasant to watch them all while sipping your morning tea or coffee. I can’t think of a more soothing way to start your day.
Specific Tips You Can Use to Attract Wild-Birds
- Provide bird houses with various sized entry holes. This will allow different species of bird to nest. If they are all one size, some of the more aggressive species will chase others out of the boxes.
Also, you’ll want to position your bird houses away from predators. And by that, I mean all predators — not just the neighbor’s cat but dogs, rats, and any other ‘wild’ creatures that live in your area and would find wild-birds tasty morsels!
- Provide food regularly. Unless you provide food regularly, when natural food is scarce, the birds will simply look elsewhere.
Along wild bird food you can purchase, don’t forget about providing natural sources of food by leaving leaves and pieces of bark under bushes and trees, this provides a habitat for insects, which are of course, natural food for birds.
- Water is a critical component as well for your wild-bird care. It can be in the form of a kai pond (natural or man-made), or one of the beautiful and unusual birdbaths you can purchase online. All creatures need a supply of drinking water. You will need to remove debris every few days to keep the water fresh and as clean as possible.
When the bird bath itself needs a good cleaning, just use a stiff brush with clear water and a little elbow grease. Do NOT use any soaps or household cleaners!
You can purchase bird houses, nest boxes, bird baths and bird feeders either online or at retail stores. I like to get all mine directly from Amazon as there are far more choices, and your yard will be beautiful and individual …. not like every other house on your block!
Remember you can’t just throw some seed on the driveway or the grass and expect a flock of birds to arrive by lunchtime. It can take days or even weeks to attract some of the wild-birds you’ve been dreaming of.
If you are patient and provide the best environment for them, you will be richly rewarded and your garden will turn into a haven of fascinating activity!
Once you get the basics in place and train yourself to put out feed and clean water regularly, you will be ready to move on to selectively feeding to attract the species of birds you most admire.
Ideas and Instructions for the Three Basic Bird Care Needs
When the bird bath itself needs a good cleaning, just use a stiff brush with clear water and a little elbow grease. Do NOT use any soaps or household cleaners!
You can purchase bird houses, nest boxes, bird baths and birdfeeders either online or at retail stores. I like to get all my garden decor on the net as there are far more choices, and your yard will be beautiful and individual …. not like every other house on your block!
If you’re handy, there are also design plans to make your own bird accessories. I’ve included a place on my website that specializes in just that alone!
Remember you can’t just throw some seed on the driveway or the grass and expect a flock of birds to arrive by lunchtime. It can take days or even weeks to attract some of the wild-birds you’ve been dreaming of.
If you are patient and provide the best environment for them, you will be richly rewarded and your garden will turn into a haven of fascinating activity!
Once you get the basics in place and train yourself to put out feed and clean water regularly, you will be ready to move on to selectively feeding to attract the species of birds you most admire.
Birdhouses
There are endless styles and types of birdhouses available today: decorative, a bird feeder house, rustic, wooden, gourd, and fancy and unique painted and decorated birdhouses limited only by the imagination. There are also some interesting specialty ones – hummingbird houses, purple martin birdhouses, bluebird houses, etc.
If you’re creative and handy you can purchase bird house kits or birdhouse plans-blueprints for making your own birdhouse.
Bird Feeders
There are also lots of choices and varieties of bird feeders. Here are some samples:
- Hummingbird feeder
- Squirrel proof bird feeder
- Backyard bird feeder
- Wild bird feeder
- Homemade bird feeder
- Decorative bird feeder
- Bird house feeder
- Window bird feeder
Birdbaths
I don’t think you can have a beautiful landscape design without at least one birdbath. They add such charm to your garden — especially when they’re in use! And it’s a very kind deed as well, to provide soothing cool water for our feathered friends to bathe and play in, and get a clean drink of water when they visit your house.
As in bird feeders, there are lots of choices in both material and design. And these are the main options you have when it comes to birdbaths:
- Bronze
- Concrete
- Antique cast iron
- Copper
- Plaster
- Vertigris (greenish metal)
- Ceramic
- Mosaic/tile
- Table-top baths
- Baths with solar lamps
- Birdbaths with fountains
- Window-mounted birdbaths