Goldfinches love thistle, and squirrels don’t!
Suet cakes are a great way to attract woodpeckers.
ildlife abounds all around us, whether we are in the woods, at our favorite fishing spot or even in our own backyard. For many Tennesseans, the opportunity to be surrounded by wildlife – especially wild birds – is a real obsession, so when our staff approached me about writing a short feature on backyard birding, I jumped at the chance to share my passion with our Tennessee Out-of-Doors readers.
You might assume that I live in a rural area with large forested areas, but actually my home is in an established neighborhood well within the city limits. About 25 years ago, before being developed, it was typical West Tennessee farmland habitat with trees along the fence rows and open cropland. As the lots were built, people began planting trees and it now has a good variety, which is an important part of attracting birds. In my yard alone, we have river birch, maples, sweet bay magnolias, willow oak, and critical species for roosting such as holly and eastern red cedar. The evergreens give the birds a safe place to nest, and I’ve noticed that they really like to roost there at night, especially in the winter.
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As an avid hunter and fisherman all my life, I’ve always enjoyed observing nature. It was about 15 years ago that I really began to make my love for watching and attracting wildlife, especially birds, a serious hobby of mine. It started with putting up a purple martin house and a few bluebird boxes. With success in attracting these human-tolerant species (I average about three pair of martins and at least one pair of bluebird nests each year) that I began to enhance my yard for other species. Backyard birding is a real obsession for me now. Finding the right kinds of feeders, seed and habitat improvements to attract birds is something I really enjoy doing. It’s amazing how many different species of birds that will live and feed in your backyard if you provide the right mix of cover, food and water. In fact, with the help of my Kaufman’s Birds of North America book that I keep handy, I’ve been able to identify more than 30 species in my yard. I’m fortunate to have the opportunity in my position with the Tennessee Wildlife Federation to work from home. My desk is situated in my office, where I have a great view of my backyard garden through the office window. This gives me the chance to really observe the birds that live in and around my yard. I’ve learned a few tricks and tips that I’m happy to share with you in this article. Disclaimer: I’m not nor do I pretend to be an expert. I’m just someone who enjoys seeing birds use my yard for their home. I rely on websites like the TWRA’s Watchable Wildlife site, the Purple Martin Society and the National Wildlife Federation to learn more about birding. In fact, our family just had our yard approved as a certified backyard habitat through the NWF’s program.
Having plenty of cover is so important when attracting birds. In addition to the trees already mentioned, I have landscape plantings such as crape myrtle that allow the birds to come down to the ground to feed and then fly back into the cover. The doves, especially, prefer feeding from the ground, so always throw a little seed out for them. When it comes to feed and feeders, there are plenty of choices on the market. Bird feeding is now a multi-billion dollar industry in the United States, and enthusiasts can get seeds of all types. I choose to keep it simple and have found that black sunflower seeds are versatile and attract a great variety of birds. I use a feeder designed to be squirrel resistant to help prevent them being emptied in one day. Notice I use the words squirrel resistant and not squirrel proof, as I don’t think it’s possible to keep these little furry guys from getting to your seed. I have no problem attracting everything from finches and redbirds to migrants like rose-breasted grosbeaks and indigo buntings. I do have a couple of hummingbird feeders that get really active beginning in mid July, as well. Additionally, I like to add suet cakes to my feeding station. The woodpeckers really seem to enjoy the cakes and, despite their relative high cost ($5 for the big squares), the enjoyment of seeing a redbellied or downy woodpecker is worth it to me. The other critical component that has allowed me to enjoy more birds is the addition of fresh water. I placed a bird bath right outside my Tennessee Out-Of-Doors | 9