Winter is a time where nature projects generally have to be conducted indoors due to the weather. However, that doesn’t mean that you can’t watch what is happening outside.
Attracting winter birds to your backyard will give you and your children many hours of fun, spotting, and watching the behavior of your new visitors in the comfort and warmth of your own home.
You can attract birds whatever the size of your garden, so long as you have food, water and shelter then a variety of birds will come back winter after winter to delight you.
Here are some tips to start attracting birds to your backyard
- Plant trees and hedges to provide natural shelter and places to build nests
- Planting native plants will encourage the right insects for native birds
- A lawn will provide space for birds to hunt for insects and worms
- A bird house will provide a great nesting place in a small backyard and can easily be attached to a fence post or the side of the house
- Create a bird bath, try to have varied depth to suit different sized birds
- Keep the bird bath fresh and clean, and free from ice when it gets really cold
- Ensure any bird tables and bird houses are out of the reach of cats
- Use mesh wired feeders that will keep away squirrels and other larger animals (you can leave out food elsewhere for other wildlife if you want)
- Find out which birds are native to your area and use the internet to find out what their favorite foods are, although you will attract many birds using bread (fresh not stale), nuts, seeds, fats such as bacon rind, or meat trimmings, and fresh and dried fruits. Even kitchen left-overs such as rice, pasta, potatoes etc. will go down well with your new feathered friends
- Try to have your feeding table or bird house under cover if possible, to keep it dry and warm
- Be consistent, birds will become used to your food supply so make sure you replenish often
And finally… keep a camera or video recorder close to the window so you can snap any new visitors you have.
Nature Gifts Stores has a variety of bird and other animal feeders and houses to help attract wildlife to your backyard all year round.