Whether you’re taking a casual walk in a nearby park with your significant other or going on a serious hike into the wilderness, birding can be as casual or intense as you desire. But it’s also a pastime you can nurture in your own backyard sanctuary (see Part 1). And it just might give you one more reason to get outside and sit beside that wonderful backyard swimming pool! In fact, in today’s post we’re going to discuss how you can help design your backyard poolscape in a way that’s welcoming to and nurturing to birds, allowing you to more easily and frequently delight in this pastime. Just as you want to make your outdoor space accommodating for your family and friends, you can create a space that will become a haven for birds for miles around.
Accommodations for Backyard Birds: Feeding Stations
Food, of course, is a basic survival need. Just as you wouldn’t dream of hosting a pool party without offering refreshments of some sort, you can’t expect birds to want to hang out in your yard if you don’t offer them something to eat! Different bird species will prefer different types of feeders, so you’ll want to vary the type and height of your feeders in order to attract a variety of birds. Perhaps you can start with 3 or 4 bird feeders of different styles, placed at varying locations throughout your yard and viewable from your poolside furniture.
You may wish to observe which types of birds tend to prefer each feeder and then add more of that type or position based on the ones you most enjoy viewing. Regardless of the species or feeder type, high-quality food is an important part of the equation. Popular species that birders often enjoy watching include Cardinals, Blue Jays, chickadees, and other songbirds. All of those seem to be attracted by black oil sunflower seed.
Accommodations for Backyard Birds: Bird Baths
In addition to feeding stations, the addition of bird baths can be both aesthetically pleasing for people and attractive to birds. A solar bird bath that includes water features can provide a multi-sensory benefit that affects your yard’s ambiance for feathered friends as well as others. The sound and sight of moving water is key and can take a variety of forms, including a mister, circulating pump, or dripper. Birds can hear the sound of water moving and come to your yard from greater distances to provide you with added birding potential. And even water features not necessarily intended to attract birds will likely have the same effect, by the way!
In our next post, we’ll look at 3 more key ways to attract birds to your backyard oasis. And we’re guessing that as you observe them and begin to discover more of what they like, you’ll be able to come up with even more!
Read More About Pools
• The 4 Different Types of Inground Pools
• Pool House Design Ideas
Lyon Financial
Since 1979 Lyon Financial has made the backyard resort dream come true for over 400,000 families across the U.S. Through our solid relationships with more than 3,000 pool contractors and our continued commitment to putting our clients first, we have built a reputation as the first choice in providing pool financing solutions. For more information, visit lyonfinancial.net or call (877) 754-5966 today.
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