Attracting wild birds to your yard is easy – they have pretty specific needs and patterns, and they’re not picky about the solutions. That means that if we bird-lovers provide them with ways to meet their needs, they’ll come, it’s as simple as that.
While you don’t even NEED a yard to enjoy attracting birds to a feeder, a few simple ideas incorporated into your lawn and garden design will increase your bird populations and give you even more enjoyment.
Here are some landscaping tips that can turn your yard into a haven for wild birds.
Bird Attraction Basics
When adding elements to your garden for the birds, keep in mind that the three basic needs of birds aren’t all that different from our own.
-
Food
-
Water
-
Shelter
Providing for all three needs will attract bird populations that stick around, nest, raise their young, and come back next year.
Read on to find out more about bird-friendly landscaping for your yard.
What if I need to put weed killer on lawn?
I love birds and would love to see them in my yard more often. I hadn’t thought of providing them with nearby shelter after bathing. I would hate for them to be in a vulnerable situation. Thanks for the great information!
Mary
How to feed wild birds without attracting rats, which is what one of my neighbors insists will happen. (So our facility has been told not to the feed birds at all.) But once before, I saw someone had posted a notice that people do not need to be afraid to birds, and no need to feed the rats. I would like to let people know that they CAN feed birds without attracting rats. I need your help for this. Do you have a record of the information?
Happysunskimmer at Yahoo.com
My husband and I are going to be doing some landscaping work in the spring, and we’re currently thinking of some design ideas. I really liked your post, because there are a lot of birds in the area that we live! I would love to create a yard where I could watch the different birds come and go. I thought that your list of things that help attract birds was very helpful! As we are designing our future yard, I’ll be sure to keep this list in mind! Thank you for the great advice!
This is a really cool post on how to make your yard more bird-friendly. I think that having birds around makes for a really peaceful atmosphere. I will have to see if I want to get a water feature in my yard or not. Thanks for the post!
I have been a bird enthusiast for the past few years and having a yard that attracts them has definitely been my dream. My husband and I are looking into doing some more landscape design in the future and I would love to incorporate your advice. Hopefully we will be able to find something that works for us, thanks for sharing!
I love when birds are always about during the summer. There is something comforting about their songs. I never considered making my landscape more attractive to them. Now that I think about it, there are a lot more birds around my parents house because it’s a small farm with lots of trees. I guess I should start planting!
I also did that in my garden. I also love birds and I enjoy their sound while playing around my garden. It makes my garden complete because of birds.
I have always wanted a bird friendly yard. They make such beautiful music. I am excited to try some of these landscaping tips.
My grandmother loves watching birds in her yard, and I think it would be fun to landscape the area to make it more inviting. I like your tip to provide the necessities for the birds. Will we need to get some birdhouses for shelter, or are there certain kinds of trees or bushes that make good homes for them?
Bird fountains are my favorite for attracting birds to our landscape
What many don’t know is a key to making your garden bird friendly is to place your feeders away from shrubs and thick trees – this is because birds like to feed out in the open where they can easily any predators such as cats approaching. So if you do have a feeder, try and keep this in mind when choosing where to place it in your garden!
Would love ideas for smaller type trees for attracting desert birds near Phoenix Arizona ??
I really love birds, but I don’t like cleaning up after their mess inside the house and am planning to instead get wild birds to frequent my yard. My husband and I are going to hire a landscaper to help us plant some bird-friendly plants with berries and nuts that will attract them, and your tip to meet their needs of water and shelter as well will definitely make a difference. Maybe I can set talk to the landscapers about setting up some sort of ground shelters for the quail that come through our yard, and birdhouses for our trees.
I live in an apartment complex and I have a bird feeder outside where I can watch the birds feed from my living room window. I have been here for three years and have never seen a mouse. Some residents have bird feeders also and have lived here for seven years and never seen a mouse. We have no mice in our apartments. We have been told that we have to remove the bird feeders. We are an elderly group and we love being able to watch the birds. We are told that the mice get into the vents. I don’t want to move my feeder and it is such enjoyment for me. The tree is about five feet from the building. Please let me know what your thoughts are. Thank you. Sarah
Hi, Sarah,
The complex’s landlord can set the rules for bird feeder use. One of the benefits of home ownership — particularly outside a homeowners association — is the ability to make decisions without interference.
Thanks for your question.