There is a delightful joy that comes from bird watching from your own patio.
It happens sometimes when least expected — you’re sitting on the patio in your Adirondack chairs or in your hammock and a bird lands close by. What do you do? You might freeze a bit so as not to startle them — most likely they will stop too. If they feel comfortable birds might begin to search the ground for something — bugs, nest building materials, etc. They may remain long enough for you to notice their markings, the color of their feet, the size of their bill. You probably wish you were knowledgeable enough to know exactly which species you are looking at.
Welcome to the New Trend:
Bird Watching
Bird watching? Yes, learn about the birds that visit your backyard from the comfort of your own patio. Or, as Jim Wright from the North Jersey Record calls it ‘Patio Birding’. According to Wright, all you have to do is sit outside on your deck, or porch, or balcony and take in the sights and sounds.
Let’s face it, birds are EVERYWHERE. So if all you ever do is wait for the show to begin when you visit the patio for whatever reason, that will work. There are ways, though, that you can make those bird “pop-ins” far more likely and more enjoyable. By offering birds a place to nest or to get food, water, or shelter, they will come to visit your backyard. Once they start flocking you then can have fun identifying each species and their unique behaviors. What should you do?
Create a Bird-friendly Habitat
Help with Nesting Materials
During spring and summer, when birds start nesting, habitat becomes really important for a bird. Offering birds a comfortable, safe place to hang out is a great way to bring them to your yard. Birds will land on trees and shrubs in your yard and use their branches and twigs for nests while others collect the brush from downed branches.
Offer a Birdhouse
You can also build or buy a birdhouse, which essentially mimics a tree cavity, but be warned: birds can be incredibly picky about the height, size, and location of their birdhouse. Find birdhouse information at the National Wildlife Federation, the Cornell Lab or the National Audubon Society.
A Birdbath is a Nice Amenity
Bird baths help birds care for their feathers and remove pests when water is scarce. In winter, place a bird bath in the sun or get a heated one to keep it from freezing.
Attract Birds with Food
Plant Native Seed-bearing Plants
The best long-term approach to bring birds to your yard is to add native plants. Many birds love seed-bearing plants, and just about every plant will naturally bring bugs, a key food source. However this works best if you avoid using pesticides since the “pests” are exactly what draw birds. The National Audubon Society offers more guidance for creating a bird-friendly yard with suggestions of plants that provide food. And the National Wildlife Federation’s Garden for Wildlife program has spent 50 years helping educate home gardeners and helping them transform their yards into wildlife refuges that include birds.
Install Bird Feeders
Once you have established your native plants, you can also fill a few feeders with seed. And just like birds, feeders and supplies are everywhere — grocery stores, big box stores, pet stores, hardware stores and specialty shops. But realize that different birds gravitate to different feeders. Some like tube feeders, others prefer platforms or simply to eat seed off the ground. Although you can research which types of seeds particular birds prefer, just about any seed will bring them to your yard. Some feeders have a camera that sends photos and videos to your smartphone.
While a feeder is the quickest way to create a backyard feast, it’s not always the optimum solution because not all birds even eat seeds (who knew?) Woodpeckers, for instance, prefer suet (ever hear of Bark Butter?). Orioles like oranges and grape jelly. Hummingbirds enjoy nectar, or sugar water, which you can make at home. Here’s a recipe for hummingbird nectar from the Smithsonian’s National Zoo & Conservation Biology Institute.
Safety Issues When Feeding Birds
- Some risks to feeding wild birds from a feeder include the possibility of spreading disease. It’s recommended that you scrub feeders with a solution of 10 percent non-chlorinated bleach a few times a year.
- Window collisions are another danger so place feeders within three feet of the glass or more than 30 feet away to keep birds safe.
- A feeder in the open, too far from a tree or other shelter can expose smaller birds to hawks looking for prey.
- Know that feeding birds probably means feeding squirrels, too even with “squirrel-proof” feeders. While there are some items that can make it harder for a squirrel — a dome above or below a feeder or weight-activated springs that shut off access_ — realize that most squirrels have figured out a way to get to the seed Some experts sprinkle a little seed on the ground, to make feeders less tempting.
Start Your Bird Watching Education
For starters, identify a few birds that you know really well or the ones that are already using your backyard and become really familiar with them — understand their habitat, the markings of a male and a female, get to know their song, whether they are migrating, or consistently looking for food. A fun way to get introduced to native birds is to participate in the Great Backyard Bird Count, an annual global event held in February sponsored jointly by the Cornell Lab, the National Audubon Society and Birds Canada. Our library here in Vinton, Virginia provides packets of information including a “Backyard Bird Count Bingo” card — check with your local library. You can download a checklist of native birds from the site as well. Also available to help you with identification are Sibley field guides. If you prefer a digital option, try the free Merlin Bird ID app from Cornell recommended by our guest author Phil Lyon, which can help you identify birds by appearance and behavior or by their sound; he also recommends a premium birding app like “iBird Ultimate Guide to Birds”.
