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Backyard for the Birds

Lloyd Alexander

Blog #9 of 14

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April 24th, 2012 - 07:00 PM

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Backyard for the Birds

The spring has been all over the place temperature wise and yet we are behind on rain. Animals and birds are off track with some doing things earlier then normal and others arriving earlier from migrations only to find some of what they need not ready for them. Birds in particular migrate here because our bug population provides them with abundant food to breed. The bugs were out for a day or two but now seem to have disappeared for the most part. Your backyard becomes and important place now.

Attracting birds to your back yard can truly be as simple as putting out a feeder and filling it with feed. That will get some birds to visit but most likely only chickadees, a few types of sparrows, white-breasted nuthatch, and a few others. To really get your back yard up and cranking as a little bird haven there is more that needs to be done. It can bring beautiful song to your yard, beautiful variety of birds, and even be educational.

So where would you begin? A few different types of feeders would be a good start and there are many to choose from these days. You can go from fairly inexpensive to very expensive ones that promise to keep squirrels out which often proves to be extremely tough. As far as squirrels go I have found using poles combined with baffles works best but the key is too make sure this set up is away from anything the squirrels can use to jump from onto your feeder. They are smart and acrobatic. Since I have repositioned mine the squirrels no longer have access to the feeders and only eat off the ground which I find to be helpful in cleaning up anything dropped by the birds at the feeders.

For feeders, the ones I recommend are a platform from which many different types of birds will use and this is one of the few feeders that opens things up to larger birds suchs as Blue Jays and Cardinals or maybe even a treat like a Evening Grosbeak or Scarlet Tanager! The issue that arrives with this type of feeder though is if it rains or snows the seed gets wet and can quickly become moldy so it should be dumped after a rain. You can normally brush the snow off and still be ok. Don't toss the wet seed in the trash though as it can still serve a purpose and feed other birds. I dump mine near two brush piles I have created and birds will eat it as they use the brush piles for cover. If you do not have a brush pile you can still dump it and birds or the squirrels will find it. There are many types of birds that prefer to eat off of the ground.

Next are tube feeders. I find these silos to be quite useful as you can get singles , double, and even triples together. The sizes of the feed holes can also be different but the standard allows you to put in either a mixed seed or black oil sunflower seed. This gives birds a place to perch and grab a bite to eat but is generally for the smaller birds. Tube feeds stay the driest of all feeders I have used.

You may also want a hopper feeder where you dump the food in the top as this will also give a variety of birds a chance to perch. In general this opens the chance to mid sized birds and small birds. Another plus is that the food stays dry and only what is at the outside base of the hopper may get wet and need to be dumped or simply brushed away.

Specialty feeders can also be purchased for specific types of birds. There are feeders for thistle that attract mostly Goldfinch and Siskins,Oriole and Hummingbird feeders that basically hold sugar water are great additions as well. Orioles also love grape jelly and will eat it regularly but usually are best attracted at first with oranges. Suet feeders are great at attracting various woodpeckers and other birds. They serve as an important source of fat and protein, especially in the winter.

So there are a long list of feeders to select from and a great source on feeders and types of feed for specific birds is Casey Hynes at the Wild Bird Center of Falmouth. He is a great guy who is more then willing to share his knowledge with you and show you all the various options.

Another thing you should consider is placing a few bird houses in your yard. There are a few things to consider here as well. Let's start with the simplest which is the size of the hole in the house. Anything 1 1/4 inches or smaller will be for the smallest birds like a chickadee. Anything above that and it opens the door to larger birds. So a variety is nice and gives you a shot at getting different species to nest in your yard.

I have found that figuring out which direction the wind and storms seem to come from is important as well to get birds to nest. Set up the birdhouse so the opening is away from that direction and thus winds and storms would hit the back of the house. You wouldn't want that blowing in your face while you were relaxing would you?

You can also add a brush pile or two if it fits in your property. They are great places for birds to hang out and use as cover. I have found that since I have added these to my yard the diversity of birds keeps increasing. A bird bath or other water source is also an important addition. The easier it is to get water the more likely they will hang around. If they have to travel for water then it uses the energy just gained by eating at your feeders. So the more you can make your place a one stop shop then the better for the birds.

You should also consider adding some flowers to your yard that attract different types of birds an of course also look nice. Again Casey would be an awesome resource for ideas here.

So with a little work and a little money you can make your own backyard bird haven. It truly is simple to do and can offers some wonderful moments. Plus the help eat the bugs flying around you!!

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