Yard Bird Tips

Spring is here and the birds are flocking back—literally. Here are some tips from the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources to help them settle in for the summer:

• The best way to present all of the bird foods is to have several "clusters" of three to four feeders each. A cluster of feeders offers the opportunity to provide different bird food in each feeder as well as on the ground near or under these feeders. This arrangement allows room for more birds as well as occasional visitors like squirrels.

• Spring is an excellent time to make a temporary brush pile about ten feet from your feeders. Make a pile of branches perhaps six to eight feet wide and three to four feet high. Small branches with lots of twigs are fine. This provides small birds with hiding places where they can avoid being caught by migrating birds of prey.

• It is also very important to have water available for migrating birds. A shallow bird bath or shallow pool with a recirculating water pump can provide dripping or splashing water that is especially appealing to birds. The best bird baths are shallow pools no more than two to three inches deep.

Click here for more spring bird feeding tips from the DNR.

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