Coneflowers, free bird seed!
Landscaping for birds, or birdscaping, is not a new concept but one that is extremely important for birds. By purposefully planting native trees, shrubs, grasses, and flowers, we provide food and shelter for nesting and migrating birds. Add a pond, bird bath, or any type of moving water and you have a triple play of bird attracting and support.
Cape May Warbler, attracted to our homemade watering feature and wooded cover
Another important concept is to have less grass! Monotone grass provides nearly no value to all but a few bird species and is wasteful – watering, mowing, and fertilizing, not to mention all the wasted time. (Some grass is OK, as we need space for our energetic dogs).
The beauty of landscaping for birds is it is fun and it doesn’t matter how large or small your backyard is. Every bit helps!
We live in a city of 150,000+ people and have attracted 95 species of birds to our 1/4 acre backyard. We don’t border any parks or preserves.
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You’ve got to be kidding! That’s an incredible yard list. I don’t care what I plant,I’d never get that many birds.-But I guess that I could always improve.
I am a novice birder and have been really enjoying this blog, especially the 31 days to better birding series. I found this link at NWF for wildlife landscaping where you can look up native food sources by state:
http://www.nwf.org/backyard/food.cfm
Larry – We never thought we could see so many great birds in such a suburban area either! Every year it seems to get a little better though.
Mike – We are so glad you like our blog and thanks for the info on that site!