Jan. 29--I would like to attract more birds to my garden in coming years and would like advice on how to do so.
-- Ellen Sanderson, Highland Park
Winter is a good time to plan to enhance your garden with plants that will attract birds all year long. It takes more than feeders, bird houses and a birdbath, along with some flowers, for a truly bird-friendly garden.
Birds need a complete habitat that includes food, shelter, nesting areas and perching spots. A good garden for birds tends to have more of a natural look to it. Design your garden so that there are different vertical levels, each attracting and providing something important to different bird species. Some birds prefer the canopy of tall trees while others perch in the understory trees and shrubs. Different species of birds will have varying requirements and preferences for nesting, eating and shelter. Try to create as many of these levels as possible in your backyard garden to attract a larger variety of birds. Even open areas of soil can be beneficial by providing an area for birds to take a dust bath.
Select plants to provide food for birds at different times of year. Fruit of different plants will ripen in different seasons. For example, serviceberries provide spring-ripening fruit, and red-twig dogwood does in summer; hawthorns and crab apples provide fruit in fall and winter. Perennials such as purple coneflower and grasses such as a prairie dropseed provide seed to act as a food source. Sunflowers are quick-growing annual flowers that will produce seeds that are attractive to birds. Nectar-producing plants such as penstemon, Mexican bush sage and columbine are attractive to hummingbirds. It is a good idea to include a mix of evergreens in your planting to provide year-round shelter for the birds. When feasible, leave some dead branches on living trees to provide zones for the birds to perch on. Prune any dead branches that are safety hazards, though.
Leave the leaf litter in your garden beds this fall as an easy and environmentally friendly method to recycle material and help meet some of a bird's basic needs. Other organic materials such as small twigs, fallen seeds, fruits and berries should be left in the litter too. Many insects will thrive in the leaf litter and insect-eating birds will be attracted. Some birds will store their seeds and nuts in the leaf litter for later use.
There are many kinds of seeds and feeders to choose from if you decide to start a feeding program. Take the time to do some research as different species of birds prefer different types of seeds and feeders, and no one type is preferred by all birds. It is best to avoid buying bags of mixed birdseed as they contain a lot of filler, such as red millet, which most birds won't eat. The filler ends up on the ground, where it rots.
Place your feeder in an open area where it is easy to see 10 feet or so away from protective cover (for the birds) and convenient to refill (for you). If the feeders are too close to large plants then squirrels will have easy access to them. To maximize the number of species that visit your feeders, you'll want to offer a variety of food and at different heights above the ground.
Tim Johnson is senior director of horticulture for the Chicago Botanic Garden in Glencoe.
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