Attracting Birds to the Garden
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bakingbarb
Location: Washington, Western
Posted: Jan-28-2005 at 6:28pm
Ohhhh I wish I had more birds here. I so miss my birds and critters in MI.
I am getting very littl here. I have four feeder and a thistle which is ignored totally, and a bird bath. The feeders have only sunflower in them except of course the one thistle feeder. And the feeders are all located near shrubs for the birds.
There was quite a bit of activity in the yard but the variety is small. Juncos finaly but mainly sparrows. I do not even see chicadees which were so abundant in Mi. I do not want to live in Mi agian but I do miss my birds. The evening grosbeak and the indigo bunting.
OK I am just going to list a whole bunch of birds and I want to know if I stand a chance of seeing them here. Maybe I should start a new thread though?
~BakingBarb
Trish
Location: Washington, Southwestern
Posted: Jan-29-2005 at 6:47pm
Barb, I'm sure you can attract more birds to your garden. At my place, it tends to be busiest at daybreak and again in the last hour or so of daylight.
I recently borrowed a book that I'd recommend.
Projects for the birder's garden: over 100 easy things that you can make to turn your yard and garden into a bird-friendly haven / edited by Fern Marshall Bradley and the editors of Yankee Magazine. Dublin, N.H. : Yankee Books, 2004. ISBN: 0899093930
It had simple projects, using scrap materials, and emphasized growing seed- amd berry-producing plants that birds can't resist.
bakingbarb
Location: Washington, Western
Posted: Jan-30-2005 at 12:34pm
Trish, I guess it was just so easy in Mi, I put up feeder and the birds came asap. Here the feeders have been up and kept filled for almost a year. We have blackberries and weeds including thistles (ouch), this whole area is a haven for them. There are large rhodies and hollies. We put the feeders so they would be near the plants. One is next to a flower bed with a weeping pussy willow that the birds seem to really like. The other feeders are next to the hollies and then over by the rhodies/blackberry mess. The bird bath is near one of the feeder which is in the flower bed with the pussy willow.
This was the first year in this home for me so I put in flowers and a veggie garden. The sunflowers got robbed so this summer I plan on putting in a huge row of them. I also know that birds and butterflies love the mexican sunflower, tithonia rotundifolia, so I plan on putting those in. Although I would like to get seed for those started now since they take a bit to get going. I also need to place them in the best heat and dry spot I can find. I seem to have a good mix of moister places to dryer places!
I was suprised to see them allover the cosmos plants, I had not noticed those to be one of the favored seeds before. I always leave flower seed heads for the birds and am going to get echinacea going as they also seem to love those. Seeds of Change has a wonderful selection to choose from (choose ya right ha ha, I will take one of each). Side not I bought the seed for paradox, yellow from them. I have seen a field of these before and it left an impression on me.
There are plenty of bugs in the garden for them to eat so I am hoping that over this summer they come! I also am putting in more shrubs, berries and fruits for us and them over the next few years. I was so bummed to leave our property in Mi, it was 12 years of love and it really hurt to leave it! But now I get to start over and although this is a smaler piece of property I am looking forward to it. I can't wait to add a climibing/rambler rose and maybe a honeysuckle vine on the fence.
Oh and you know what the hummers loved that flowered very early is a gooseberry. I never ate the fruit but that really brought them in, and I was suprised to see them on daffodils too.
Much to learn even when you think you are so smart! I meant me not you LOL thanks for the book info I will have to check that out. Oh and who wrote about starlings, give it up. They have a huge population in Mi and they would come in flocks and it did not matter how we hung the seut feeders, they would devour it. That and all the feed we had put it out. Very determined birds but they also eat the bugs in the grass, if you watch them long enough you will see them get quite into that. Oh wow do I need to get a life!
~BakingBarb
Lisa A
Location: Oregon, Greater Portland Metro
Posted: Jan-30-2005 at 1:21pm
bakingbarb, do you have any large trees on your property? Birds like cover from predators, such as hawks. If a spot is too open, they may not come around as much.
