While birds may not be your first thought when you consider your Atlanta lawn care services, tending to your lawn and garden can indeed help attract beautiful wildlife. Birds frequent gardens regularly, and for those of us who enjoy their colors and songs, it’s easier than you would think to draw them to your yard. Here are some tips to increase your bird population:
A Bird’s Gotta Eat
Many birds consume insects such as grubs or spiders, but you don’t want to find those crawling around your garden. An alternative is plants that produce nectar, nuts, seeds, and fruits that many birds will stick around to eat. Birds love to feed on arborvitaes, holly, camellias, phloxes, and black-eyed Susans, to name just a few.
The typical way to get birds to come close to your windows and gardens is hanging feeders. As we all know, birdseed can be purchased in many places, but sunflower seeds and thistle seeds will work, too. Hang the feeder near tree foliage or an overhead canopy so the small songbirds can dart back and forth for food while avoiding predators. Some feeders are advertised as “squirrel-proof,” but those interlopers are typically clever enough to get the seed out of anything. It’s best just to accept that some of the feed will be consumed by squirrels.
Birds Need Water, Too
Drinking and bathing are a part of a bird’s daily routine, and adding a bird bath to your garden will increase bird sightings immensely. A fountain or waterfall in your landscape is another way to attract birds to your yard. Birds will be drawn to the sound of the running water. In the more humid months in Georgia, mosquitoes may lay eggs in bird baths, so if you do install one, be sure to empty and refill it a few times a week.
A Bird House Is a Bird Home
If you are hoping to have birds take up permanent residence in your garden, a bird house is your best bet. Birds will line the floors of bird houses with grass and twigs to create a nest for their potential mate and offspring. You’ll know that the birdhouse is working and in a good location when you can see twigs and grass inside. Shady areas that are not too high off the ground are best for smaller birds to nest in.
There is nothing more majestic than a bird in flight, but when birds land, they can add beauty and song to your garden. Following these tips will result in birds not only frequenting your garden for food and drink, but even moving in as a permanent neighbor. If you’re hoping for more birds in your yard, remember water, birdseed, and a birdhouse will make for a stuffed, hydrated, and happy bird.