[birdpost] Attracting Birds to Your Yard!

NOTE: while this advice can be applicable to pretty much anywhere in some sense, I am mainly focusing on North American birds because that's where I'm from lol

Birds are a very important addition to your yard. Not only are they fun to watch, but having a robust bird population in your yard can indicate the health of local species, and is directly correlated to the quality of your land. Many people think all you need to do is put out a feeder full of seeds and the birds will come, but there are different methods to attracting different birds. Also I was gonna include pictures but I'm having trouble with formatting links for whatever reason :(

1. YOUR BASIC BIRD FEEDER The easiest and most common way is getting birdseed and putting it in a feeder. There are a few types of seed feeders though, and the kind you use can attract different species.

• Tray/ Platform Feeder: PROS: attracts the largest amount of species, cheap and easy to diy. CONS: no protection against rain/ snow (seeds can get moldy), can't keep out squirrels (more on this later).

• Hopper/ House Feeder: PROS: more protection against weather, lasts multiple days. CONS: squirrels LOVE them, harder to clean.

• Window Feeder: PROS: easiest to fill and clean, allows close-up bird viewing. decreases the chance of window collisions; the safest for birds. CONS: needs to be changed daily, can attract squirrels sometimes.

• Hummingbird Feeder: PROS: you get hummingbirds. CONS: can attract bees

2. ATTRACTING SPECIFIC SPECIES:

• Finches: American Goldfinches, Pine Siskins, and Common Redpolls can be attracted using a thistle feeder

• Woodpeckers: Woodpeckers are attracted to suet feeders. It's a little cage that you put a block of suet inside. There are many different flavors. Suet/ feeders are very cheap and typically last longer, but are more prone to attracting other animals. I just caught a pair of raccoons demolishing my suet feeder on my trail cam, smh.

• Orioles: Pretty orange birds that people enjoy during the summer. They love oranges and jam. You can simply set a halved orange in a tree, or use a platform feeder. You can put the jam on top of the orange, or serve it separately. However, if you want to be fancy, I just learned that they sell feeders specifically for this purpose.

3. KEEPING AWAY SQUIRRELS AND OTHER PESTS:

this is actually pretty simple. make your bird food SPICY! birds are unable to taste spice in any form, but mammals can. you can be fancy and buy bird seed or suet that is already spicy, OR you can sprinkle some cayenne pepper on the food/ mix it into the seeds.

4. OTHER WAYS TO ATTRACT BIRDS:

• Provide water year-round, whether it be a bird bath, or even a pond. Change the water every few days.

• Plant native plants. Not only will this attract more birds, but it does absolute WONDERS for the local ecosystem. We've established a few native spaces around campus, and they are gorgeous. Most people are hesitant at first to let their yards get a little more wild, but if done successfully, they seem to be well-loved by everybody.

• Keep your cats inside. No, I am not going to start this argument, and no, I am not going to shame you if you have outdoor cats. BUT, keeping predators out of your yard will definitely bring back birds. That's just how it works.

• Put out nest boxes. Birdhouses suck. Nest boxes are the way. Also relatively easy to build.

• Make your yard more eco-friendly. Cut back on pesticides and herbicides. Let the dandelions grow back in. Learn what species are invasive and remove them.

• Keep an eye out for bird disease epidemics. Birds are very vulnerable to disease (in fact, there's a big case of bird flu going on now). If you hear that an avian disease is spreading, you should empty your bird bath/ feeder(s), and clean them out.