Create Bird Habitats in Your Landscape

Source(s): Stephen D Pettis

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Create suitable habitats for birds through landscaping. Gardeners can provide birds with the things they need to survive and birds can provide gardeners with hours of enjoyment in the backyard.

Planning a landscape that is suitable for birds is easy. Sketch the existing landscape, making note of all structures, plantings and topographical features. Choose areas to plant trees and shrubs that birds can utilize. Annuals and perennials that flower throughout the season attract insects that birds may feed on. Standing dead trees will provide habitats for birds such as woodpeckers.

After making plant choices that provide food, shelter and cover for birds, artificial features should be considered. Water sources such as birdbaths, fountains and ponds may be added to landscapes to attract birds. The features should be in the open away from any place cats and other predators can hide. Rocks and water plants add to a water feature’s attractiveness to birds as well as keeping the water fresh. Man made birdhouses can be installed. These should be placed in sheltered spots near a shrub or tree. Finally, birdfeeders can be added. All bird feeders should be placed in the open near some sort of cover. Baffles and guards should be placed on mounting poles of both birdfeeders and houses to prevent predation.

Trees and Shrubs for Birds
Plant	Plant type	Feature	Birds attracted
Oak	Tree	Excellent nesting	Blue jays, sparrows, acorn woodpeckers
Pine	Tree	Excellent nesting	Robins, purple finches, mourning doves, warblers, sparrows
Holly	Large shrub	Shelter	Towhees, thrashers, mockingbirds
Elderberry	Large shrub	Summer fruit	Warblers, grosbeaks, goldfinches
Dogwood	Small tree	Nesting, late summer fruit	Bell’s vireos, summer tanagers
American Beautyberry	Shrub	Late summer fruit	Many birds
Native roses	Shrub	Nesting, cover	Many birds
Eastern Red Cedar	Tree	Nesting, winter fruit	Sparrows, robins, mock-ingbirds, many others
Winterberry Dec. Holly	Small shrub	Late winter fruit	Robins, blackbirds, cedar waxwings

Attracting birds to one’s yard by birdscaping can be rewarding. Birds are not only beautiful and fun to watch, but also provide control of adult insects, grubs, and caterpillars. By improving suburban and urban landscapes, people can help replace bird habitat that has been reduced or destroyed by development. To learn more about attracting birds to your landscape, contact the Gwinnett County Extension Service at (678) 377-4010.

Feeders
Squirrel proof feeders	Spinners, flippers, trapdoors prevent pesky squirrels from robbing feeders
Platform feeders	Feeds many birds at once
Tube feeders	Plastic tube with staggered holes
Hummingbird feeders	Glass feeders filled with sugar water (1 part sugar, 4 parts water; no red dye needed; boil and cool before use)
Suet feeders	Wire suspended suet cake. Birds often hang upside down to feed.
Thistle feeders	Narrow tube feeders
Peanut feeders	Attracts woodpeckers
Window feeders	Suction cups attach feeder to window

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Resource(s):

• Attracting Birds
• Landscape Plants for Georgia

Reviewer(s):

• K. Lynn Davis, CEA- Turner County. The University of Georgia College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences.
• Brandy Wilkes, CEA- Cook County. The University of Georgia College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences.

Center Publication Number: 105