You also may want to invest in a good pair of binoculars, and keep them handy to spot details your naked eye might miss.
Bird Watching Requires Patience
If you are gradually and casually getting into bird watching, curb any impatience you might have. Sam Cohen writing A Beginner’s Guide to Bird Watching in Your Own Backyard for The Discoverer says “I’d sit outside on the patio for 15 minutes at a time and grow frustrated if I didn’t see a single bird in the trees. I had no idea how much patience, curiosity, and positivity was needed to bird watch recreationally. It’s not as simple as observing birds gliding through the air. It’s about growing more perceptive, and becoming attuned to patterns I didn’t know were there.”
Most bird watchers agree that to really enjoy patio bird watching you need to understand how birds use the landscape, how they interact with plants, how they eat, what they eat, etc. That is simply going to require some time and adjustment. For example, many birds arrive at dawn with the still morning and cooler temperatures. Similarly, they tend to become more active at dusk especially in the summer when temperatures drop. Jim Wright, mentioned earlier, calls it dusk birding and settles in a comfortable chair with a table for ice tea or lemonade. And you might want to include a tasty snack and a cocktail while bird watching on the patio.
You may want to keep a guidebook or paper journal handy for taking notes and sketching. Many bird watchers have a “life list” that includes every species they’ve ever seen. But don’t worry if you are not into all the counting and labeling. Just taking time to enjoy your patio and the bird watching it offers will bring you great joy.
And remember, every day is Friday on the patio!
Birds and Mental Health
We asked our good friend and “Birding” hobbyist Phil Lyon to speak to some of the benefits he’s gained over many years of enjoying the birds in his current locale of southern Missouri and throughout his travels. Here are his thoughts:
Early in my youth, I developed an affinity for the outdoors that I have continued into the autumn (some might say, winter) of my life. In addition to hiking through much of Colorado and developing an interest in gardening, I took up the hobby of “Birding” which is different from bird watching. Bird watching is considered a pastime, while “Birding” is a sport that will connect you with many new and sometimes challenging outdoor places. The object of “Birding” is to see as many different species of birds as possible in a year, in a defined area, such as the continental United States. To excel at “Birding” one not only needs to be able to identify birds by their appearance, but it is also helpful to identify them by their song. For those who are interested in knowing more about this sport, I would recommend you read the book “The Big Year” by Mark Obmascik or watch the movie of the same title, staring Jack Black, Owen Wilson and Steve Martin.
Some might ask, “what does this have to do with Birds and Mental Health, from the Patio”? For me, “Birding” became a way to stay connected with nature, get some exercise and improve my mental well-being. Just watching and listening to a variety birds seemed to be very mentally relaxing for me. Studies have indicated that being around birds and in particular listening to their various songs can improve one’s mental health and happiness.
Competitive “Birding” can require a great deal of time, travel and expense; and it is also helpful to be in good physical condition to be able to hike to some of the more remote areas where rare birds are found. Not everyone has the time, money or physical ability to do competitive “Birding”. An alternative is to “Bird” your backyard from your patio, or deck.
Even if you don’t live in a rural area with a large backyard and a multitude of trees as I do, there are still ways to attract a large variety of birds. Setting up bird feeder stations, over time, will begin to attract birds to your yard, even if you have no or few trees for them to rest in. Keep in mind that some birds are only ground feeders, while others will only go to feeders off the ground. If you can place your feeders near a tree, it will improve your chances of getting a few rarer birds then just the more common sparrows, doves, and finches. If you are interested in learning more about Bird Feeder Stations, a good resource is searching on YouTube. A channel by “Mark’s Backyard Birds” is a good resource for feeder designs and ideas. For those who want to identify birds in your backyard, a good resource is the cell phone app “Merlin Bird ID” which can help you identify birds by appearance and behavior or by their sound. For those who want to know more about birds, a good bird identification book could help or a birding app like “IBird Ultimate”. And finally, a pair of binoculars is a good investment to get more enjoyment out of your patio birding experience.
As spring approaches, I look forward to taking my morning coffee out to my deck, and listening to the birds singing as they work to attract a mate or to keep others from encroaching upon their territory. Their songs always bring a smile to my face.
Phil Lyon
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Bird Watching
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