What advice do you have for beginner birdwatchers who want to attract birds at their bird feeders?
What birds are likely to visit and what can I do to improve the number of birds coming in my garden?
Curious to see your tips.
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For choice of bird seed, I would go with Black Oil Sunflower, and for the garden, planting fruiting trees and seed bearing plants should attract lots of birds.
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- have a water source nearby - birdbath, pond, etc.
- set feeders up near trees and/or shrubs, for birds to wait their turn in, or to retreat to with their seeds
- have patience as it may take time (a couple of weeks?) for birds to discover your offerings
- different foods appeal to different birds, I like to use Black Oil sunflower seed as mentioned above, suet, sometimes fruit and nut mixes, nyjer seed, sometimes fresh fruit in Spring when Icterus galbula (Baltimore Orioles) are around, for example
- use Explore on iNat, set location to your area, filter for Passerines, see what others are observing, and tailor your offerings to those species?
Happy birding!
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Fill the feeders with black oil sunflower seeds, suet, fruit, and nectar (in the summer) to attract a wide variety of birds! I would also consider adding a permanent source of water, such as a small pond, if you have the space.
where are you situated?
wildlife in general will be more plentiful in areas with more microbiomes available. if you can set up frog shelters, varied and/or native plant life, water features of any kind – even a spot of bare soil for some tunneling insects – do so. the birds will come, as will many others. :)
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NABU (a German environmental protection agency) recommends planting shrubs which are native to your area, have berry-like fruit (not necessarily berries in the botanical sense) and ideally have thorns or spines.
Additionally, an insect friendly garden will also likely increase the amount of birds you attract.
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I have found that since certain birds like certain seeds you can go a little farther than where you want to see the bird and just scatter the preferred seeds of the species on the ground and if it happens to land just keep bringing more seeds but closer to the place you want to see the bird.
(adding on) Try to keep away from strong smells and bright or shiny things, the reason being is when birds are flying around, sunlight refracting off a CD, or a scrap price of metal, could momentarily blind them and cause them to crash into things and or not come back all together.
And some smells, like garlic or pepper irritate them and make them not want to come back.
Look for iNat projects involving bird feeders and feeding birds.
There can be several things to consider when placing bird feeders depending on your outdoor area.
This is the way.
Planting native plants that attract insects and provide food and shelter for birds is by far the best way to attract birds to your yard. If you have room for a tree I’d suggest whatever local oak species that fits your lot size as a first choice.
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For smaller plants, native Rosa spp., Sorbus spp., Cornus spp., and Prunus spp., are also great choices, probably, but there are a lot of other plants as well that depend on where you’re at.
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I don’t know where you are, but in North America, serviceberries are great.
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I also suggest this to be the most effective way of attracting birds.
He seems to be in Romania, so now I see many of the suggestions might need some adaptation.
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