Supply these things for birds - for all wildlife - to make your garden more attractive to them (Debbie mentioned these things on another of your threads):
Food
Water
Shelter (aka cover)
Space to raise their young
Of all of the above, water is the best thing you can provide. Food is usually in more abundance due to feeders, native plants and insects but water can be harder for them to find.
Food - native plants will give you the best bang for your buck. An added benefit is that when they 'escape' via bird droppings, they don't negatively impact natural areas. Non-native escapees, such as English holly or English ivy do. Depleted food supplies in natural areas affect populations more than inadequate food supplies in gardens. When choosing non-native plants, avoid the ones most prone to invasive potential to reduce impact on natural areas' ability to support wildlife.
I've already addressed one aspect of shelter - large trees to provide protection from predators - but shelter can also mean protection from bad weather, such as roosting and nesting boxes. Shelter, or cover, should be provided at all levels of a garden because different species will seek protection at different levels. The more layers your garden has to offer, the more diversity of wildlife you will attract.
Space to raise their young refers to the territory needs of a species to raise the next generation. Some are area-sensitive species (bluebirds are one of these), others don't mind tight living quarters. Sometimes, too, species avoid using habitat edges (the borders between 2 types of habitats). This requirement of garden habitat is a little harder for us to supply, especially those of us on small properties.
Garden Spider
Location: Washington, Puget Sound Corridor
Posted: Jan-30-2005 at 3:51pm
Barb to Barb, you might try a mix of seeds in your feeders until you can get more bird-attracting plants established. I'm trying a 'No Mess' blend from Wild Birds Unlimited--it's a mix of sunflower chips, peanut hearts, etc. They also have a 'Northwest Blend', supposedly attractive for local birds. If you have a Wild Birds Unlimited store near you, you might stop in there.
I do remember at our house in SeaTac, most of the activity at the feeders was in the morning and evening. That seems to be true here, too.
Barb
bakingbarb
Location: Washington, Western
Posted: Mar-11-2005 at 6:40pm
I think I saw a hummer yesterday!
I also think I saw an oriole flying over 175th in the Seattle area last week. Could this be? Neither time was I able to tell for sure nor did I have the time to find out.
An oriole would be so cool. They are awsome birds and we had about tree families in our neighborhood in Mi. There were alot of small fruits in the area and lots of hummer feeder and we put out all kinds of stuff for the hummers. They love watermelon!
~BakingBarb
Garden Spider
Location: Washington, Puget Sound Corridor
Posted: Mar-11-2005 at 8:42pm
We've had a hummingbird here all winter. I don't have any winter flowers for it, but it did start feeding on the Daffodils in February. I'd like to get a Winter Honeysuckle or Winter Jasmine for it, but maybe not this year, if the drought continues.
I put up a second feeder, with the Northwest Mix, and got a Stellar's Jay. I love those birds--they are such a beautiful shade of blue, with a black crest.
I can't find the suet feeder I made, so I gess I will have to make another one.
Barb
bakingbarb
Location: Washington, Western
Posted: Mar-12-2005 at 9:19am
There is a stellar jay in the neighborhood but he does not feed on the feeders. He flies around though. One neighbor does not have feeders out but he has fruit trees and I think his yard attracts birds jut for the amount of trees and blooms and bugs and fruit. He has ohhhhh 3 apples, 3 plums a pear or 2 and who knows what else! I know we will move one day but I have to plant for the next few years anyways. Seems like such a waste but I will bring plants with me if it is just going to get developed! Next place will have more yard and it has to have wooded areas near by. I think a few natural shrubs with berries is key for me to attract birds.
~BakingBarb
Gardening for the Homebrewer: Grow and Process Plants for Making Beer, Wine, Gruit, Cider, Perry, and More
By co-authors Debbie Teashon (Rainy Side Gardeners) and Wendy Tweton