Birds
If you’re looking for a great way to decorate your outdoor spaces, look through these pages and think about adding a bird feeder or two. Not only can they add aesthetic appeal to your yard or garden, but they will also (obviously!) attract birds, which will add a vibrant touch with their amazing colors and beautiful music. While plants, furniture and various accessories can also decorate your yard or garden, they won’t be able to achieve the same vibrant, lively effect that bird feeders are able to create.
There are an enormous variety of bird feeders available today, to fit everyone’s fancy and needs. If you have a large window, you can add a window feeder, so you’ll be more easily able to observe visiting birds. You can also place a platform feeder in your yard or garden, protected by a fence or trellis covered in twisting vines to give your bird friends a sense of security. The sky’s the limit in terms of design and placement possibilities.
The type of bird feeder you choose, the type of feed you place in it and where you place the feeder will depend on whether or not you’d like to attract a particular species of bird, where you live, and the time of year. Actually, even if you just wish to attract as many different bird species as possible that are present in your area, you should do a bit of research. You should invest in a bird field guide, which will show you pictures of all known bird species, including the ones that you are likely to see in your area. Indeed, bird field guides will give you the range of bird species and the times of year where they are in the various parts of their range.
Once you’ve figured out what species of birds are more likely to visit your area, you can take a trip to your local home and garden center or pet supply store to ask about what kind of feed is best for those bird species. Information of this nature can also be found online, in various very helpful bird watching forums. If you’d like to attract only one type of bird, get information about the type of feed that appeals to that bird and fill your feeder with it.
Whatever decision you make regarding bird feeder and feed, make sure that you’re not just throwing the feed on the ground for the birds to come and pick up. Feed that is left on the ground, even for just a brief amount of time, can be prey to contamination by mold, bacteria, toxic fertilizers, animal droppings (that may carry disease) and pesticides. Even a simple bar lifted off the ground would be more appropriate to safeguard the health of our winged friends.
Check out these pages on bird feeders and other structures that will attract birds or butterflies to liven up your outdoor space. Whatever structure you choose, you won’t be disappointed!
