By Kathy Conner Cornell
Southside Master Gardener
Most days my
husband and I sit for a couple of hours in the afternoon and enjoy a few
beverages and chat. Whether we are on
the porch or sitting in our recliners looking out at the back view of our farm,
we are treated to the antics of the birds.
Attracting birds isn’t difficult if you remember the routine things you
need to provide for wildlife – food, water, shelter and a place to raise young.
: Bluebirds are a
favorite for backyard bird watching.
Provide an acceptable bird house and they will nest in it. Bluebirds also eat a lot of insects.
Water is an
easy one in the warmer months by providing a bird bath or something
similar. Trust me, birds don’t care if
it is pretty or not just as long as it is there. Bluebird dads take an active role in training
their young. I can recall a dad showing
his kids how to take a bath in our bird bath.
The little things were splashing around and having a ball. The winter doesn’t mean that you stop
providing water, it just requires a little more effort. We have a small galvanize water trough that
is about 10” high. I have a horsetail, Equisetum
hymale, and a pitcher plant, Sarracenia, living in this trough. In
the wild you would find these plants on pond banks or in marshes. Both plants are perennial so survive through
the winter. We keep an electric bird bath
heater in this pot. The heater doesn’t
heat the water just merely keeps it from freezing. We love watching the birds perch on the edge
and dip down to get a drink.
Food should
be a consideration for your plants. We
have a beautyberry, Callicarpa americana, growing off the back
deck. The mockingbird enjoys the
berries. Have to admit when the berries
start to become ferment the bird becomes a bit crazy. When the berries turn into seed the finches,
chickadees and titmouses enjoy that treat.
During the winter, feeders are an option. We find that black sunflower seeds suit most
birds even finches. We stop feeding in
the spring when food is available naturally.
However,
hummingbirds are an exception. We do
provide a nectar feeder for these tiny amazing wonders. You can easily make your own nectar with 1
part sugar to 3 parts water. I microwave
a minute to dissolve the sugar. Don’t
use red food coloring. It doesn’t
increase the attraction and could cause harm to the birds. I find it best to avoid yellow flowers on the
feeder. Bees are highly attracted to
yellow so will come to the feeder and often drown in the liquid if they are
small like sweat bees. However, bees
cannot see red so are not drawn to it.
Hummers love red bee balm, Monarda didyma. It is a good plant for
the ornamental garden because it is native and perennial. However, be warned, it is in the mint family
so give it space. Get your feeder up
early, first of April is good. The male
scouts look for acceptable sites and when they see a feeder, they will stop and
ask the rest of the crowd to join them.
Shelter can be
some bushes or trees – deciduous or evergreen.
Trees serve two purposes – shelter but also a place to raise young. Viburnums, shrubs in the dogwood family and
hollies that berry like inkberry, Ilex glabra, and winterberry, Ilex verticillata,
are good choices. Keep in mind that
hollies are dioecious, meaning that there are male flowers on one plant and
female flowers on the other. You won’t
get the beautiful, bird food berries without a male but one male is enough for
4 or 5 females. Even though our crape myrtles are bare right now, the birds
will use them for shelter. When they
leaf out, we notice mockingbirds especially using them for nest building. To help out with nest building, I take one of
those mesh bags that onions or lemons come in and fill it with hair. Hair from grooming dogs is acceptable as is
some from your local salon. I hang it
from the back railing around our deck.
So fun to see the little birds go into that bag and come up with a
mouthful of hair. Makes it look like
they have a big moustache.
Birdhouses
are another way to provide a place to raise young. The US Geological Survey has a good plan to
build a bluebird house. Bluebirds are
supposed to be picky about the hole size and type of house. However, we snitched an ornamental bird house
from a vacant rental house next door, with permission from the owner of course. It was made of Masonite, not even wood. My husband mounted it on our deck railing and
lo and behold, bluebirds took up residency.
We brought that house when we moved here and had bluebirds in it until
it fell apart.
Another
great thing about birds is that they eat bugs!
Even seed eaters need the protein from insects to feed their young. When we get tent caterpillars in the spring,
we have seen birds open the web and get into those caterpillars. Caterpillars are excellent food source for
young chicks since they are soft bodied.
Even hummingbirds feast on mosquitoes.
If you want
birds, you must use pesticides responsibly which means not at all. One thing most people don’t consider is the
use of outside lights. Bright lights in
the dark time confuse many types of wildlife.
If you must have outdoor lights, consider red lights or a motion
detector. I am admitting that a blowing
leaf can set off a motion detector.
Maintain a diverse population of plants and birds will welcome the
bounty.
Birds
provide entertainment all year long and work for you by eating insects. Give them the things they need – food, water,
shelter and a place to raise young.
Provide it and they will come!
