Making Your Backyard A Bird-Friendly Place
February 21, 2008
Hang bird feeders with a variety of types of bird food.
Plant native plants that flower and fruit.
They provide the best food sources for wildlife, while generally requiring less fertilizer, less water, and less effort in controlling pest. Native plants may support 10 to 50 times as many species of native wildlife as non-native plants.
Provide nest boxes and nesting material.
Build a brush pile.
A brush pile will provide winter shelter and forages sites for birds. If left up through the summer, some backyard brush piles will attract nesting birds.
Try to leave two trees with cavities per ¼ acre for nesting and shelter.
Provide a source of water.
Mulch your plants.
An added benefit of mulches in a bird garden is their value in luring insects, snails, and other creatures, which become dinner for the birds in your yards. Don’t use weed barrier blocks.
Leave some leaves.
Leaf litter makes a great spot where birds such as the eastern towhees, white-throated sparrows, and others can forage for insects, seeds, and other foods.
Mark large windows with decals or streamers to prevent birds from flying into them.
Keep your cat indoors.
Food habit studies have shown that 25% of the diet of an urban housecat is wildlife, mostly birds. A bell placed on the cat’s collar does not protect wildlife.
For more information about creating bird and wildlife friendly habitat see the Atlanta Audubon Society and National Wildlife Federation.
This fact sheet was adapted by Alice Miller-Keyes and Tim Keyes from Evangelical Environmental Network and Georgia Conservancy.
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