Let's write about how to become a back yard bird watcher

Want to become a birder? Start in your own yard!

Birdwatching at home is a powerful way to learn about your local ecosystem. Here’s how to attract a variety of species and identify their behaviors. Echo report by  Scott Kirkwood published in The Washington Post.

Birds help humans to better understand our earth's ecosystem.

Every day, bird lovers get to watch tiny wildlife documentaries unfold from their own windows — the search for food, the predator-prey relationship, even the ways that climate change shifts a species’ typical habitat.

Cardinal in the Holly Bush in our Topsham Maine yard (L'Heureux photograph)

“The great thing about birds is they’re everywhere,” says Nicholas Lund, who leads outreach for Maine Audubon and shares his brand of avian humor as The Birdist. “They aren’t found only in national parks or protected areas — they’ll come to you.”

With the right approach, you can make those visits far more likely: “Think about what you have to offer birds,” says Lund. “It could be a place to nest, it could be food and it could be shelter.” Once they start flocking, you can experience the joy of identifying each species and their unique behaviors.

Attract birds with food:  A feeder is the quickest way to create a backyard feast, but it’s not the only one. As Lund points out, “not all birds even eat seeds.” Woodpeckers, for instance, prefer suet, orioles like oranges and grape jelly, and hummingbirds enjoy nectar, or sugar water, which you can make at home.

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, another key food source. In his books “Bringing Nature Home” and “Nature’s Best Hope,” Doug Tallamy, a professor of entomology at the University of Delaware, identifies “powerhouse plants”— such as sunflowers in the Mid-Atlantic and native goldenrod just about everywhere — that attract appealing insects like caterpillars. (Avoid using pesticides, of course, since the “pests” are exactly what draw birds.) The National Audubon Society offers more guidance for creating a bird-friendly yard and suggestions of plants that provide food.

Window bird feeder in our Topsham Maine house attracts mostly Chickadees and Sparrows (L'Heureux photograph).

Once you’ve set up that natural buffet, you can also fill a few feeders with seed. Those supplies are widely available in pet stores, hardware stores and specialty shops such as Wild Birds Unlimited.

Different birds gravitate to different kinds of feeders — some like tube feeders, others prefer platforms or simply to eat seed off the ground. The Cornell Lab of Ornithology has plenty of species-specific recommendations. 

Also, you can research which types of seeds particular birds prefer, but just about any seed will bring them to your yard. Some feeders, such as the Bird Buddy, are outfitted with a camera that sends close-up photos and videos to your phone.

Nevertheless, there are some risks to feeding wild birds from a feeder, including the possibility of inadvertently spreading disease. To prevent this, Audubon’s experts recommend scrubbing your feeders with a solution of 10 percent non-chlorinated bleach a few times a year.

Window collisions are another danger. The Cornell Lab suggests placing feeders within three feet of the glass or more than 30 feet away to keep birds safe; if a feeder is too far from a tree or other shelter, it can expose smaller birds to hawks looking for their own lunch. (The Cornell Lab’s Feeder Watch has more details about determining the right feeder placement.)

A bird seed wreath (L'Heureux photograph)

Create a bird-friendly habitat:  Offering birds a comfortable, safe place to hang out is another way to bring them to your yard.

“During spring and summer, when birds start nesting, habitat becomes really important for a bird — and by habitat, I mean living space,” says Purbita Saha, an avid birder and deputy editor at Popular Science. “If you want to attract songbirds like wrens, chickadees and sparrows looking for shelter, you might collect a little pile of brush by gathering downed branches from the last winter storm.” Some species, such as Eastern towhees and common yellowthroats, will make their nests in brush piles.

You can also build or buy a bird box (a.k.a. a birdhouse), which essentially mimics a tree cavity. Birds can be incredibly particular about the height, size and orientation of the opening, so get advice from Cornell’s Nestwatch site, which also has tips for dealing with predators and competitors like bees and wasps. Bird baths are more than decoration, too — they help birds care for their feathers and remove pests when water is scarce; in winter, place a bird bath in the sun or find one that plugs in, to keep it from freezing.

Let the birdwatching begin: Now that your home is a destination for the feathered set, you can learn the ins and outs of observing and identifying them.

Orioles are beautiful birds but we seldom see them in Topsham, Maine.

Although the adjective “squirrel-proof” has been attached to many bird feeders, you’ll typically find squirrels attached to those feeders, too.  Adding a baffle — essentially a dome — above or below a feeder can make it harder for a squirrel to land. Some feeders have weight-activated springs that shut off access when triggered by a squirrel. Lund sprinkles a little seed on the ground, to make feeders less tempting to lazier squirrels. But know that feeding birds probably means feeding squirrels, too.

Tykee James, president of Washington D.C.’s Audubon chapter, tells people to start off with a “Familiar 5,” as a foundation for further learning: “Identify a few birds that you know really well,” he says, “then get to understand their habitat, the markings of a male and a female, and get to know their song. Are they in your backyard because they’re migrating, or are they locals looking for food and shelter?” (James suggested that as a resident of D.C., my Familiar 5 might be rock dove, European starling, house sparrow, American robin and pileated woodpecker.)

Lund and James recommend a guidebook or paper journal for taking notes and sketching. Many birders have a “life list” that includes every species they’ve ever seen. 

But, if you’re not as obsessed with all the counting and labeling, that’s okay. “For some people, that aspect of gamifying birdwatching really drives their passion, but it’s a double-edged sword that drives other people away,” says James. “Birding isn’t a competition. Sometimes it’s just about stopping and sharing one moment with one bird.”

To help spot those birds, get one of the many Sibley field guides, the go-to books for seasoned birders. If you prefer a digital option, try the Merlin Bird ID app from Cornell, which offers surprisingly accurate suggestions based on photos or a few moments of birdsong that you submit — “Shazam for birds,” as some have called it.

Saha agrees: “Birding is so much more than counting,” she says. “It’s understanding how birds use the landscape, how they interact with plants, how they eat different insects on your property … all of that helps you understand your own local ecosystem. That’s the power of birding right at home.”

To capture those details better, get a solid pair of binoculars, because even in a small backyard, the magnification lets you see things you can’t spot with your naked eye, such as bird dances and other mating rituals. Lund recommends the Nikon Prostaff series, which includes a few models in the $150 range, all of which should last for generations.

Last year, Lund saw his 700th species in the continental United States, but he has just as much fun keeping track of the birds around his home. “I’ve seen 112 species in my backyard, and the most recent one was a mallard,” he says. “Under any other circumstances, I’m not that excited to see a mallard. But when I see one in my backyard, I’m fist-pumping, jumping up and down. And when migrating birds come through, I may be lucky enough to see a Cape May warbler or blue-headed vireo that’s just stopping for a day or two, refueling … on its way from South America to Canada.”

Scott Kirkwood is a freelance writer in Washington, D.C.