Your Garden Needs Birds. Here's How to Get Them.

Birds provide a natural sense of beauty and calm, transforming your yard into a sanctuary where life will thrive. They improve your garden’s health by pollinating your plants, and eating pests and weed seeds. Here are some tips for drawing birds to your garden throughout this upcoming year!

Attract Birds with Bird Baths

These shallow basins sit high off the ground, providing the perfect landing place for birds to safely bathe and drink. Bird baths are most effective when placed in direct sunlight. The light reflects off the moving water, grabbing the bird’s attention.

Birds wash their feathers with their beaks several times a day, called preening. Your bird bath will become a popular drinking spot if you keep the water clean! Change the water if the basin fills with debris or mold begins to form in shaded areas.

What is the Best Feed to Use?

Different bird feeds will attract different birds! Sparrows are one of most common garden helpers in North America. They are not picky eaters and will feed on most mixtures of seeds. Finches are more picky, preferring fresh Nyjer (thistle) and sunflower seeds. Take a look at this handy chart to determine what seed will attract the birds you want to see!

Bird Feeder Tips

Bird feeders provide a consistent source of seed to keep birds coming back, but they may attract unwanted animals such as squirrels and raccoons. There are many ways to combat this problem. You can buy a feeder pole designed to keep squirrels from scaling. Bird feeders are available designed to make it difficult for large animals to get to the seed, while remaining simple for birds.

Make sure to place your feeder 10 feet away from walls and trees to keep squirrels from jumping directly to the feeder!

Use this knowledge to make birds a part of your spring garden. Whether you plan to implement the bird bath or feeder, these diverse creatures will not just bring beauty but also improve your garden’s health.