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"Song Bird Habitat"
You
can increase the population of Song Birds in your back yard
with Feeders, Bird Baths, and Habitat. This page deals with Habitat.
Much has been written, and countless photographs taken, of back yards
where every blade of grass is 1.8 inches high with not one weed in
sight. But your Feathered Friends may pass over such a Photographic
Paradise in favor of a more natural tangle of Seed-bearing weeds.
The same goes for Wildlife; you will seldom see Deer in the middle of a
mowed lawn, but rather along the overgrown edges where there is a
varied menu and an element of concealment.
Song Birds and other Wildlife have little attraction to an area
where everything is manicured just so. But when you add the
tangled shrubs and vines where they can hide a Nest, or hide from
Predators, then the attraction increases.
If a babbling Brook or a man-made simulation is nearby, then the
attraction compounds proportionately. Fence Rows with weeds and seeds
further enhance their vision of Paradise. Now if you planted Shrubs and
Trees with winter fruit, then you begin to create a mighty tempting
Song Bird magnet.
The truth is that all Creatures are attracted to a certain Habitat, and
the prospect that Humans can replicate those conditions is a source of
enjoyment and satisfaction to Gardeners and Bird Watchers alike.
Attracting a flock of multi-lingual Songsters to your back
yard is a notable accomplishment to Gardeners and Bird Watchers.
And if you happen to raise Nestlings to adulthood there is an
extra feeling of accomplishment not totally unlike having Grandchildren.
A beauty of Habitat creation is that it need not be a gigantic
undertaking. One Berry-bearing Shrub planted this year may attract a
new species of Song Bird to your winter yard, which will increase your
enthusiasm next year, so you may plant two or three others Shrubs.
And the Song Birds will help you in this venture by dropping the Seeds
where they perch, causing volunteer plants to spring up at just exactly
the right place. And before you know it, your back yard will be alive
with the activities of colorful Songsters, new and old.
This is a
partial list of Weeds, Shrubs, and Trees that Song Birds
find attractive, and you will find many of them at your local
Garden Center.
"Weeds" that Song Birds love:
- Allow wild Thistle to grow Seeds for the Finches.
- Finches also love Dandelion Seeds.
- Wild Primrose Seeds are a favorite.
- Poison Ivy develops nourishing Seeds.
- Virginia Creeper.
- Staghorn Sumac.
- Multiflora Rose hips.
- Foxtail.
- PokeBerries.
Many of our favorite Fruits are also relished by song Birds.
Plant extras, so there are some left for you.
- Blueberries
- Raspberries
- Goose Berries
- Grapes
- Elderberries
- Strawberries
- Buckwheat
Most Trees and Shrubs will harbor Insect food,
and provide nesting sites and shelter from predators.
- Mulberry.
- Cherry.
- Flowering Crabapple.
- Flowering Pear.
- Mountain Ash.
- Flowering Dogwood.
- Service Berry.
- Holly.
- Cotoneaster,
- Trumpet Vine,
- Mimosa
- Beechnut
An overlooked Habitat element is
the Spring planting of a bag of Quality Bird Seed.
And don't forget Sunflowers and Purple Cone Flowers.
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