From choosing garden plants to putting out bird seed, there are smart steps you can take to attract birds. Not only does this allow for relaxing bird watching, but these wonderful visitors also help rid lawns of weeds and pests. In addition, every gardener's feathered friends contribute to pollination and can enliven the garden area. Whether you have a small courtyard garden in the city or large meadows in the country, there are a number of ways you can encourage birds to visit your bed. So take a look at the following tips and information that can help you attract.
Create a beautiful garden and attract birds
When it comes to attracting birds to a populated area, it's important to provide for their basic needs to make your yard a welcoming environment. Food, water and shelter are all key factors in achieving this, but there are other factors to consider. While this meets their physiological survival needs, birds also seek a safe place to call home. Above all, this should be a place where they can also be social. Birds will otherwise visit your garden if there is enough bird food, so the first thing you should do isprovide a few feeding places. It is also advisable to provide natural food, cover and nesting sites.
Furthermore, biodiversity is likely to increase with size, bird friendliness, and proximity to landscapes or wooded parks. Some species of birds, such as nuthatches, are never far from old trees, while birds of prey such as sparrowhawks and owls penetrate deep into some cities. The most important thing, however, is to ensure that you meet the needs of your visitors throughout the year and meet the changing needs of local residents and seasonal visitors. So follow the tips below to turn your garden into onewelcoming home for birdsto transform.
How do you welcome birds into your garden?
So how can you make visitors feel comfortable in your garden and make it as easy as possible for them? First and foremost, take a close look at what type of nesting material birds can use. As a rule, all kinds of materials are suitable for this, and you can use sustainable methods to provide them to the birds. So make sure that your garden doesn't necessarily look immaculate. For example, leave leaves, twigs, feathers, etc. as they often use these as building materials for their nests. Moss, pieces of wool from sheep, dog and cat hair are also very welcome when building a nest.
In addition, you can plant hedges, shrubs and of course trees so that your visitors can feel cozy in them. Shrubs and hedges offer many birds shelter and therefore sufficient nesting places. If possible, plant berry bushes so that you can quickly attract birds and provide them with all sorts of goodies. Both bushes and trees are important as nesting places for the critters. Few species of birds will want to use nest boxes, so give them as much suitable space as possible.
While planting bushes with berries in the fall is good for bluebirds, they will soon strip the crop. So think outside the box – if you live near a wholesale fruit market, buy trays of low-quality apples for birds to feed on when the berries are gone. Those tooown production of fatty feedas bird dumplings is a recommended option in winter that can attract flocks of starlings.
Provide birdbaths and attract birds
During frost, birds are at risk of drinking water shortages. To do this, place a shallow bowl of fresh water in your garden and change it every day. However, if it is frosty, you should not sprinkle salt because it can be bad for many species of birds. In summer, your feathered friends will be grateful for a nice place to swim. This doesn't have to be too big, and all you need to do is fill an old pot with water and position it in a secluded place in the garden area.
However, keep in mind that birds are afraid of deep water. A birdbath for them therefore does not have to be deeper than 3-5 cm. They are also very vulnerable to attacks while bathing. Therefore, the bath should be high enough above the ground (1.5 m) and up to 2 m away from the fence or bush. This ensures that predators or pets such as cats have no chance of climbing on it.
If you choose nesting boxes or birdhouses
You can hang nesting boxes in the garden for different types of birds. However, every bird species wants a tailor-made feeder or nesting aid. So keep in mind that not every bird will want to settle in a nesting box, but if they do, you should take their wishes into account so that you can attract birds. First, take a look at what species come to your garden to eat. You may be able to make a nesting box for these birds.
Also take into account the distance between the different nesting boxes. If they are the same nesting boxes, you should keep a distance of at least 10 meters. If these are boxes for different types of birds, 5 meters are sufficient. During the breeding season, the birds don't like close neighbors; the more bushes and trees there are in the garden, the more neighbors they can tolerate. Here are a few more steps you can take:
- If possible, hang the opening of the nest boxes facing north, northeast or east. This way you prevent too much rain, wind and sun from entering.
- Position the boxes at least 2 meters above the ground to ensure theAccess for cats in the garden areaor to make it difficult for predators.
- The best time to hang birdhouses is in the fall. Since birds sometimes seek shelter even in winter, they can find their home in spring and lay their eggs there.
- Clean the nesting boxes with warm water and a drop of dish soap. Let them dry in October and November and hang them up again for the new season.
- In the first year you can often attract few birds because they are still too new to find their home. However, the chances are better in the second year, so you should be patient. If after 2 breeding seasons you still have no visitors or residents, you can try a new location where you may have better luck.
What plants can you use to attract birds?
There are certain shrubs or trees that are very popular with both humans and birds. In spring most of them have lush flowers in clusters and in autumn the leaves have beautiful autumn color. Most bird species also like denser branches that provide good protection. Here are some plant species suitable for feathered visitors:
- Mulberry: This grows to 8-13 m tall and can grow wide. The birds love the dense branching and the small pink fruits that resemble raspberries. They are even edible for humans.
- Rowan: The plant can reach a height of 10 to 15 m. In spring it has beautiful creamy white flower clusters and in autumn it has beautiful red-orange berries that are very popular with birds.
- You can still plant all kinds of fruit trees like apple, cherry, plum, etc. and enjoy their fruits together with your feathered garden guests.
- Shrubs and hedges are also suitable for many species of birds, as they can hide in them when threatened, build nests, pick berries or eat insects. All of these are many good reasons to plant a hedge instead of building a regular fence. Some examples of hedges loved by birds include:
- Hainbuche (Carpinus betulus)
- Weißdorn (Crataegus monogyna)
- Eibe (Taxus baccata)
- Feuerdorn (Pyracantha coccinea)
- Privet (Ligustrum vulgare)
- Efeu (Hedera helix)
Many birds also eat insects such as caterpillars, butterflies, flies, bees, bumblebees, etc. Flowering plants attract such insects and also release seeds after flowering. So you can kill 2 birds with 1 stone. Some examples of such plant varieties are butterfly bush (Buddleja), sky key (Sedum), tansy (Tanacetum) and yarrow (Achillea). Leave the withered plants standing for a while; this is winter supplies for the birds. It is also better to leave the rose hips hanging, as many birds like them.
Leave some fruit under your fruit trees in the fall as birds in the garden will enjoy it. You can also see lots of butterflies on the rotten fruits in the fall, which is an added bonus. Also try to use as few chemical pesticides as they pose a poisoning risk to birds.
