Catch the Bird Watching Bug

Bird watching is one of the fastest growing outdoor activities in the world. It provides a relaxing and educational diversion from the stresses of life and work. It can be a meditative, solitary experience or a social activity. There are bird watching clubs and organizations you can join, bird watching tours, trips and vacations. Unlike many hobbies, bird watching combines both indoor and outdoor activities. The indoor component includes educating yourself about the habitats, migratory patterns, and the natural histories of the species that interest you. You will be compiling lists of birds sighted and learning their songs and habits. The outdoor component includes creating a backyard habitat for birds, bird watching excursions, photographing birds, and documenting sightings. Your degree of involvement in this new and exciting hobby is strictly up to you. You can put up a birdfeeder and let it go at that, or join bird watching clubs and participate in official bird counts. Bird watching is a fun and addictive hobby and you can do it anywhere, but the best place to start is in your own backyard. To create a landscape that attracts birds, a year-round food supply, shelter, and water are essential. Take a good look at your backyard. Does it provide those things? If not, there are easy changes that can be made to make your yard more appealing to birds. Evaluate Your Yard Take stock of what you have. Draw a map of your yard. Include buildings, sidewalks, fences, trees, and shrubs. If you already have birdfeeders and birdbaths, include them as well. Note the sunny areas and the areas that are predominately shady. Give some serious thought to what you already have. Decide what plants and trees you want to keep and which ones have to go. A mature tree offers shade and a place to hang birdhouses. Think long and hard before cutting down one tree to replace with another. Make a plan. Use your map to help identify barren spots and weaknesses in your landscape. Would a birdbath and a flower garden work in the left rear corner of the yard? Consider a row of blueberry bushes or raspberries instead of a privet hedge for privacy. The ideas and possibilities are endless. Choose Your Favorites and Theirs What birds do you want to attract? What are your favorites? Find out which type of plants and trees they prefer and add them to your landscaping scheme. Add Variety Plants can provide birds with food in many forms; fruit, seeds, flower buds, nectar and sap. Shrubs and trees are important to birds, not only for shelter during inclement weather, but also for nesting materials and of course, nesting sites. A large variety of plants will attract the largest variety of birds. Choose Carefully Species native to your area will survive and thrive in the climate, lighting and soil conditions in your backyard. They also offer the foods best suited to birds in your area. Tropical plants will not survive harsh northern winters, but some fruit and nut trees will need the cold dormant down-time to produce the following season. Give Them Shelter Birds prefer to settle in areas that imitate their natural environment. Areas of thick, dense growth where birds can nest, perch, and escape from predators will do that. The key to successful landscaping is to add plants gradually. Take your budget and time constraints into consideration. If you let your landscape evolve slowly, you will keep frustrations to a minimum. You will also be able to document how each change affects the number and variety of birds visiting your backyard haven. About the author: Elizabeth Jean Allen is a high school science teacher, author, and freelance writer. What little free time she has is spent reading, watching, and writing about birds. For more information on attracting birds to your backyard, check out her website at www.southcarolinabirder.com.