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Gardening
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How to Attract Birds to Your Garden
From habitats to feeders, simple tips to help your yard take flight
Cassy Aoyagi is passionate about California native foliage and sustainably crafting a distinctive California aesthetic. She is president of the Theodore Payne Foundation for Wildflowers and Native Plants and of FormLA Landscaping. Her work has been featured on the Eco Echo Park Home and Garden Tour, at the Pasadena Showcase House of Design, on the Theodore Payne Foundation Native Garden Tour, and a multitude of other Los Angeles garden tours. The Los Angeles Times and InStyle Magazine, among others, have featured gardens designed by Cassy.
Cassy Aoyagi is passionate about California native foliage and sustainably... More »
Our feathered friends are a lot like us — they just want a place where they feel at home. Here are a few ideas to make your home a welcoming place for birds to shake a tail feather throughout the seasons. Be prepared year-round, since migrating birds may find your spot a repeat destination when others have gone south.
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Everyone wants a roof overhead and a good meal. This landscape, appropriate to a climate that gets plenty of rain, provides both. That said, there are a few strategies that can transform any garden into a happy bird home. While I naturally focus on examples from my native California, these four simple strategies can be applied anywhere, in any zone.
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| Create habitat. For multifamily housing, consider planting a native tree or two. Birds of a feather not only flock together, they flock to the trees they know. For example, there are hundreds of California native bird species that will only make their homes in native oak trees. Birding books are a great source of information to find out what habitat your favorite feathered friends seek. |
by Gainey Store
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Serve dinner. Nectar and seed feeders, like a good Zagat rating, will bring the hungry. Here, again, local birding books can be instructive, and knowing which birds you hope to host is also useful. For example, robins follow a strict Atkins diet (high-protein worms only, thank you), while hummingbirds subsist on sugary snacks and insects.
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If you prefer to save money and time and still treat your feathered guests very well, look into native seed- and fruit-bearing foliage. For example, this Coffeeberry (Rhamnus californica) provides a feast for fowl from Oregon to Baja.
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For the biggest bang for your buck, evaluate bird bed-and-breakfasts that provide both preferred habitat and diet. For example, many California native birds enjoy the acorn feast produced by the coast live oak, which is also a popular local habitat.
| Host happy hour. Goldfinches sip from water columns at this farmer's cottage. This rain chain likely feeds the local watering hole. Other favorite happy hour venues include birdbaths and biological ponds. |
Enjoy the company. You never know who may make your place home. (Yes, that is a real red-tailed hawk bathing.)
Tell us: Have you applied any of these strategies? Please show off your successes below.
Tell us: Have you applied any of these strategies? Please show off your successes below.
Comments
Rough Linen Hummingbird-friendly flowers, and an undisturbed thicket on a steep bank for shelter ~
11 months ago · Like
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Simone Heymann that, my friends, is a Cooper's Hawk!
11 months ago · Like
· 2
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Cassy Aoyagi, FormLA Landscaping Pretty unlikely to see any hawk at all come into our environment in this manner, it was a wonderful day to see the Hawk!! Thank you for your additional information.
11 months ago · Like
· 1
1
Ideabook updated on June 28, 2012.
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