Backyard Birding, A Quick and Easy Guide to Getting Started
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Backyard Birding
Having a bird feeder in the backyard is a great start to this hobby because it also makes it that much easier to spot the different species that come and go on your garden. What will you feed them though to keep different species flying through all times of the year? There are many options, and that is part of your learning path.
If you feed the same thing every day, all year, you'll only attract a few birds at certain times of the year. A little variation will allow you to discover and watch a few different species.
What else do you need get started on this most satisfying and relaxing hobby? Read on...
In the Spotlight
"Now Anyone Can Hand-Feed Their Own Backyard Birds"
excerpts from the first video in the A Bird In The Hand video series. Learn how to quickly teach your backyard birds to feed out of your bare hand. For more information on this and other how to videos in the series, visit howtoenjoyhummingbirds.com
Runtime: 6:44 | 4412 views | 18 Comments
automatically generated by YouTube
The Great Backyard Bird Count
- The Great Backyard Bird Count
- What is the GBBC?
How to Participate
Photo Gallery
Learn About Birds
GBBC for Kids...
Keep a Backyard Bird Guestbook
Consider having a notebook of some sort and started keeping track of the birds you saw in your yard. Do you want to go into more details of your observations? Draw columns across the page.Set each column to represent a type of bird, e.g. cardinal, chickadee, house sparrow, etc. and each row down to represent a date. Set each column to represent a type of bird, e.g. cardinal, chickadee, house sparrow, etc. and each row down to represent a date.
List the date daily and put an X in the column for every bird you see. It is easy really, takes very little time of your time and you may end up enjoying it. Arrange the bird feeder so that it is in your view all the time so that you always see which bird is coming or going. You'll probably learn soon enough which bird will come at what time. It should be fun.
A bird guestbook can be as simple as you like. Use a journal type book and make an entry when you see something interesting. Get started, it will be great to know who are your guests.
Get a Backyard Bird Calendar
Backyard Birds 2009 Calendar
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Backyard Birds 2009 Calendar
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Backyard Birds 2009 Calendar
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Audubon 365 Songbirds and Other Backyard Birds Picture-A-Day Calendar 2009 (Picture-A-Day Wall Calendars)
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Backyard Birds 2009 (One with Nature)
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Where to shop
- Backyard Birding @ DIY Home Improvement
Shop for Air Tools, Appliances, Building Supplies & Heavy Equipment, Electrical, Hand Tools, Hardware, Heating & Cooling, Lawn & Garden, Lighting, Organization & Storage, Painting Tools & Supplies, Plumbing, Power Tools, Power Tool Accessories, Safety & Security and Home Improvement Outlet at The DIY Home Improvement Store. Shop DIY Home Improvement for the best of everyday low prices on home improvement tools, hardware, building supplies and more.
Backyard Birding Resourse Links
- Bird Main Menu
- An introduction to backyard birds
- Bird Watching Habits, Learn About Backyard Birds
- Bird watching Information about the nesting, feeding, and mating habits of North American backyard birds
- Backyard Birding | birding .com
- Birds are a joy to watch. We can show you how to attract more birds to your yard and keep them safe from preditors. Birds will come to your yard if you give them what they need...
- Seasons of the Birds - With George & Kit Harrison
- Current information about backyard birds with seasonal highlights, Backyard birding books and video tapes
Getting Started
All it takes is for you to leave some food outside your door and some creature, either feathered or furred, will make an appearance and show their appreciation. Before you know it, you will be learning about who they are the and after a while, you'll recognize individuals and the messages in their behavior and song.Soon you will get to the point where you want to attract and keep a particular "friend." What you do will be determined by where you live, and the time of year. For example, would you like to see a cardinal at a sunflower feeder in Virginia on a winter day, a goldfinch at a thistle feeder in Massachusetts and hummingbirds at a nectar feeder in southern California?
A bird field identification book with pictures of species of your feathered friend will help you find out the names of those you're likely to see and to expect.
Best-Ever Backyard Birding Tips: Hundreds of Easy Ways to Attract the Birds You Love to Watch (Rodale Organic Gardening Books)
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Backyard Birding for Kids
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Everything You Need to Know About Birding and Backyard Bird Attraction
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The Wildlife Habitat Journal - Restoring and Exploring Wildlife Habitat in Your Own Backyard
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Backyard Birding (Nature Companion Series)
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Feeder Selection
Regardless of the season and where you are, it's always healthier for the birds to get their "hand-outs" at a feeding station, off the ground. Food that sits on the ground for even a short time is exposed to potential contamination by dampness, mold, bacteria, animal droppings, lawn fertilizers and pesticides.When feeding, try to keep bird seeds as dry as possible - seed will spoil when it gets damp or wet. Feed sparingly, cover your feeder with a plastic dome. Look for feeders with drainage holes in the bottoms of both the feeder hopper and the seed tray. The seed tray is used to catch dropped seeds while allowing spent seed shells to blow away.
