 | Bring wildlife to your garden or backyard by adding two key elements, a birdhouse and bird bath. Adding these two will not only welcome your nature neighbors but also provide them with a wonderful home and a place to bathe and drink fresh water.
We do our part by making sure our wildlife friends have plenty to eat such as fruits, nuts and seeds but what about shelter and something as vital as water? This basic necessity is often overlooked when providing care to our nature friends. We may assume that water is always accessible to birds, squirrels, butterflies and frogs but in certain areas that’s not always the case.
Creating a place for birds and other creatures to bathe and drink can be as simple as placing a bowl or shallow container on the ground. If this is your chosen method, it’s a good idea to secure your birdbath into the ground. Loosen the dirt where you choose to place your birdbath and firmly press it into the ground. This is to prevent tipping of the bath. A suitable sized birdbath would be around ˝ inch deep and 6-8 inches wide. Of course you may decide to purchase a birdbath such as a pedestal mounted style but this may limit the amount and type of wildlife you attract to your backyard, such as frogs who love to sit in the water. The good thing is that you can always use both methods, which is what I would recommend to reap the most benefits.
Changing out dirty water often and providing fresh water will ensure birds and other wildlife to return on a daily basis. A thorough cleaning, about once a week, with some water and a scrub brush will remove all unwanted algae and mold that may be forming.
Animals that may grace you with their appearance include, but are not limited to: bluebirds, wrens, squirrels, butterflies, frogs, raccoons, groundhogs and chipmunks. Adding a birdbath to your yard or garden will create a whole new experience for you and your new wildlife friends. Capturing these beautiful moments with photos is an excellent idea and creating a new birdbath album is priceless!
Another way to bring wildlife to your backyard is to build a birdhouse. There is no greater feeling than watching a bluebird create a home-like atmosphere for its family, building a nest, tending to its youngsters and eventually moving on. Our job as humans is to create a place for our feathered friends to call home, even if it’s just for a little while.
When building a birdhouse for nature, the best materials to use should be from nature. It’s a good idea to stray from using paints and stains since the fumes can be dangerous. All a bird family really needs is a good, sturdy well built home. A basic rectangular box 5 inches wide and 10 inches high will work just fine. It should be built of ˝ inch spruce, pine or plywood.
To start, measure and cut:
- 4- 5”x 10” pieces
- 1-5”x5” piece of wood for the bottom of your birdhouse
- 1-6”x6” piece of scrap wood for the roof
- A piece slightly larger in length for the backing to attach it to the tree
- First, line all your wood pieces up into a rectangular box shape and secure together with galvanized nails.
- Next, cut a hole 3/8 inches in diameter at the bottom for proper drainage.
- After creating a drainage system you need to make an opening for the birds to come and go, a door. Your birdhouse “door” should be approximately 1˝ inch in diameter, no bigger, and placed near the top of the front side of the house.
- After nailing together and creating openings, secure the larger piece of wood to the back of the birdhouse so it can be easily secured to a post or tree.
- Your final step is to attach the roof. Line up the wood so that it will have overhang on the top of your birdhouse. This is so that when it rains the water can run off without interfering or causing problems for the family. And on a sunny day they can sit and perch to enjoy the day or hunt for food.
Placing a perch is a nice added touch to your birdhouse and can be beneficial to the bird family, however it can bring unwanted visitors to your new bird families’ home. These visitors may want to linger on the perch and this may disturb your new tenants. Either way is fine, you can always make two and experiment to find which way is more beneficial and simple for your bird family.
The best time to build and place a birdhouse in your yard is late winter-early spring. Birds are frequently shopping for a new home at this time. Make sure to place the birdhouse at least 5 feet above the ground, this makes it easy for the birds to reach their home. You will start to notice some very interested lookers and potential tenants. Soon you will see your new neighbors moving in, sit back and observe how a bird family lives. After the young have left the nest and your tenants have checked out, give the birdhouse a good cleaning. Chances are your feathered friends will return again.
Adding these two simple elements to your backyard or garden will increase the amount of wildlife that passes through. Not only will you be presented with fantastic photo opportunities, you will be creating shelter, water and most importantly, lives for young birds and their families. Create your backyard habitat for wildlife today.
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