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Archive for the ‘Bird Feeders’ Category
A Garden For Birds And Butterflies
You can develop your landscape into a refuge for birds and butterflies if you do a few things to make them feel welcome. Because butterflies are a cold blooded insect, the will be most active in a warm, sunny area. Birds like an open area where they can watch for possible predators and be able to retreat from them. Both birds and butterflies need water, so the addition of a birdbath or small pond along with the right plants and possibly a bird feeder will add a lot of company to your garden.
Birds will prefer shrubs or small trees that provide food and shelter such as Dogwoods, Ninbark, Serviceberry, Beautyberry, Juniper and Viburnum. They also like sunflowers. Not all birds eat seeds. Hummingbirds like to sip flower nectar. Good plants for hummingbirds are Cardinal flower, Honeysuckle, Hosta, Bee Balm and Sage. Butterfly attracting plants are Butterfly Bush, Garden Phlox, Purple Coneflower, Cosmos, Lantana, Tithonia and Zinnias.
There may be other plant varieties that will keep these visitors coming back to your garden-ask your local nursery. Remember to place plants, bird baths and feeders in an area that is easily observed from a window in you house so that you can enjoy their beauty and antics even more.
Inviting Birds to Your Backyard
No matter where you live, chances are there’s a strong avian population in your area. Birds live all over the United States and even thrive in the most desolate of locations. In addition, bringing birds to your backyard can have several benefits. For example, birds can help to control the population of insect pests in your backyard. Birds also provide several aesthetic benefits that appeal to all humans.
To attract birds to your backyard, you will want to cover bird feeders first. Some birds will eat a wide variety of seeds and nuts, but some are more particular, like hummingbirds, which are only attracted to the sugary water of hummingbird feeders. Choose birdfeeders depending on the kinds of birds you want to attract, and if you want it all, suet feeders appeal to a wide range of birds. You also want to address nesting, and provide standard cedar birdhouses, as well as birdhouses for specific kinds of birds depending on your area. Additional accessories like birdbaths, plants that produce berries, and shady trees will further aid the process of drawing birds to your backyard.
Bird Lovers
If you love the beauty and mysticism that birds bring to a area then decorative bird feeders might be right for you. I put one in my yard and I am just loving it. The birds come, they eat and play right outside my kitchen window. They have such playful, entertaining personalities.
The most amazing varieties can be found in my neighborhood. It is absolutely fascinating. Sometimes it seems that only sparrows and pigeons live near me, but yesterday I saw a blue jay and many more varieties that I can’t even name yet. I’m getting a bird watchers guide so that I can begin learning about all the different types of birds, what they eat and where they travel.
Birds vs. Squirrels
Whereas there are a number of benefits to putting a bird feeder in your backyard, there’s also the issue of what to do when squirrels invade them, trying to get at the bird food you’ve set out. Obviously, squirrels have a size advantage over birds, as well as agile characteristics, so they can get to the food before our winged friends can.
Luckily, finding a squirrel proof bird feeder isn’t too difficult; in fact, it’s downright easy. There are several birdfeeders on the market that range in protection, but all of them have the same results: keeping squirrels out. When you’re shopping for a bird feeder, squirrels might be something you’d want to consider.