The Plant Man column for publication the week of 01/04/04 - 01/10/04 (740 words)
The Plant Man by Steve Jones
Make your garden "bird friendly" this winter
Birds and gardens. They just seem to belong together. A landscape without birds would be a sad place indeed. In fact, we take the presence of birds in our lives so much for granted that we hardly even notice them for the most part. They're just ... there. But we'd certainly miss them if they weren't!
Several readers of this column have sent me e-mail with comments or questions about wild birds in the garden, and I thought I'd start by talking about caring for birds during the cold winter months.
At this time of year, birds have three basic needs: food water and shelter. We can do quite a bit to provide for all three of those needs!
There are a number of good bird feeders available in specialty stores or from online sources. Some claim to be "squirrel proof" but for the most part I'd say "squirrel resistant" is a better description as the little guys seem capable of overcoming even the most ingenious obstacles!
Think carefully before you position your new bird feeder. If you like to watch the birds as they munch away, you'll obviously want to place the feeder where you can easily see it from your window.
Birds prefer to visit a feeder that is fairly close to a dense bush or two. This gives them a staging post where they can land before approaching the feeder. It also provides a nearby refuge in case they have to escape from a predator such a hawk or your neighbor's prowling cat!
It is a temptation to buy a sack of the cheapest possible bird feed at the supermarket. Feeds that contain a high proportion of cracked corn, milo and wheat are generally low cost, but aren't particularly desirable to a lot of birds. You'll tend to find a lot of spilled and uneaten beneath your bird feeder, and that can attract rats. Not such a good idea!
I find it's worth paying a little more and getting a sack of sunflower seeds which seem very popular with the birds who visit my garden! If you intend to attract a particular breed, you might want to consult a specialty store or look online. I found a long and very helpful article online at
By the way, Dr. Geis advocates keeping bird feeders stocked year round, rather than just in winter, even though other sources of food are more readily available in the warmer months. If you enjoy seeing birds in your back yard, it sounds like a good idea.
At this time of year, I also hang cakes of suet from tree branches. I buy them ready-made, but it's fairly simple to make your own if you prefer. I found a number of recipes at
In addition to food, it is important that birds have clean, fresh drinking water available.
The best bird baths have a wide, shallow bowl, no more than three inches deep at the center. The bird bath can be as plain or as fancy as you wish: the birds won't mind either way! A friend of mine set up a "dripper" in his bird bath and says that birds seems to be particularly attracted to the sight and sound of the dripping water.
Check your bird bath regularly to make sure the water is clean. Leaves and other debris that fall into the bird bath quickly turn to slime, making the water unpalatable. When the temperature falls below freezing, add warm water to the bath several times a day.
Birds also need shelter, and I'll discuss various types of bird houses in a future column. Meanwhile, take a moment to check that your bird feeder is well stocked and the bird bath is clean and fresh!
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