Some individuals enjoy bird watching but prefer to do their bird
watching in their back yard. Below is some advice on attracting
wild birds to your back yard.
First it depends upon having wild birds in the general area
where your house is located and then you can attract then to
your backyard.
The method used to attract the birds will depend upon what is
the diet of the bird. If the bird is a nectar feeder e.g.
bananaquits or hummingbirds, then large flowering plants will
attract them. Hummingbird bills are perfectly adapted to the
various types of flowers that they feed on, so different types
of flowers will attract different hummingbirds. Some
hummingbirds have especially curved or elongated bills that
allow them to feed on special flowers, eg the White-tipped
Sicklebill hummingbird whose downward curving bill allows it to
draw nectar from
heliconias. The
Ruby-Topaz Hummingbird has a short and
slightly decurved bill that is suited to feeding on the flowers
of the ixora shrub. The
Blue-tailed Emerald has a short bill that is
suited for feeding on the
Hibiscus flower. The
Copper-rumped Hummingbird has a straight
long bill that allows it to feed on medium sized tube shaped
flowers such as the
allamanda. Hummingbirds have little or
no sense of smell, so colour is important to a hummingbird's
search process for locating flowers containing nectar. While
they will visit any flower that has sufficient nectar they
prefer flowers that are red to orange in colour. It is believed
that this colour preference is due to the fact that red flowers
standout in a green background and so are more easily seen by
the hummingbird. It is also believed that because hummingbirds
compete with insects for nectar they choose flowers that are
less likely to be visited by insects. Most insects do not see
well at the red end of the colour spectrum and so may not visit
red flowers while hummingbirds see the full visible spectrum.
If space in your yard is very limited, preventing you from
having large flowering shrubs, an area to consider is the curb
area between your property line and the roadway. You can plant
small flowering shrubs such as the miniature
ixora,
which will then attract birds to your property.
For birds that are fruit eaters, the presence of ripe fruit will
attract and so having fruit trees will attract birds. The
majority of trees however only fruit once per year for a few
months, so the attraction is not year round. If your garden has
sufficient space then multiple fruit trees that bear at
different times in the year will ensure a continuous bird
presence. One tree that bears fruit for a very extended period
is guava and so can attract birds for most of the year. Trees
are also an attraction to birds because they provide nesting and
resting sites. If you have the palm trees that people usually
plant in from their houses that will generally attract Palm
Tanagers who will feed on the small nuts, use material from the
tree for building their nests and may also nest in the tree.
When a large number of flowering shrubs and/or fruit trees is
not an option, you can consider purchasing a bird feeder. The
type of feeder will also be dependent upon the type of birds in
the area and the type of birds that you want to attract. For
nectar feeders you use a sugar solution (the feeder usually has
directions). You must put the feeder in a location where the
birds will see it and you must change the solution regularly (2
-3 days). Red Feeders are good for attracting hummingbirds
because they have a preference for red flowers. If you use a
feeder it will take a few days for the birds to recognise that
it is present in your yard.
Other feed can attract other types of birds. Bare-Eyed Thrushes
and Kiskadees are somewhat omnivorous and so you can use rice
(not boiled). I have found that they will also be attracted by
dog food. Tropical Mockingbirds can also be attracted with rice.
In addition, ripe fruit such bananas, mangoes and cherry can be
used and will usually attract Blue-Gray Tanagers, Palm Tanagers
and Yellow Orioles.
As an alternative to purchasing a feeder you can construct a
feeder. For fruits you can build a simple
chicken wire basket or bamboo joint to hold
the fruit and attach it to the fence. Another low cost feeder
can be constructed using a plastic bowl with a narrow edge. To
construct this feeder you punch three holes, equidistant around
the bowl. Then attach wire strands through each hole with the
strands coming together at the top to form either a hook or a
loop for suspending the bowl. Three strands are required to
provide stability to the bowl particularly when birds alight on
the bowl to feed. It is necessary to punch several holes in the
base of the bowl to allow any rainwater or liquids to drain out
the bowl.
Attracting birds, apart from the visual delight also provides
the benefit of controlling the insect population, as many birds
are insect feeders.
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