Attracting birds to your garden in winter can bring life, movement and interest to an otherwise quiet space. Northern Utah is home to hundreds of wild birds, with most leaving for the winter months. Those that stay can struggle to find readily available food sources. Unlike deer, winter bird survival is often dependant upon artificial feeding. Making these birds welcome in your home garden by making available food resources, water for bathing and protection is a great way to introduce children to nature. Most wild birds will eat Black Oil Sunflower Seeds, which are readily available at grocery stores, hardware stores, and home and garden centers. For more choices, check out the Wild Bird Center of Layton, a great resources for all things birds.
Winter guests to my own garden include robins, dove, sapsuckers and chickadees. I'd love to hear what birds you are seeing.
Bird feeders are best placed where the birds will feel safe from predators and where the view of the birds can be easily enjoyed by you and your family. Three to five feet away from a window is great as the feeding can be easily seen, and the window is close enough that the birds will not have a lot of speed going if they were to run into it.
Once you start feeding the birds, it is imperative that you continue through the winter. Birds develop feeding patterns and will begin to rely on your food sources. Many trees, shrubs and perennials can be planted in spring that will help birds overwinter. Natives and native cultivars are particularly important as the birds recognize these plants as something they have utilized before. Plants with berries, nuts and blossoms are beneficial, with Juniper berries being a favorite for Cedar Waxwing, and Robins favoring Mountain Ash berries. Birds will also eat from coneflowers and other perennials that have been allowed to go to seed.
I have found that by encouraging birds in winter, I also receive many bird visitors in summer. By relying less on pesticides, and encouraging birds to visit more, I have found a significant reduction in the number of 'bad' bugs I see in my garden.
Bird watching and gardening are two very popular hobbies, and combining the two can be very rewarding.
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