How To Beautify Your Yard And Attract More Birds

It’s easy to attract birds to your yard as long as you’re putting out food regularly. In the worst case scenario, it won’t attract the exact birds you want but common birds, like sparrows and pigeons would come around.

However…

One thing you can be sure of is having a beautiful yard if you put in the effort and have birds visiting frequently while the neighbors can’t get enough of the new face of your yard.

But even better, beautifying your yard to attract birds would most likely get birds that won’t take a second look to come to visit. And you don’t have to spend thousands of dollars to change the look of your yard. It only takes a little time and effort.

Without further ado, I’ll go ahead and show you how to beautify your yard and attract birds at the same time.

Know What’s In Your Yard

The first thing you want to do is to map out a profile of your yard. Now I’m not asking you to go hire a professional surveyor or do anything technical. It’s really simple.

You just have to note the areas in your yard that have full shade, partial sunlight, and full exposure to the sun. Also, you’d mark the different soil types, wet and dry areas, or slopes around your home. This allows you to grow different plants in their favorable habitat, and also have a well-structured installation of other beautification structures.

Native Plants All The Way

Plants, flowers, and trees exude a calm, colorful, and sentient aura that’s sure to beautify any place. But they also double as a food source for birds. It’s hard to see any bird-friendly yard that won’t have colorful flowering plants and thick shrubs around. You can also do the same in your yard with little maintenance and effort if you cultivate native plants.

Audubon has a useful database that will show you a list of the best bird-friendly native plants and plant nurseries near you. You can search for them by inputting your email address and postal code.

Finally, ensure you plant a diverse food group, so your birds would be served all year round. 

The Hummingbird Hub

Attracting hummingbirds comes with a lot of benefits.

The red hue of a regular hummingbird feeder would make a bold statement in any yard. If you want something more extravagant,  add a hand-blown glass hummingbird feeder with its antique look.

Also, to make your yard hummingbird-friendly, you’d have to grow nectar plants that are a favorite of the hummers. This would also add some color to your yard.

Even better, as the hummingbirds sip the sweet nectar in the flowers, they would help plants multiply by producing seeds. It’s the effect of pollination. The icing on the cake, obviously, is that you’ll have a charm of hummers fluttering around your yard like it’s their new home.

The Fountain Of Nature

Birdbaths and fountains can be a sight to behold in a garden.

If you prefer exquisite, you may have to spend more than you’d like on a simple plastic bath that’s built to just attract birds. I, personally, would opt for a well-built fountain with water trickling down at different depths and heights. Little birds such as hummers would be able to bathe and preen at the edge and others would take a drink from the deeper basin.

Add a birdbath heater during harsh winter months to see even better results. Birds find it hard to get water and would flock to your fountain if it’s thawed and flowing during this period. If you can’t afford a fountain right off the bat, learn more about how to transform a birdbath into a low-cost one.

Cut Off Lawns

Remember how I said you should cultivate native plants?

Well, I didn’t mean leaving a wide expanse of lawn and only growing plants in a little space. And a majority of birders make this mistake. It might be tough, but you need to replace a large part of your lawn with actual plants, like shrubs, vines, and flowers. There’s no harm in doing it at your own pace.

A native garden would provide wildlife habitat for the birds with food and protection. But the lawn offers none of these, other than actually killing food. Lawn mowers dump over 80 million pounds of pesticide annually, killing what could have been breakfast and dinner for the birds.

In the process of opening up space for more plants, you’ll need to carry out lawn edging. This prevents the lawn from growing into the plant bed.

The kicker:

It also opens up a chance for you to beautify your yard with the many forms of edging borders you can build. If you’re not a DIYer, you may have to hire professionals to handle it.

Put Out Beautiful Feeders And Birdhouses

There’s no way around this one. You must have a feeder in your yard to attract birds.

And you can do it in class too, to get your yard to be an eye-pleasing, beautiful looking yard.

For instance, if you want to attract finches, you can put out brightly colored thistle feeders rather than skimping on a sock feeder.

However, adorning your yard with birdhouses is the ultimate move.

Birdhouses serve as an upscale home for birds in your yard to nest. And you can hang them in a tree, pole, or, on your porch to keep a close eye. The best part is that you can paint a birdhouse to your taste or as a hobby. If you are intrigued by this bit, you should learn how to build birdhouses as a fun activity either when you’re alone or with kids around. It’s quite easy to do.

Wrapping Up

As you can see, there are many ways to bring in more birds to your backyard. All it takes is a little foresight to properly prepare your surroundings for them.

When in doubt just add more plants, bird baths, and bird feeders to make your local birds feel right at home.

About The Author: Garrett Hayes is the head bird watcher and editor in chief over at BirdingHub.com. His love of birds is unmatched, though his love of coffee comes in at a close second!

Photo by Joe Wiedenmeier on Unsplash