Birds and Squirrels

If you enjoy bird watching but don’t have the time to venture out into the wilderness, attracting birds to your yard can be an easy way to appreciate winged wildlife at home. To get started, birdfeeders are the best way to attract wildlife. If birds have a reliable source of food, they will make nests near or even in your yard.  Birdhouses can also encourage birds to live in your yard, but will often be taken over by bees or other nuisances.  Birdbaths are great for viewing small birds at play, but should be placed in a semi-sheltered area (such as beneath a tree) to avoid notice of predators. For the winter months, you could even pamper your avian friends with heated bird baths.

Keep in mind that small birds will avoid locations that have nearby predators such as coyotes, hawks, or falcons.

Lots of owners can have trouble attracting birds to their yard, and most often the reason is the birds feel threatened in the space. While it’s important to have all the amenities a bird could want like birdhouses, bird feeders, and bird fountains or baths, it’s even more important that the area feels safe. This means that owners who want birds in their yard should avoid placing their birdfeeders and birdbaths in an open area with a view of the sky. Predator birds spot smaller birds while soaring higher up, so it’s a good idea to provide the smaller birds some cover. It’s best to have a birdfeeder or birdbath next to a tree, or small shrub where the birds could retreat if needed. With birdbaths, it’s also important that the water is moving, as birds are attracted to moving water. This makes bird fountains a great option.

When placing birdhouses, try to nestle them underneath the boughs of trees and also in high places where animals like cats and dogs can’t reach. Take these steps, and in no time at all the yard will be bustling with chirps and cheeps!

Some people who live in particularly cold regions of the world might find that they have a little problem offering the local birds a place to wash and drink all year round. After all, many birdbaths will merely contain frozen water once it hits winter. This doesn’t help anyone involved. After all, the birds can’t get to the water, and you can’t enjoy the colorful and bright birds of your region.

If you want to combat this problem, look into purchasing any number of heated birdbaths. These are absolutely great for winter or cold weather, but you don’t have to stash them in the garage once the weather turns nice. Rather, these are useful year round, because they contain a thermostat that can detect and regulate the water temperature. In this way, the birdbath will only operate when it is cold enough to do so. This is an added benefit for places with unpredictable weather. So even if you unexpectedly go through a cold snap, your birdbath will be ready.

If you are a bird lover, it’s a great idea to add either bird feeders or bird baths to your backyard. Filled with the right food and cleaned properly, both these devices can drastically increase the amount of birds you’ll see flitting through your property. And remember that birds are savvy about knowing which house offers the best situation, so if you impress them one year, those birds are likely to return the following year.

If you want to keep attracting birds, one of the most important things to remember is that you need to make sure your bird bath offers a safe environment for the birds. Bird baths should always be high enough that cats or other animals can’t easily reach the birds. This will allow them to drink or bathe in peace. It should also be cleaned regularly and replenished with clean water. Stagnant water has a tendency to collect insects and germs, and this can be unsafe for the birds. The subsequent mold that can accumulate on bird baths is also potentially harmful, so make sure you scrub the bath clean when it’s visibly dirty. Provide these few safeguards, and birds are likely to keep flocking to your backyard.

No self respecting bird wants to bathe in dirty water, but with all the dirty birds out there, replacing the water in a bird bath every day or every other day can be a real hassle.  The solution to this dilemma is solar birdbaths.  With solar energy power, these birdbaths provide a constant stream of fresh water to all bathing birds.  With a solar birdbath, there’s no need for the daily painstaking refills. 

You might be surprised to find that the birds in your neighborhood frequent your yard more often when there’s always fresh water in the birdbath.  It’s also a good idea to place your birdbath in an area of the yard where there are shrubs or leafy trees nearby, that way the birds will feel safe from predators.  With a couple birdhouses and birdfeeders in the vicinity of the birdbath, you’ll have a veritable avian metropolis in no time!

I’ve found that most people store their bird baths in the winter months, but this can be the time of year when birds are most in need of water for drinking and bathing.  Water is sparse in winter months when there’s a lot of snow on the ground, or if it is snowing outside.  I ensure that I fill my birdfeeders every couple days in the winter, but I also wanted to provide my winged friends with fresh water.  Then I saw a friend of mine had a heated bird bath on her porch and I thought; what a great idea!  Heated bird baths are kept warm through an un-invasive heating supply located on the bottom of the bath, and are controlled through their own internal thermostat.

I bought a heated birdbath as an early Birthday present to myself, and enjoy the fact that I’m helping out my neighborhood birds, and also that I have an active bird gathering place on my back porch.