Attracting Birds to Your Backyard

Watching birds in the backyard can be a wonderful treat. My daughters and I were at my dad’s house the other day, and he let my girls scatter some bird seed out onto a plank of wood that he keeps on his patio for the birds. After my dad and the girls retreated to the house, they only had to wait about 10 minutes or so until there were at least six beautiful, bright red cardinals eating the seed.

I don’t have quite the luck that my dad has attracting birds to the backyard. I haven’t been regular with filling our bird feeders, our yard backs to a busy playground and, unlike my dad’s house, which is backed by woods, we only have few trees in our backyard. I’ve had better luck in the past getting birds to feed in our backyard – I just have to get the conditions right. So, I’ve done a little researching, and found these tips about attracting birds to one’s backyard.

• Be regular: To keep birds coming to your backyard, it’s important to frequently fill your birdfeeder. Otherwise, the birds will find somewhere else to feed. More than 100 North American bird species include food from feeders in their diets, according to Audubon.org. While you may have the most luck with feeders in the winter when it’s harder for birds to find food, you’ll also have the best luck during the spring and fall migrations, the website says. About one-third of adults in the U.S. feed backyard birds, according to birdfeeding.org.

• Provide fresh water and food: Birds will be more likely to frequent your yard if they can find water for bathing and drinking as well as food. Check out Audubon’s guide to choosing the right seed for the species of birds you want to attract. Black-oil sunflower seeds are good for attracting a wide variety of birds. For tips on attracting the “America’s Top 10 Backyard Birds,” visit birdfeeding.org.

• Take cover: Birds will feel safer in your yard if you provide places where they can hide from predators, so placing your feeders near small trees and shrubs is optimal. You may also want to provide some nest boxes for the birds.

• Place your feeders well: While you’ll want to put feeders in a place where you can readily see them, try to place your feeders at least 3 feet from windows, to avoid having birds smash into your windows. Also, position your feeders to accommodate the birds you want to attract – some birds, like cardinals, prefer to feed in shrubs, whereas birds like chickadees and woodpeckers like to eat in the trees. Audubon has great tips on choosing and placing feeders, and well as advice on how to keep squirrels out of your bird feeders.

• Clean your bird feeders and baths: To reduce the spread of disease (between birds), regular clean your bird baths and feeders. Humanesociety.org offers several helpful cleaning tips.

Finally, attracting birds to the backyard is the most fun when you get involved and share your hobby with family and friends. Cornell University runs excellent studies that backyard birders can participate in and contribute data to, while the kids might enjoy making homemade bird feeders to hang in the backyard.

Call for comments: Have tips for bringing birds into the backyard?