Top Ten Birds To Atttract To Your Yard To Control Garden Pests

[Panich52]

Top Ten Birds To Atttract To Your Yard To Control Garden Pests


Spring is just about here, with summer and its insects soon to follow. 
 
Why not put nature to work combating them?  Attracting insect-eating birds is a great way to keep insect pests at bay. And now’s the time be sure you have the right plants in your yard or garden to to attract them.

We’ve compiled a list of your top ten bird allies in your efforts to sustain a vibrant garden.

Read on to meet all ten….
http://enature.us1.list-manage.com/track/click?u=19c6e3405dc59584446e1a4d8&id=c8251f82e7&e=028ee0accc

[NV Whino]

1. Any on there to control raccoons?

[sharp_stick]

2. This guy will do the trick

[NV Whino]

3. Unfortunately, that guy doesn't discriminate between raccoons and cats.

[sharp_stick]

9. That's true

when you're that size pretty much everything looks like a snack.

[Plucketeer]

19. Cats are predators

predators that like to catch songbirds and rob their nests. We've got one at our place that I'd evict in a New York second if the wife wasn't enamored with it.

We had Barn Owls using one of the nest boxes I put up for them. They raised 4 or 5 clutches over successive years - then local hawks raided their nest. Nature is like that.

[Raine1967]

5. Is that a golden eagle?

[NV Whino]

6. Yes

I had occasion to care for one once. It's amazing how little those guys weigh. Hallow bones and all that. It was such a treat to see one so close.

[Raine1967]

8. They are amazing birds. I went to aq bird sanctuary a fews years ago

and was really amazed at the size difference between them and the bald Eagle. Goldens are huge!

IT's pretty great that you got to care for one, I fell in love with the bird I met, I admit. So majestic.

[Blanks]

4. Owls.

We've had raccoons getting chickens and guineas (they are supposed to be the best with bugs) all winter, the other night we could hear an owl and we haven't lost any chickens for a couple of days anyway.

[NV Whino]

7. I have a great horned owl that comes around every once in a while.

I always know s/he is around because the blue jays harass her/him. Such a racket, you've never heard.

[Laffy Kat]

10. I had a flicker on my siding this morning.

It took me a while to figure out what the noise was. It sounded like a jackhammer! It's so cool, but I would much rather they stick to trees.

[Panich52]

13. Flicker was there f/ 1 of 2 reasons. One isn't good.

If it was male,.it might gave been drumming to call up a mate. Occasionally annoying but you gotta give 'em credit f/ detetmination.

But it might have been foraging, esp if you have wood siding. You might consider calling pest control to check for carpenter ants or other insect infestations.

[Laffy Kat]

14. Thanks for the heads up.

If I hear him/her again I will absolutely have the house looked at. Fingers-crossed it was just a male advertising his whereabouts. This place is only two years old, I sure hope it's not infested!

[Panich52]

20. Hope he was just drumming. Didn't mean to alarm, but I used to do pest control and it's a reflex to

warn of such things.

[Laffy Kat]

22. Oh, that's OK!

I appreciate the information.

[jmowreader]

11. I know they're not birds but...

Having some bats around will solve a lot of problems.

[marble falls]

12. Got some wrens building a nest inthe box on my backporch right now. They seem fairly unafraid of us.

[swilton]

15. What a wonderful contribution

Thanks for sharing. I'm daunted by the thought of trying to keep bird-feeders stocked during the long and cold (especially this year) New England winters. So I did the next best thing and this past fall installed three bird houses - two for song birds and one for a screech owl. More than likely I'll get some gold finches or other song birds but there is a chance there will be blue birds!

[Curmudgeoness]

16. Impressive list.

I have some of those birds as regulars in my yard, but most of them are not so easy to attract, especially in a small city plot. But I don't despair, since most songbirds feed their young insects, at least at the beginning of their life---even the seed eating birds. So all the House Sparrows and Blue Jays and Cardinals that are regulars here do a good job collecting insects.

[eppur_se_muova]

17. Check out Doug Tallamy's Web page and book ...

http://www.bringingnaturehome.net/

It's all about how so many exotic plants, with no native insect pests, have been introduced as ornamentals and have spread uncontrollably in the wild.

Grow plants that feed insect larvae (caterpillars) and you feed the birds, especially the hatchlings, who need insect meals for proper development. Plant only Asian ornamentals, and you create a "food desert" for birds.


ETA: If you're trying to draw purple martins (very popular here in the South; purple martin "houses" are a common sight, as most people appreciate their insectivory) be sure to read up on what a good PM nest space requires, here: http://www.purplemartin.org/update/GourdHome.html

[Panich52]

21. I don't bother to clean out plantain in yard f/ that reason - bird food eats it. And, I think, so do

Monarch larvae.

[c588415]

18. What about a Pterodactyl? I know it's not quite a bird, nonetheless,

it would do the trick.