INFORMATION CENTRE

Wild birds need hiding places to survive. You can start your backyard bird habitat by leaving a space in your yard for piling brush and rocks. If the brush has thorns, all the better, as birds will perch in these areas and it will provide protection from predators and the weather. If a tree dies in your yard, woodpeckers will use it for nests and seek insects in it. Take some time in planning what plants, shrubs, and trees you would like to plant in your yard, to offer wild birds the greatest diversity, as this will feed and protect the greatest number of birds. Determine what is native to your area, as native plants will require the least amount of maintenance and they are what birds need to find food. Any shrubs with berries are a welcome sight to birds who, not only eat the berries, but will nest and hide from predators. Flowering perennials that will go to seed, will feed birds as well. Next to the edge of your yard, plant evergreens, to give birds protection during cold and windy weather. Deciduous trees offer birds food, and the leaves can be gathered up to use as mulch, which will attract earthworms and insects that many backyard birds will eat. Examples of flowering perennials: lupins, scarlet monkeyflower, butterfly weed, beebalm, bergamot, black-eyed susans, coneflower, columbine, violets, fuchisa, and asters. Examples of shrub s: blueberry, huckleberry, red currant, elderberry, rasberry, wild roses, chokecherry, bayberry, winterberry, dogwood, firethorn, and hollies. Examples of trees: Oak,aspen, birch, beech, fig, apple, plum, cherry, redbud, crabapple, dogwood, maple, hawthorn. Examples of vines: bourgainvillea, passionflower, virginia creeper, honeysuckle, trumpet, wild grape. The final element in your backyard habitat is a source of clean water. Birds need water to drink and bathe in and supplying a water source will make your yard attractive to birds and other wildlife. Providing water for wild birds can be as easy as turning on a sprinkler for a half hour or so in the evening, or it can be an ornate bird bath or a garden pond with waterfalls and rocks for birds to stand on. If you decide on a bird pond, there is a variety of plants that will thrive near water, and supply food for birds. Examples of plants in the pond: water milfoils, water lettuce, water hyacinth, water lilies, golden club, sweet flag, arrowhead, and cattails. Examples of plants at water's edge: marsh marigolds, forget-me-nots, umbrella and tufted sedge, soft rush, japanese iris