Attracting Birds to Your Yard
Birds are a natural addition to your backyard. If you want to attract a lot of birds to your yard, you will need to give them a reason to come visit you. For best results attracting birds, you will want to do several things.
The first thing birds need is some structure to perch on. This usually means a tree of some sort. Tall trees are not necessarily what you are looking for. You will want something small to get the birds close to the ground. A flowering crab or plum is about the perfect tree for this job. You might also want to plant a dwarf fruit tree, although these are not as hardy as the crab apple.
Once you have a small tree for the birds to perch in, and it is planted close enough to your back window to be easily seen, you will want some kind of feeder. There are many bird feeders that can be bought at hardware stores that hang directly in the tree. If your tree is still too small to hang a feeder in, you will want to get a bird feeder that is set on a post. Bird feeders are not rocket science. A perfectly good feeder that will last for years can be made of plywood and plastic sheet material like plexiglass. Be sure there is a place for the birds to perch on your feeder. If you get a post-mounted feeder it is important to have a shield installed so that squirrels will not raid your feeder.
The kind of seeds you put in your feeder is important. You will want to use a good mixture, commonly sold as wild bird seed. Single varieties of seeds, such as sunflower seeds, will attract a less various group of birds. You want to have something for everyone at your feeding station. Small birds can be attracted by thistle seeds, but these are very expensive and require a special feeder. Stick with a general-purpose bird seed and you will have many different birds in your yard.
Certain birds, such as woodpeckers, are very attracted to suet cakes. These are square cakes of suet fat and bird seeds. You hang a suet cake in a wire basket, specially made for the purpose. The feeder is placed on a branch of a tree and the birds will come and feed off it. Many birds enjoy suet cakes, especially in the cold of winter.
There is no need to advertise your feeder. Birds will quickly find a source of food. Once you place the feeders in your yard you will have a never-ending throng of birds visiting you. In the summer, if you wish to attract hummingbirds, you can get special hummingbird feeders that dispense sugar water. Just hang these in your tree and the birds will find them.
Birds are very sloppy eaters and will scatter seeds all over the place under your feeders. Just let the seeds run out for a couple days before you refill and the creatures will pick the seeds right off the ground. If you have a cat, be sure the feeders are out of reach. Once your yard is known as a place where food can be easily found, you will have many different birds coming to visit you.
