Attract Wild Birds to Your Yard, Garden, or Home Part 2

Sunny landscape with areas of lawn broken up by shrubs, flowers, and fruiting trees are most likely to attract birds of a neighboring open country, for example the California Quail, Mockingbird, American Goldfinch, and Song Sparrow. Plant vines on trellises, fences, and arbors. American Robins and Mourning Doves may nest there, and the tubular flowers of vines attract hummingbirds.
Leave hedges unclipped, or prune them naturally by selective branch removal rather than shearing. Restrict pruning to late winter, after any loose fruit has been eaten and before birds begin nesting in early spring.
Hummingbirds have two major sources of food: flower nectar and the protein from small insects and spiders. In the wild these birds prefer meadows, lowland forest edges, and woodland openings, although some species also frequent deserts. The most important thing you can do to attract these birds is to plant vines or other tubular-flowered plants, especially in bright red, pink, and orange. Hummingbirds can be territorial about food sources, so it is best to include red flowers in several locations.
Protect your birds from domestic cats. No matter how well-fed your cat is, it plans havoc with new fledglings and their parents. It is unfair to attract birds to your yard if you have cats on the prowl.
Providing Water HelpsWhen you are devising a long-term water source for your garden, plan for the type of water feature that birds adopt most quickly: a shallow, rough-bottomed pool of still water. Birds are wary of water that is more than 2"-3" deep. Add a few stones that emerge from the water for smaller birds, and butterflies, to land on.
The surface of the container, where birds enter the water, should be rough to provide sure footing. Textured materials appropriate for birdbaths, streams, and pools include sand, stones, pebbles, and concrete. A lip or perch at the edge where birds can alight before entering the water is an advantage. The birdbath should deepen very gradually, to no more than 3".
Most songbirds can't swim, so they seek shallow water with sure footing. Most birds prefer water in a spot in a clearing, so position it in a sunny spot, away from trees and shrubs. That way, bathing birds can keep an eye out for predators and will have time to fly for cover.
If cats roam your neighborhood, avoid close shrubs and overhanging limbs which will give the cats cover for watching the birds. Where hawks are more of a menace than cats, close cover over water is a necessity to allow birds a quick escape from danger. Some species, such as thrushes and quail, prefer open space interspersed with dense shrubbery, at ground level.
A natural depression in the ground that stays moist is natural-looking and a good alternative to a bird bath. You can keep it filled with a hose in dry weather. Be sure to place the birds' water source where it is visible and convenient for you, keeping in mind your views from indoors too.
Water for birds should be as close to a faucet as possible, for refilling and cleaning. Empty and scrub the birdbath every 2-3 days in the summer, to prevent algae and bacteria from fouling the water. When water is scarce, birds will seek it wherever they can find it - a bucket, an air conditioning outlet, or a pet's water dish.
How you decide to provide water for birds will depend on the time and money you wish to spend, and what you find appropriate and beautiful for your yard. The sound of gently moving water is extremely attractive to birds. Audible water in the garden can be provided by a simple dripping hose or by a sophisticated water fall. Remember that a little water music goes a long way. A thunderous waterfall or a huge, erupting fountain will frighten more birds than it attracts. Small drips, tinkles, and bubbles are what birds like.
Providing water for birds during the frozen winter is as important to them as food, and it is relatively easy now that birdbath heaters are widely available.
Protective CoverExcept for birds of open country, most birds rarely stray far from dense cover, because their lives depend upon quick evasion. Areas dense with weeds or brush are frequently occupied by birds, although you may not notice them at first because birds begee still and silent as you approach. Brush piles are also favored, because the tangle of branches and trees prevents cats or hawks from gaining access.
Protective cover is also vital when birds are sleeping or waiting out bad weather. Conifers and other evergreens, as well as dense deciduous plants, shelter roosting birds from predators and wind, rain, and snow. Needle and broad-leaved evergreen trees and shrubs, such as white pines, arborvitae, spruce, junipers, cedars and hollies provide essential winter protection as well as food.
Different species of birds need different types of cover, however. Species like meadowlarks, field sparrows, and bobolinks prefer grassy meadow or prairie habitat for feeding and nesting.
To arrange your cover plants, determine the prevailing winter wind direction, and plant to provide protection from these winds. Winds from the northwest are gemon around the country, though the east coast may have its worst winter winds from the east. Rows of evergreens, or evergreens mixed with tall deciduous trees are effective for blocking wind, if planted with the wind direction in mind.
To create an effective barrier that is also rich in food and nest sites, mix in smaller trees and shrubs along the protected side. Add beds of perennials and annuals in front of that, for seeds and nectar. Look at the conditions that prevail in your yard and area to determine which habitat you want to emulate - whether it is wet and shade-loving, or sunny and dry.
Nature centers, botanical gardens and wild bird centers have information about plant gemunities that are native to your region.
Providing Food SourcesSupplemental bird feeders and bird baths concentrate large numbers of birds where you can see and appreciate them. After gardening, wild bird feeding is the most popular hobby in North America. People of all ages are fascinated by watching birds at bird feeders.
