Welcoming the birds

Southern Living, Jan 2003 by Thigpen, Charlie

Gardening and birding are the top two outdoor activities among Americans. Combine them to make your landscape more attractive and entertaining.

During winter, when the landscape is dormant, let our winged friends become your gardening focal points. They offer beauty and life to the yard, and the songs they sing can brighten even a gray, blustery day.

As temperatures dip, natural food supplies dwindle, and birds must scratch the leaf-littered ground in search of seeds and insects to sustain them. Now's the time to give them a little help. Try these tips on attracting and feeding birds.

Richard Melton of Tuscaloosa, Alabama, and his mother-in-law, Bev Vogt, know a lot about birds. Richard designs gardens to attract them, and Bev owns a Wild Birds Unlimited store in nearby Northport. In fact, Richard built a habitat garden behind Bev's store that attracts a great number of birds daily. The garden seems to be in perpetual motion as birds dart around the feeders and plants.

Bev says the most effective way to attract birds is to feed them. Richard stresses that to keep them in and around your yard, you must create a bird-friendly environment. They need four elements to stay healthy, happy, and wanting to hang around.

Food for Birds

Just like everything else, birdseed has become specialized. Bev's shop carries 15 different types of feed. In addition to that, you can buy suet cakes, dried fruit, peanuts, and even mealy worms. Her premium-blend seed is very popular with customers, but if you're confused about what to buy, look for black oil sunflower seeds. These attract many different types of birds. Remember, buying the cheapest birdseed isn't always a bargain. Inexpensive seed can contain filler, which birds won't eat. So you end up with unused seed.

To prevent the little green weed patches that appear in your lawn, use a No-Mess blend, which has little or no waste and won't sprout in your yard. If you really want to spoil the birds, put out fruit or shelled peanuts.

Along with an assortment of foods, Bev also sells different types of bird feeders. She has squirrelproof feeders and cone-shaped baffles to prevent raids by these pesky rodents. Hang feeders at least 5 feet off the ground and 10 feet away from trees, shrubs, fences, or houses to keep squirrels at bay and eliminate ambush areas for cats.

Water for Drinking and Bathing

"To attract birds, it's critical to have flowing water," Richard says. "Mosquitoes can't reproduce in moving water, and babbling or splashing water sounds like a natural running creek, so the birds are drawn to it."

Richard builds shallow wading areas only 1 or 2 inches deep. They give birds a perfect place for bathing, which helps them clean their feathers of dirt and mites. Once the birds visit Richard's backyard stream, they remember the water source and return.

Shelter and Nesting Sites

Birds need protection from the elements. Thick, bushy evergreen plants that block the wind and rain shield birds from cold or wet weather. Such cover also helps create escape routes to get away from predators. Shrubs with tight branching habits make good nesting sites. Birdhouses can also be placed around your home to provide secure spots for birds to raise their young. House wrens nest in hanging baskets filled with plants.

Plant Diversity

A large selection of plants will entice many different species. Brightly colored flowers attract hummingbirds, while fruiting plants, such as holly, mahonia, and pyracantha, lure migrating cedar waxwings.

As we build more subdivisions each year, we take away bird habitat, so we should incorporate more native plants into our landscapes. Many of these plants, such as coreopsis, ferns, hydrangeas, native azaleas, and upright yaupon hollies, are easy to grow and can add great beauty to a garden.

Birds are truly our feathered friends; they pollinate flowers and reduce bug populations. So return the favor by making your yard a place where birds can feel at home.