March 19, 2011 / Leslie

Weekend Birding: Attracting Birds To Your Yard

Spring is in the air. Not only is the weather warmer and the daylight hours longer but I am once again hearing the sounds of birds singing and chirping. The migrants are on their way back to their summer breeding areas and some of the year round residents have already started staking out their nesting territory.

There was a time when the only birds I saw in my yard were sparrows and robins. That’s because I wasn’t offering much of a reason to stay. Providing food, water and housing will attract many species of beautiful birds and keep them coming back.

Housing

Wrens moved into this house.

Birds are looking for safe places to build a nest and raise their broods. Adding a few bird houses, or nest boxes, will encourage the cavity nesters such as finches, chickadee, wrens, bluebirds and woodpeckers to make a home. Other birds such as cardinals, robins, catbirds and doves make open cup nests in trees and shrubs. If there are no natural nesting sites they will nest on platforms which can be attached to the side of a building or under an eave.

Sparrows can't enter, the opening is sized for smaller birds.

Each species has different requirements in what it considers a good home. To attract a specific bird you have to offer the right environment and the right size box and opening size. An excellent resource is Birdhouses 101. There you will find information on the nesting and feeding preferences of many birds.

Nesting Material

Once the birds find a good area to live in they begin searching for construction materials for the nest.

Robin's nested in the shrubs.

Leave small piles of twigs, pine needles, small bits of bark and leaves on the ground. Put pieces of string, yarn, small strips of material, hair and pet fur in mesh bags or suet cages or buy one of those special wire hangers from the bird supply stores.

Do not offer dryer lint. It becomes crumbly and matted when it gets wet and often contains harmful residue from fabric softeners and detergents.

Project Nestwatch

I participate in Project Nestwatch, a citizen-science project and nest-monitoring database of the Cornell Lab of Ornithology. I have several nest boxes and platforms around my property and my yard and the neighbor’s yards have a lot of trees and shrubs. If you are observant you will see birds carrying twigs and grass to the nest site. It is a wonderful experience to watch the birds raise their young and anyone can participate in Project Nestwatch.

Robin's nested on a stereo speaker.

Last year a pair of robins nested on top of my neighbor’s outdoor speakers. This was not the best choice of locations as it was exposed to predators such as crows and blue jays who will eat eggs, but they did manage to raise one nestling successfully. Their second nest was in my cedar tree, a much better choice. It took me several weeks to locate it. By then the little ones were ready to fledge.