Shelby Clark - Gardening to Attract Birds

Shelby Clark

There is nothing more exciting than watching a mother bird drop seeds from your feeder into her young ones throat for the first time unless its catching a hummingbird dart and dive at the nectar flowers and brightly colored vines youve planted. Or maybe its hearing the call of a bobwhite as it forages for seeds in your backyard wildflower meadow. Gardens that attract birds are sources of everlasting enjoyment and beauty. Of course the entertainment for you as a gardener cant compare with how the birds benefit. Youre providing them with the basic necessities of life: food, shelter, and water.

Perhaps the most important benefit of gardening for the birds is the happy effect it has on the environment. When you plant a bird garden, you create a new habitat that is good for the entire ecosystem. Insects, butterflies, and often mammal populations will thrive.

You may think theres not much you can do to help restore the wild and diverse landscape that dominated North America just a few decades ago. But as ecologists around the world like to say, Think globally. Act locally. When you look outside at your own backyard, the task becomes easier. And if you can get your neighbors and community interested in bird gardening, you can create much larger areas of bird-friendly territory.

Bringing nature back into balance is a challenge, but every little bit helps. Start by planting a garden just for your backyard birds; you and your avian friends will appreciate it.

The best garden plan is one that provides for all the needs of birds: food, water, shelter, and nesting sites. Its easy enough to install man-made structures in the garden that will fulfill these needs bird feeders, birdbaths, and nesting boxes but its also possible to provide these elements with just the plantings you choose for your yard and garden. (Of course, you can always supplement with man-made structures just be sure to plan for ways to incorporate them subtly and unobtrusively into your garden.)

Generally, you should choose native plants. Native plants (those that have naturally grown and reproduced in an area) support the local bird population better than nonnative plants. Exotics can be invasive and may crowd out the beneficial native species. Ask your nursery if the species youre interested in are native, or frequent a local organic nursery.

The best bird habitat is one that provides for different kinds of birds. By providing an array of foods, youll attract a larger variety of birds. Some birds are seed eaters, others prefer nectar, while others feed on worms and grubs they find in the soil or insects from the woody bark of trees. Some birds, such as the Bobolink, prefer tall grass and sweeping meadows. Others, such as cuckoos, grosbeaks, and fly-catchers, prefer small shrubs and trees. Finally, birds such as warblers, vireos, and Pine Siskins are most comfortable in dense forests where theres lots of cover. Though you may not want to (or be able to) provide habitat for every kind of bird in your area, the more diverse your garden and yard, the more flighted visitors youll attract.

Just like people, different birds have different tastes. You can appeal to as many different species as possible by thinking of your garden in levels. Some birds, such as Robins and Chipping Sparrows, like to forage on the ground for insects. Others, such as the Ring-necked Pheasant, are also ground feeders, but theyre searching for grains and seeds.

Many birds feed at the next level: seed-producing flowers ranging in height from a few inches, such as nasturtiums, to several feet, like hollyhocks. Still others, including hummingbirds and orioles, feed at the next highest level on plants such as orange and yellow trumpet vines and daylilies.

Go up another level and youll find dozens of species of birds that feed on the berries and flowers produced on shrubs. For example, Indigo Buntings, Cedar Waxwings, and bluebirds all love bramble berries.

The canopy, or tree layer, provides food for yet more species, including pine seeds for Pine Siskins and Red Crossbills. Finally, birds such as Chimney Swifts and Purple Martins feed on the fly, swooping and diving to catch insects.

Plan for a variety of food-producing plants throughout the year. Sweet fruits such as cherries, blackberries, and raspberries ripen during the chick-rearing season. These fruits provide extra energy to the hardworking parents.

Au Naturel

Back in the early 1960s, naturalist Rachel Carson warned the world about the effects of DDT on birds in her important work Silent Spring. Since then DDT has been banned in the United States and many industrialized nations. The use of other pesticides, however, is not conducive to good bird habitat, either. If you want to attract birds, you should avoid the use of pesticides and herbicides whenever possible. Attracting birds has the added benefit of natural pest control, because the birds eat the offending insects and grubs.

Quick Tip

Whether you supply a conventional birdbath or a small water garden, be sure that there is some shrubbery or foliage near the water source it provides a safe place for birds to land so that they can scope out the water before taking the big plunge.

In fall, migrants like warblers and vireos require fatty fruits such as those found on dogwood and spicebush. The fat reserves help them in their long journey.

Overwintering birds, including finches, sparrows, and Cardinals, need consistently available fruits such as hawthorns, crab apples, and bayberries.

Birds use water in shallow streams, ponds, puddles, birdbaths, and water gardens for drinking as well as bathing. While a birdbath is often the simplest method for providing water, a water garden is a lovely feature that can add charm and beauty to any backyard.

Birds prefer shallow water no more than 2 to 3 inches (5.1 to 7.6 cm) deep for bathing. Unfortunately, most water gardens have steep drop-offs at their edges. In those cases, however, its quite easy to spread some gravel at the edge to create a shallow beach, or to place several larger rocks in the water garden to create small islands for the birds to stand on.

The sound and sight of moving water will greatly increase the number of birds attracted to a water garden or birdbath. Consider incorporating a small bubbling fountain, stream, or waterfall powered by a pump, or suspending a dripping hose over the surface of the water so that the plink of the drops falling is audible.

Birds need water in winter, too. In fact, if you live in a cold climate, its even more important to provide a source of water that doesnt freeze. Consider investing in a small birdbath heater, available at wild-bird centers.

Birds also need places in which they can seek shelter from the elements. Trees, bushes, and hedges provide just the right kind of protection and theyll add some vertical levels to your garden plan. Evergreens, dense bushes, and trees provide excellent shelter for birds in cold climates, where they need shelter from biting northern winds; in hot climates, where they need relief from the beating sun; and in rainy climates, where they need protection from steady downpours. And in windy areas, plant a windbreak perpendicular to the prevailing wind.