Decorative Feeders
Birdhouses & Feeders You Can Make: Complete Plans and Instructions for Bird-Friendly Nesting and Feeding Sites
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Home Bazaar Bellport Cottage Birdfeeder, White
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Not yet released
BLUE PARROT MECAW TROPICAL BIRDFEEDER BIRD SEED FEEDER
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Rustic Birdhouse and Feeders: Unique Thatched-Roof Projects Designed to Bird-Friendly Specifications
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Birdhouses and Feeders
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Hummingbird Feeders
Avant Garden 8110-3 Looking Glass Hummingbird Feeder
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The Hummingbird Feeder Kit
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Perky Pet 209 "Our Best" Hummingbird Feeder, 30 oz capacity
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Perky-Pet 124 Wishing Well Hummingbird Feeder, 16 oz
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Brushtech B122C Hummingbird Feeder Cleaning Kit
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Seed Feeders
Brome 1024 Squirrel Buster Plus Wild Bird Feeder with Cardinal Perch Ring
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The Backyard Bird Feeder's Bible: The A-to-Z Guide To Feeders, Seed Mixes, Projects, And Treats (Rodale Organic Gardening Book)
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Contech SquirrelStop Automatic Spinning Squirrel Deterrent
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Garden Song® 101-4 Dine Around Window Bird Feeder
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Droll Yankees YCPW180 Whipper Bird Feeder, Dark Blue
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Squirrel-Proof Feeders
Heritage Farms Bird's Choice Squirrel Proof Bird Feeder
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Contech SquirrelStop Automatic Spinning Squirrel Deterrent
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Perky Pet 449-2 Oriole Feeder
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Heritage Farms Absolute II Squirrel Proof Bird Feeder
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Droll Yankees YCPT360 Yankee Tipper Squirrel-Proof Bird Feeder
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Location, Location, Location
Where do you best enjoy watching the bird at? Choose a location that is easily accessible. Consider the seasonal weather pattern of where your home is - you may be reluctant to fill a feeder that isn't in a convenient spot when the weather is bad or so on. Make sure the spot you choose is easy for you to keep clean from discarded seed shells, bird droppings and other bits of rubbish.Watch it! Squirrels can become a problem when they take over a bird feeder, scaring the birds away, and tossing seed all over. They have also been known to entertain themselves by chewing right through plastic and wooden feeders.
For warm weather locations consider also having other decorative elements in your garden to create a more exciting environment both for the birds and you.
Bird Baths
Farm Innovators Economical Bird Bath De-Icer Model B-9, 44-Watt
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Farm Innovators Premium Cast Aluminum Bird Bath De-Icer Model C-50, 150-Watt
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Avant Garden 8160-3 Hanging-Standing Birdbath
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K&H Pet Products Ice Eliminator BirdBath 50-Watt De-Icer
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API 650 Heated Bird Bath with Mounting Bracket
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Bird Homes
Gilitzer Bird Home Egg Style, Chestnut
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Gilitzer Bird Home, Rustic Patina
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Gilitzer Bird Feeder, Chestnut
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Gilitzer Bird Home Tree Style, Petrol
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Gilitzer Bird Feeder, Moss Green
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What to Feed Birds
What species of birds do you want to attract most? Although the variety of bird seeds and mixtures on the market is staggering, in most locations, however, the best all-around attractant is black-oil sunflower seed. This seed has a high meat-to-shell ratio; it is high in fat; and its small size and thin shell make it easy for small birds to handle and crack.Other than that, feed platform feeders, like doves and sparrows, white proso millets, corn for ducks, geese and quail.
Fill a feeder with a seed mix and you'll see the birds rummaging for their favorite - sunflower seeds. Birds will also kick out artificial "berry" pellets, processed seed flavored and colored to look like "real" fruit.
Stokes Select STK5038-07 No Waste Select (7.5 lbs)
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Valley Splendor Large Striped Sunflower Seed (4 lbs)
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National Audubon Society Cherry Cobbler (5 lbs)
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National Audubon Society Sunflower Melody (7 lbs)
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Valley Splendor Peanuts Bits and Pieces (8 lbs)
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Clean, and Count
Clean your feeder regularly. When you feed birds in a confined area, you have to expect bird droppings, feathers, an occasional insect or two and left-over food mess. Wet seed and bird droppings in your feeder tray and on the ground below invites diseases like salmonella and others. Move your feeders each season to give the ground underneath time to biologically cleans themselves.You can control their numbers of birds visiting your garden by putting out smaller amounts of seed, by using specialty seeds, or by using restrictive feeders. Fill your feeder only when it's empty, train the birds to look for food elsewhere as well.
