Ten steps to a bird friendly yard
John Shewey
50plus Magazine
- Create a Pollinator Patch
Nectar-rich native flowers attract and support hummingbirds, bees and butterflies. For western Oregon, great hummingbird favorites include Bee Balm (Monarda), Hummingbird Mint (Agastache), Oregon Grape (Mahonia aquifolium) and many varieties of Salvia.
- Leave the Trees
If you have a dying or dead (“snag”) tree that poses no potential risk of falling on a structure, leave it be! Woodpeckers and other birds love snags for insect hunting and nest holes.
- Build a Brush Pile
Many birds roost, hunt for bugs and hide from predators in brush piles, so take those yard trimmings and pile them in a corner — and keep on piling.
- Lose a Little Lawn
Do you want a golf green or a bird bonanza? Repurpose patches of lawn — the more the better — to make your yard a lot more bird friendly.
- Give the Birds a Bath
A water feature is a surefire way to bring birds to your backyard. Traditional birdbaths, refreshed each time you water the plants, and those with built-in pumps to circulate the water are great options. Misters are great for hot summer days when all kinds of birds — even hummingbirds — love a refreshing shower.
- Don’t be a Neat Freak
Perfectly groomed and manicured yards are gorgeous to us, but not to birds. They need a little messiness — dense shrubs, overgrown edges and patches of native grasses and weeds.
- Layer Up!
Create a multidimensional bird paradise by thinking in three dimensions when you plan and plant. Going highest to lowest: broad-canopy trees, fruit-bearing shrubs and small trees, flowering plants of varying heights, flowering ground covers and stair- step plants. The result is a visual feast for you and literal feast for the birds.
- Tree Mix
If you have space for new trees, mix deciduous (leaf) and conifer (needle) trees to provide habitat options for bird species with preferences. Go native if possible: try Douglas fir mixed with big leaf maple, Oregon ash and white oak.
- Rack the Rake
It’s tempting to rake away fallen leaves and twigs, but they contribute significantly to soil health while creating insect habitat that bug-eating birds love.
- Let Seeds be Seeds
Avoid deadheading seedheads on flowers because they feed many songbirds. Wait until late winter or early spring to cut back flowers and shrubs that need to be pruned for vigorous new growth.
John Shewey is an Oregon-based writer/photographer and the author of The Hummingbird Handbook and Birds of the Pacific Northwest.