FOR THE BIRDS
The secret of getting birds to stay in your garden is to cater to all their needs, which are not just food and water, but also shelter, nesting spots and singing posts.
Birds are highly mobile, and if a garden does not meet their needs, they will move on.
In addition to bird-friendly plants, there are other attractions you can use to further entice them to make your garden their home.
Birdhouse
Birds look for nesting sites on trees or shrubs. You can augment these natural nesting sites with birdhouses.
By providing ideal conditions of size, access and shelter, a birdhouse is one way of increasing the number and variety of birds in your garden.
Birdbath/Water Features
Bird baths are a big attraction for all manner of avifauna. Splashing in the water refreshes them; and of course, they drink it. Keep birdbaths in shaded areas so the water does not become too hot as the day wears on. A fish pond or other water feature is also very inviting to thirsty birds.
Bird Feeders are guaranteed to bring birds to your garden. You can buy feeders in many designs and sizes, made of everything from plastic to porcelain; but you can also choose to make them yourself, using indigenous materials from your own garden.
Home-made feeders are simple to make, practical and ornamental. Fill them with sugar water, bird seed, fruit (ripe bananas are a favorite) and even boiled rice and there will always be a flock of birds around them.
Make Your Own Feeders
The simplest is a thin slab of wood, about a foot square. Used as a tray, covered with chicken wire to prevent the fruit from falling off or being taken away by greedy birds. It can be hung from a tree branch by wires or be rested on a post anywhere in the garden.
Another simple feeder can be made from a coconut shell. Cut it in two using a hacksaw and you will get two feeders. Drill three equidistant holes near the rim, and pass wires through them for attachment to a tree branch. Sugar-water can be used in this type of feeder.
(Sugar-water is made by mixing one part granulated white sugar to four parts of water, and boiling or two minutes, making sure that the solution does not turn to syrup).
Finally, an ingenious feeder can be made of bamboo. From a bamboo pole about five inches in diameter, cut off sections bounded at both ends by nodular septa. Each section will give you two feeders when split longitudinally. This type of feeder, suspended by two loops of wire attached to a tree branch, looks very attractive swinging in the wind, while birds perch on it feeding.
Coming Up Next
In my next column, two weeks from now, I will deal with some of the garden problems that readers have e-mailed me about.--------------------------------------
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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