For more gardening and birding tips and ideas, see our Great Backyard Bird Count Slide Show.
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 squirrel-proof 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.
