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Getting a wide variety of birds is also fun and educational. This is the objective in my backyard. My first project was finding foliage that was aesthetically pleasing and at the same time, provided habitat and food for the wildlife. I first planted pine trees and berry bushes, and eventually created a 25 foot by 25 foot sunflower garden, surrounded by a Russian Olive Tree, pine trees, and a hummingbird vine attached to a trellis. In the other corner of the yard is my orchard…apple, peach, and cherry trees, with a bat box nearby for a little natural insect control. In the far corner of my lot are more pines, with berry bushes, like dogwood. I continue adding to each section every year, and the bird population rises!!
Along with that, I have a variety of bluebird houses, a giant purple martin house, bat houses, and a bird bath, since I don’t have a consistent water source in sight of my house. I also have several hopper feeders, large feeders which take at least a gallon of food, the largest holds roughly 4 gallons of bird seed. I found that black oil sunflower seed attracts a great variety, it also has a high ratio of meat to shell, and has a high fat content, your birds need for nesting and energy in migration and surviving the cold winter. I also have several finch feeders hanging, filled with Nyjer Thistle Seed. This helps attract goldfinch and other finches. Other feeders have mixtures of sunflower, cracked corn, millet, and safflower seed. I also have hummingbird feeders and oriole feeders filled with nectar and fruit feeders filled with oranges and grape jelly. Start buy purchasing your seed in small quantities, and change the mixtures of seeds to see the different birds in your area attracted by each. Don’t be discouraged, the first or second time you set out an orange if it dries up and bugs get to it before the orioles, just keep trying.
All of this combined has created the morning singing of the birds, quite a bit different than when my family moved in seven years ago. Feeding and providing habitat for the birds and other animals does not need to be a major expense. If you add a little every year, you can see an improvement in the quantity and variety of birds each year. Just remember to buy quality products and take care of them, cleaning them often and keeping them full. Keeping the pests from your feeders will also help keep your food fresher longer and keep more available for the birds, like installing squirrel guards, ant moats, and bee-proof hummingbird and oriole bird feeders.
So, first make your backyard attractive to wildlife, providing habitat, food and shelter and a nesting ground, and then provide the foods they love, and soon you’ll have a backyard abundant with wildlife. Every habitat is different; my three-acre yard in