Creating A Bird Sanctuary In Your Yard

March 5, 2005 | sweetliberty

[sweetliberty]

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As it turned out, the previous thread on this topic generated a lot of interest and several people recommended doing it as a regular thread, so here is the second installment.

How you go about creating a bird sanctuary in your yard, or outdoor space, will depend on a number of givens, some which can modified, and others over which you have no control. One of these is geographical location or climate zone. If you live in the Colorado Rockies, you are not going to attract Cardinals, no matter how many black oil sunflower seeds you put out, and if you're on a beach in Florida, it's a pretty safe bet that there will be no snow buntings visiting your yard, the cornucopia of insects notwithstanding. Of course, if global warming keeps encroaching on us, we may soon find Alaska overrun with Parrots and Flamingos, but, I digress.

Within any given area, there are a variety of habitats, so no matter what your specific location, it is possible to vastly increase the types and numbers of birds in your immediate environment by modifying your habitat to make it more bird friendly to a wider array of birds native to your region.

Another "given" is your available space. If you live in a cottage in the woods by a stream, you will obviously have a lot more options available to you than if you live in an urban apartment with nothing more than a small porch or balcony. Of course, I think the majority of us live somewhere between those extremes. The point is, even if you have nothing more than a porch, you can still make it bird friendly, thereby increasing your enjoyment of these highly entertaining creatures. If you don't even have so much as a porch, I would suggest moving!

The purpose of this thread is to share ideas for maximizing our outdoor spaces to make them appealing to birds and butterflies, to share our experiences and knowledge or expertise, photos and resources. The discussion is pretty free-flowing and may expand to include gardening, landscaping and related topics. The direction the thread takes will really be up to the FReepers who post on it. We can focus on a different topic every week or two, or just keep it open and casual, updating the thread periodically. The main thing is that we learn and have fun.

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Link to previous thread: Attention Bird Gardening Enthusiasts

[sweetliberty]

"my only real problem with them is that they delight in lunching just outside the ceiling to floor window my dog likes to lay next to to watch the world go by ..... every time those bunnies show up, he goes ballistic!!! The bunnies aren't afraid of him so I usually have to close the curtain in order to get him to quiet down."

LOL! I can see that. It makes a funny mental image.

[Zacs Mom]

"It makes a funny mental image."

No need to imagine...



Here is what the dog sees

and

here is what the bunnies see.

Pretty scary, isn't he!?

;^)

[sweetliberty]

I can see bunny's point.

[R. Scott]

i enjoy watching grackles – being chased by the sparrows!

[Budge]

SL, between the kitty, birds and bunnies you have really created a sanctuary!

[sweetliberty]

Don't forget the squirrels and chipmunks. Even some possum about at night.

[Vicki]

I need some help. I had hummingbirds coming to my feeder until the roofing guys broke the branch that it was on.

I then moved it close by and they have completely stopped coming. My neighbor across the street says she has them at her house all day long. I haven't switched nectars. What can I do to bring them back?

[sweetliberty]

How often are you changing the feeder(s) and how many do you have?

I change my feeders every other day and I have 5 of them, located in different spots. Seems that different ones prefer different spots. Alos, I have read not to use soap to clean them because apparently the hummers can taste it and they don't like it.

[MamaTexan]

WOW!

More great pics for the thread!

Zacs Mom, that is one FEROCIOUS-looking dog! :)

Lot of catchup to do on FR. I love the summer, but with the garden in full production, the grass growing like crazy and the girls home all day, not much time left for FReeping....(sniffle)

Cool baby woodpecker pics! Our Papa Woodpecker is now occupied chasing his chicks away from the feeder now that they're big enough to compete for the food.... and I thought Blue Jays were noisy!!

Hubby went to the Lake this weekend and reported an entire flock of painted buntings hanging around the shore.

Hopefully, after we get the pond in we'll have some of our own!

We still have the regular visitors- Cardinals, Woodpeckers, Jays, Finches, Titmice, Chickadees and Sparrows, along with the Barn and Scissor-tail Swallows that don't visit the feeders.

We also have the Buzzards, Red Tail Hawks and the occasional Heron flyover.

The Blackchins are still here, but I'm anxious to see if the Rufous hummers stop by this year in August.

Guess that's it for now....have a GREAT garden day, everyone!!

:)

[GodBlessUSA]

Good Morning MamaTexan!:)
How are you? Me too with the garden and chores. The weather is great and I'm enjoying it! I hope you are too!
I just love the summertime! :)
I hope you get your pond! I will be happily jealous of you! When you get a chance, please post some pictures of your garden. I would love to see them.

This is funny. Remember I told you Texas Bluebonnets were coming up. Well, they were weeds. LOL! I have to check images to see if I can find what they look like when they come up. I'm trying not to pull weeds only because I end up pulling up seedlings.
Enjoy your Garden and the Birds!!

[Dysart]

Check out this great photo:

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-chat/1427702/posts

[Dysart]

Can someone advise me how best to deal with the ever growing problem I'm having with cocoons(silkworms?) in one of my trees? I've heard of ppl burning them, sawing off limbs, and using chemicals. Which is best or is some other method preferred?

[sweetliberty]

"Our Papa Woodpecker is now occupied chasing his chicks away from the feeder now that they're big enough to compete for the food.... and I thought Blue Jays were noisy!!"

These Downies do make quite a ruckus. There is one of the babies that reminds me of a human baby. He doesn't leave when I am out there, even right under the tree, and his beak is always covered with clumps of suet. It is so funny. So I'm standing there chuckling at him and he's looking at me like, "what?"

[sweetliberty]

I saw a couple of these today in my travels.

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[sweetliberty]

That's a great shot!

[GodBlessUSA]

LOL!!! Boy, that squirrel sure is lucky. :) What a beautiful bird!

[GodBlessUSA]

Incredible pictures Sweetliberty! What kind of birds are they? Beautiful!

[sweetliberty]

Scissortail Flycatchers.

[sweetliberty]

I didn't take the pictures. I found them to post so y'all could see what kind of bird it was. Very distinctive birds. Used to see them out west, but these were the first ones I've seen here.

[rustbucket]

Our Papa Woodpecker is now occupied chasing his chicks away from the feeder now that they're big enough to compete for the food

I saw that happen today with the red bellied woodpecker that has a nest next door.