The following is a summary of Wild Birds Unlimited owner, Laura Fleming’s, talk on “Birds in the Garden”

There are 4 key elements to attracting birds to your yard.

1. 1. Water   2. Shelter   3. Nesting Spaces   4. Food
      

      Photo from Wild Birds Unlimited – Nature shop

Water: it’s VERY crucial to birds, so providing a birdbath with fresh water, or a saucer of water on the ground is very beneficial in attracting birds to your yard.

Shelter & Nesting Spaces: Different types of birds need different types of habitat, so planting a variety of plans in your gardens encourages birds of all kinds to visit your garden. By planting a mixture of deciduous and conifer large trees, small trees and shrubs in your yard provides natural shelters and nest building areas. Birds are attracted to edges where they can escape, so a plant hedgerow and/or a variety of small & large shrubs & trees on the perimeter of your yard.

Read here: Plants for Birds

Food: Many kinds of flowers and grasses provide food and also nesting building materials.  Some natural food sources in your yard should be: Seed-producing flowers, berry-laden shrubs, a healthy insect population living in leaf litter and fruit trees.  Be a messy gardener; leave leaf litter and dead trees (snags) in your yard to enhance your bird habitat.  Supplement food sources with bird feeders. Different birds like different foods so supply a variety of foods in many feeders throughout your yard; hanging at a different heights.

* Read here: Seed Preference Guide

Submitted by: Carlotta Lucas