How to Attract Birds

Attracting birds to the yard not only benefits them with foot and shelter but provides homeowners with considerable enjoyment.

Birds are an extension of landscape beauty and contribute as much color as flowers. The yellow of the gold finch, the red of a cardinal, the blue of a jay create their own bouquet of color during all twelve months.

You can control the kind of bird you attract to the yard with the kind of seed you provide. For example, cardinals are attracted to sunflower seeds and finches to thistle seed.

If you want to attract a variety of birds use a blend of seed containing milo, millet, sunflower seed and cracked corn. Birds will then come and pick out their favorite seed. Suet is also good for attracting birds, especially the nuthatches and woodpeckers and provides them with oil necessary for winter warmth and health.

Some birds are scratchers and mostly eat seed placed on the ground. Juncos, doves and some sparrows are scratchers.

Other birds will only eat from feeders. If you observe the birds closely you'll discover one or two birds sometimes kick or toss the seeds onto the ground for the others from the feedeer.

There are endless types of feeders to choose from. They come in any shape or size and can range from $10 to $100 or more. You can attach feeders to posts or hang them from a tree.

Some have compartments for different types of seeds. I prefer glass sided feeders so I can see the birds through the glass and keep track of when the feeder is out of seed.

To specifically attract finches, I recommend purchasing a finch feeder which is tube like with a variety of small holes and perches from which individual finches can feed or the small open woven nylon bags which are easy to hang from many different places.

Bird feeders are not necessary for attracting birds. You can create feeding stations by spreading seeds on top of a wooden platform or picnic table, or designating an area of the lawn to spread seed. Make sure you don't mind killing the grass in this area because the seed tends to mat down and kill the grass over time.

I recommend placing feeders and feeding stations within 10 to 15 feet from the house so they can be observed and enjoyed. However, you can place them on a windowsill or attach hem directly to the glass. Growing winter berry plants and leaving the seed heads on dead annuals and perennial tops can also provide bird attractants.

You might want to consider providing birds with water during the winter with either a shallow pan or a bird bath. Some are even heated.

Birdhouses are not necessary, especially if you have a good number of dense evergreens around, because most birds can make their own homes quite easily by nature. However, you may want to consider one from the variety of kinds available.

Different kinds of birds prefer specific size holes in birdhouses and others prefer specific perch dimensions. A book on bird watching from your local center will give you more information on this subject.

Birds create quite an addition to the landscape. With bird feeder, water and housing you can enjoy their color and antics year round.