BIRDS IN THE GARDEN

A beautiful garden attracts beautiful birds.  Who doesn’t enjoy a backyard vivid with flowering plants and alive with the sights and sounds of singing birds?  Or being awakened melodically each morning by a medley of happy chirping?  Trinidad is rich in South American avifauna, and contains a greater variety of birds per square mile than any other country in the world.  Tobago also has a wide variety of birdlife, so with the right mix of flowering plants and fruit trees, you can easily turn your garden into a haven for songbirds.  As long as you provide a suitable environment, not only will they come into your garden, but they will stay willingly.

ATTRACTING BIRDS

To attract birds, your garden should have such features as tall berry-bearing palms and shrubs, leafy trees with many branches for nesting or just perching; fruit trees; and a multitude of shrubs and vines bearing brightly-coloured, bird-enticing flowers.  In addition, bird-baths, water features, birdhouses and feeders should be included in your landscape.

FEATHERED FRIENDS

Birds that are likely to visit your garden can be divided into fruit, insect or nectar feeders.  Your plants should provide a bountiful supply of natural food for these feathered friends.

Most flowers produce nectar; some, such as Lantanas, Salvias and Ixoras, offer enough to attract hummingbirds, bananaquits and other special nectar feeders.

Fruit bearing palms, especially the stately Manila or Christmas palm (Veitchia Merrillii) and the Macarthur palm (Ptychosperma Macarthurii), with their bunches of brick-red berries, attract many species including tanagers, orioles and tropical mockingbirds.

PLANTS BIRDS LOVE

Of course, everyone knows that birds love mangoes, so always include a mango tree among your fruit trees.  Birds also love ornamental bananas, which provide not just fruit and seeds but also insects that are attracted to their flowers.

Many birds thrive on the insects drawn to fragrant flowers.  They are a safe means of pest control as they consume such pests as fruit flies, moths and termites besides feeding on insects that get into the cups of Heliconias, Gingers and Bromeliads. They also eat the mole crickets and worms that occasionally attack your lawn.

FLOWERS FOR THE BIRDS

To entice hummingbirds into your garden, always have such plants as pink-flowered Vervine, Yellow Shrimp Plant (Pachystachys lutea)and Red Poker (Odontonema strictum);   and for insect-eating birds, have white-flowered plants such as Carissa grandiflora (Natal Plum), Brunsfelsia Americana and some varieties of Jasminum (jasmine), whose strong fragrance at night attracts insects.

With flowers bursting forth in abundance, your garden will be alive with the sights and sounds of birds. Will they stay or will they fly away?  That all depends on what you have to offer.

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If you have any gardening news or tips you would like to share, or if you are having a problem in your garden, e-mail me at thehappygardner@tstt.net.tt

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