Garden Song® 105-3 Adjustable-Height Bird Feeder
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Avant Garden 8501-3 Cottage Lantern Bird Feeder
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Avant Garden 8503-3 French Garden Bird Feeder
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Garden Song® 106-2 Triple Tube Bird Feeder
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Garden Jewels® 455-3 14-Ounce Glass Window Mounted Hummingbird Feeder
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Suet
Suet, made from raw beef (or mutton) fat, especially the fat found around the loins and kidneys, is one of the most popular bird foods. It's the best food to attract woodpeckers, and among the other birds fond of suet are wrens, chickadees, nuthatches, kinglets, thrashers, creepers, cardinals, and starings. Mixtures of suet and peanut butter may attract woodpeckers, goldfinches, juncos, cardinals, thrushes, jays, kinglets, bluebirds, wrens, and starlings.The traditional suet feeder is a small wire cage, which may be placed on the trunk of a tree or suspended from a branch. You can also place suet in a nylon mesh bag. Some bird feeders have a hopper for seeds, and suet cages on the sides of the hopper. You can put either raw or prepared suet in these feeders. Soft suet mixtures may be spread on tree trunks or smeared onto pine cones that may be hung.
Wild Bird High Energy Suet Value 8 Pack
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High Energy Suet -Case of 12
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Stokes Select STK8480-12 Woodpecker Suet (12 Cakes)
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Stokes Select STK8022-12 Berry Suet (12 cakes)
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Heath Outdoor Products 2304 Single Leaf Suet Feeder
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Images you can share
Image streams tagged 'backyard birds' from Flickr Photos
Keen Eye
Jungle Myna
Dark-eyed Junco, on...
Dark-eyed Junco, in...
Grackle and Mourning...
Eastern Towhee
Mourning Dove
Hummingbird at work
birdie
birdie
birdie
birdie
birdie
Female Common Yellow...
Male Common Yellowth...
Red Bellied Woodpeck...
Unwanted Guest
Chickadee, Peanut Th...
Chickadee, Acrobatic
Cardinal
Bluejay
American Robin
American Crow
Cardinal
Backyard Birding on the Blogs
- Dave's Birding Blog: Backyard Birding - Northern Mockingbird
- Backyard Birding - Northern Mockingbird. Enjoying the wonderful sunny and pleasant weather over this Thanksgiving weekend here in Morgan Hill... and I've been noticing this first-year NORTHERN MOCKINGBIRD occasionally in our backyard. ...
- JeffCo Gardener: Building a Backyard Bird Habitat
- Anyway, here's an article about turning your yard into a bird habitat. And be prepared, it's bewildering and you might feel like a murderer enabler. When leaves are down, it's time to assemble backyard bird habitat | coloradoan.com ...
- The Backyard Wildbird & Nature Store: Nanaimo bird alert, November ...
- THE BACKYARD WILDBIRD & NATURE STORE in Nanaimo, British Columbia has experienced BIRDING GUIDES available to share their knowledge of our local area from Cedar to Deep Bay. Call the Backyard Wildbird & Nature Store @ 250-390-3669 or ...
- Birds: Red breasted Nuthatch
- ... and flocks of birds roosting between the commercial signage on the roadside. I suppose that makes a good wind break and roosting between the opposing signs keeps them warmer at night. Posted by Yelm Backyard Wildlife at 10:05 AM ...
Backyard Birding in the News
- Dave's Birding Blog: Backyard Birding - Northern Mockingbird
- Backyard Birding - Northern Mockingbird. Enjoying the wonderful sunny and pleasant weather over this Thanksgiving weekend here in Morgan Hill... and I've been noticing this first-year NORTHERN MOCKINGBIRD occasionally in our backyard. ...
- JeffCo Gardener: Building a Backyard Bird Habitat
- Anyway, here's an article about turning your yard into a bird habitat. And be prepared, it's bewildering and you might feel like a murderer enabler. When leaves are down, it's time to assemble backyard bird habitat | coloradoan.com ...
- The Backyard Wildbird & Nature Store: Nanaimo bird alert, November ...
- THE BACKYARD WILDBIRD & NATURE STORE in Nanaimo, British Columbia has experienced BIRDING GUIDES available to share their knowledge of our local area from Cedar to Deep Bay. Call the Backyard Wildbird & Nature Store @ 250-390-3669 or ...
- Birds: Red breasted Nuthatch
- ... and flocks of birds roosting between the commercial signage on the roadside. I suppose that makes a good wind break and roosting between the opposing signs keeps them warmer at night. Posted by Yelm Backyard Wildlife at 10:05 AM ...
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