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Watching
Birds
Watching most birds in the
backyard is easy but some will be elusive and some birds may never
visit you yard. For this purpose, a good pair of binoculars
are needed. A good field guide is also needed.
The first step to see
elusive birds is to study their habits. Know when they visit
your yard, what plants they seem use for protection and cover and
wether they are seed or insect eaters. If they eat seeds, you
can attract them to your feeders by providing seeds and nuts they
like. Insect eaters are more difficult. To attract
these, your backyard environment will play a big role in attracting
and keeping these birds visiting your yard. Some factors that
make your yard unattractive to birds are:
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Non diverse
landscape. A yard with trees, shrubs and flowering plants is
far superior to a yard of grass with a tree or
two.
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Chemicals. Fertilizers, herbicides and
insecticides may perform their job well, but they do have side
effects. If you want the perfect lawn and spay for insects,
you are eliminating the bird's food source.
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Cats! The
bird's worst enemy is the household cat. If you love cats
and want birds to live in your yard, the cats must be kept indoors
and not allowed to roam free.
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Quiet. By
this we do not mean no noise. Birds need to be left
alone. Do not bother them, especially when they are nest
building. They will quickly decide to look elsewhere.
Stay away from nesting sites when they are rearing young.
You can cause babies to fall out of nest. Binoculars are
best used when trying to see young in nests.
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Things you can do to make
your backyard attract more birds.
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