Feeding Birds in Your Garden

It’s no secret that the entire Gardzen team likes birds. Our feathered friends add so much color and life to our gardens and outdoor spaces, while simultaneously keeping the ecosystem healthy and helping our plants to thrive. We’ve been asked about how to attract more birds to a garden and while there are a number of good options—planting native plants, creating wildlife habitat—the quickest results come from bird feeders. Feeding birds in your garden is a great way to attract a variety of birds to your space and keep them coming back day after day, season after season. There are a few tips and tricks that help ensure your bird feeder attracts as many birds as possible, so let’s dig in and learn a bit more

Identifying Local Bird Species

Before putting up a bird feeder, it helps to know what kinds of birds live near you and might want to visit your garden space. There are a number of ways to get this information—your local county extension may be able to help, as might your local birdwatching group. Local libraries often have field guides for birds and plants in their region, and reading those can be a fun way to connect with the natural world around you. Online, the Audubon Society has a searchable database with great visuals that can help you learn about the birds  in your neighborhood. Knowing about the birds that might come to call and understanding their needs and feeding habits is a big step in making your bird feeder a success.

Selecting the Right Bird Feeder

Knowing about your local birds will help you set up the right types of bird feeder for your region. While there are many different designs and types of bird feeder, the actual shape is less important than the way birds use it. Some birds, like mourning doves, robins, sparrows, and juncos, like to feed on the ground.  Others, including finches, cardinals, and blue jays, prefer to feed in shrubs and bushes. Still others like chickadees and woodpeckers feed higher up in trees. Knowing where the birds around you are looking for food can help you select the right feeder for them.

For those wondering—it’s absolutely OK to spread bird seed directly on the ground for ground feeding birds as long as you position it properly. Speaking of which . . .

Feed Birds in the Right Place

Birds need to be safe from predators when they feed, so now that you’ve identified the right kind of bird feeder and the right feeding height for your neighborhood birds, it’s time to position your feeder such that they stay safe while enjoying it. Ground-level feeding should take place well away—at least 12 feet/3 meters—from any brush or cover in which a cat or other predator could hide. Birds can fly away, but they need time to react! Elevated feeders should likewise be located in safe places by hanging them at the right height in trees or shrubs or on a bird feeder stand. All bird feeders should be kept a safe distance from large glass windows—birds often don’t understand glass and may fly right into it, resulting in death or injury. Garden netting positioned between a feeder and a window can help with this a bit, if space is limited.

While you don’t need to put food out every day, a regular feeding schedule is best if you want to keep birds coming around. Unless the weather or climate is severe—say in winter—they won’t become dependent on your food and go elsewhere. If you are experiencing extremes of climate or weather, the responsible thing to do is keep the bird feeder full if you can safely do so, as the birds who use it may be stressed for other food sources.

Keep Your Bird Feeder Clean

Wild birds are wild animals, and are generally able to tend to their own hygiene. However they do rely on us to keep their feeders clean, and doing so helps both birds and humans live healthier, happier lives. Cleaning your feeder regularly and changing out the food inside it can help prevent mold and fungus from taking hold. While the kinds of microbes that live in bird seed aren’t quite as dangerous as their fictional counterparts in “The Last of Us”, they can cause health problems for birds, humans, and other creatures if infestation occurs. Birdseed can also host bugs of various sorts, which your birds will generally eat happily but which may lead to an infestation in your garden. Hot or humid weather promotes both issues, so if you live in such a climate check your birdseed regularly. While some seed falling on the ground is inevitable, clean up big spills and large accumulations promptly—if the birds don’t eat it then it may attract other critters that you may not want in your garden.

Provide Water for Birds

A final step in feeding birds is watering them—birds need water as most living things do and by providing clean, fresh water sources you can help keep them healthy and coming back to your garden space. Bird baths are especially fun, as watching birds splash around is endlessly entertaining. Bird water should be changed at least weekly to keep it fresh and to prevent algae from growing. You may want to change it more often if you live in a mosquito-heavy environment as they love to lay eggs in bird baths.

Birds in Your Garden

Birds add life to garden spaces, helping to turn them into a full sensory experience of sound, color, and motion. They are also a vital part of the ecosystem, and by providing spaces for them we can help support the natural world of which we are all a part. Feeding birds regularly, especially during extreme weather conditions, can help their populations thrive and make the world a little brighter, so we hope you’ll consider a bird feeder for your garden!