Lois Clark's Tips for Attracting Birds to Your Yard
1. Give them something good to eat.
| Hummingbird syrup: | 4 pt. water 1 pt. sugar
|
| Oriole syrup: | 6 pt. water 1 pt. sugar 1-2 drops orange flavoring |
(Oriole feeders have slightly bigger holes. Orioles are more common to feeders in spring.)
| Bird Seed: | Feeders for sunflower seeds
only Feeders for mixed bird seed Special feeder for thistle seed (attracts Pine Siskins and Gold Finches) "Platform style" feeders with peanuts in shells (attracts Scrub Jays) Feeders with nail to skewer orange halves (attracts Western Tanagers) |
No-melt all-season peanut butter suet:
(Contributed by Bonnie Williams from recipe in Wild
Bird Dec. 94; page 52)
| 1 cup lard (melted) 1 cup crunchy peanut butter (melted) Mix melted lard
and peanut butter and then add: Pour mixed ingredients 1½ inch thick into a square pan, let cool, cut into cakes, and then freeze. |
(Window screens underneath feeders are helpful to catch fallen seeds. Seed can be purchased at Intermountain Farmers on 500 South in Provo. Nest boxes don't seem to attract anything but Starlings.)
2. There is nothing like a cool bath and a fresh drink of water.
Birds like running water. Provide some water low to the ground. A pool with a running waterfall works well. Immersible water Pumps can be purchased at Eagle Hardware for around $50. ("PAAA Pump") Must drain and scrub water area every 2 weeks. Birds prefer a bath with a gentle slope.
Birds enjoy a mist of water that moistens leaves for drinking. Wild Bird Center in Salt Lake has a "leaf-mister" that can be connected to shrubs or branches above a bird bath that makes a nice sound and the birds enjoy sitting in the mist and drinking water from the leaves.
3. Give them a place to rest their weary bones.
Birds enjoy the cover and food trees provide. The following trees have been used effectively to attract birds: