Birds & Wildlife
Provide Shelter for Birds
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Make birds feel at home in your yard, with good shelter.
A lovely yard just seems more complete when songbirds live nearby. Your trees, shrubs, and perennials provide vital food, protection from predators, and nesting spots. Here's what you can do to make your yard a good sheltering spot for birds.
Project Steps
Evaluate Your Yard
Birds look at your yard from a different perspective than you do. They seek bushes and trees for shelter from predators and the elements. They like brush piles and birdhouses. Take stock of the bird-friendly plants and places in your yard. White pine, holly, arborvitae, and other broadleaf and needle evergreens provide great winter shelter and food for birds.
Research
Not all birds want the same kind of food or shelter. It's fun to study what birds are in your area and what their special needs are. If they like what they see in your yard, they'll stick around.
Add Shelter
Birds hide out in different canopy layers. That's why having a mixture of trees, shrubs, vines, and tall grasses provides optimal shelter. You can add some of these elements if they're missing in your yard. Another idea is to leave a part of your yard for a brush pile. Just pile old branches over some logs to provide winter shelter for ground-loving birds.
Keep an Eye on Things
You don't need to do much to maintain your bird shelters. You may want to inspect them for damage, or to make sure that they're safe enough from cats and other predators. Birds will let you know if the shelter is good by using it.