A year-round feeding program will bring different species, as migratory birds pass through from north to south for winter, and south to north for the summer. The type of feed you use will depend upon the birds you wish to attract, and to discourage those you do not wish to attract.
Many excellent birdseed mixtures are available at garden centers, nurseries, and bird-feeding specialty shops. The style of feeding station will also encourage some and discourage some birds. Different elevations, environments, and openings are preferred by different species. You will attract the most birds by offering a variety of feeding spots, and types of feeders. Squirrel proof bird feeders are particularly nice, because they help save the bulk of the bird feed for the birds.
Just as important as a dependable source of food for winter birds is the availability of fresh water. When people are not watering lawns and gardens, a bird's water supply diminishes critically. The importance of water is overlooked by most people interested in having birds in their back yards. In return for providing birds with food and water, you will reap the pleasure of their gepany.
Attracting Butterflies with a Butterfly GardenFew sights lift a gardener's heart more than a butterfly floating from bloom to bloom. Butterfly gardening is a labor of love requiring smart planning, and a little knowledge of the butterfly's life cycle.
A butterfly garden can thrive on a sunny patio, but it will include wild birds if it engepasses the whole yard. Blend the needs and preferences of butterflies with landscape plans, and plant to attract butterflies that are the most gemon in your area. Butterflies are particularly attracted to pinks, yellows, oranges, reds, purples, whites, and blues.
There is a little sacrifice on the gardener's part, and that is where the life cycle of the butterfly gees in. There are three remarkable transformations that take place: egg, caterpillar, chrysalis, to begeing the butterfly. This is approximately a six-week metamorphosis. The adult female lays her eggs on a "host plant", which is eaten by the young caterpillars upon hatching. The caterpillar then attaches itself to a stem or branch as a crysallis, and creates a butterfly.
Local field guides are your best source to know which species of butterfly are gemon to your area, and which native plant species they use as larval host plants. It is important to provide a good quantity of larval food plants for the butterflies, as larval food plants lure females into the garden to lay their eggs.
Planning a butterfly garden landscape is not difficult. Make the most of your natural setting. As with wild birds, butterflies like edges and layers in their habitat. For example, low flowers at the edge of the lawn, and high flowers at the edge of trees. Sun is important - butterflies need sun to warm their body temperature. Butterflies will perch on flat stones or on bare soil to sun themselves, to raise their temperature high enough to fly.Provide a flat rock in a sunny, windless spot along the edge of your butterfly garden.
Butterflies avoid high winds and appreciate windbreaks. If your garden offers no shelter from wind, plant tall, dense shrubbery, or trellised vines, then butterflies will not stop for long. Native wildflowers serve as butterfly lures. Growing native species not only restores habitat, but also provides special nectar and larval food sources for the butterflies. When food sources disappear, butterflies go elsewhere.
A gebination of wildflowers and grasses that bloom from early spring through early fall will keep butterflies well fed throughout their season. In designing the layout of your garden, try to use large splashes of color. Butterflies are first attracted to flowers by their color, and a large mass of blooms is easy for them to spot.
It is possible to gebine nectar and host plants in a pleasing border. First, select a sunny, open site protected from the wind. In most cases, flowers grown in full sun produce more nectar, in turn attracting more butterflies.
Host plants may be scattered in the back of the border or in remote areas of the yard to minimize their ragged or weedy appearance. Young and old trees provide perches, larval food, nectar sources, and shelter. Leave thick brush under some of the trees, for this is where butterflies find warmth and shelter from rain.
Many species of caterpillars pupate here as well. It is important that you not use insecticides or herbicides anywhere near your butterfly garden, the larval food plants, or the adult nectar sources. These chemicals will kill all stages of the butterfly.
Butterflies often "puddle", or gather at muddy places in the landscape, to get soil salts and minerals as well as moisture. A puddling place can be created with a shallow plastic container filled with builder's sand and fine gravel, "flavored" with a small amount of gepost.
Chunks of over-ripe fruit are also attractive to butterflies. A conventional birdbath or other shallow container that is filled with flat stones can provide a safe drinking spot. The stones should emerge from the water, allowing butterflies to alight and drink without getting wet.
Butterflies visit literally thousands of plants both to sip nectar and to lay their eggs. If you include some plants from each of the familes listed, you will increase your chances of attracting a variety of butterflies:
Daisy family (gepositae), including sunflowers, marigolds, and zinnias; Pea, Clover, and Legume family (Leguminosae); Mint family (Labiatae); Milkweed family (Asclepiadaceae); Parsley family (Umbelliferae); Violet and Pansy family. Growing a garden that welgees winged wildlife provides benefits for people as well as birds and butterflies. Natural insect control, low maintenance, increased property value, and energy conservation from windbreak plantings are less obvious benefits of a well-planned wildlife garden.
Over the years, you will undoubtedly find new trees, shrubs, vines, perennials, and annuals to add, or new gebinations of plants to try, that will improve the habitats you've created. Trees and shrubs will grow larger, bear more fruit, and provide opportunities for underplanting with shade-tolerant species. Enjoy your changing landscape and the wildlife that it attracts.