Choosing the Right Birdhouse to Attract Birds to Your Garden

Attracting birds to your garden is a fabulous way to liven up your yard and add a little extra summer ambiance. Of course, discriminating birds will only move into the finest of homes, and here are some tips to help you select a birdhouse they’ll be proud to raise their young in.

• Make sure the birdhouse is made of wood. It is a good insulator, absorbs sound and is much more comfortable for birds than plastic or metal houses.
• The entrance to your birdhouse should be about 1.5 inches in diameter. This allows most bird species to enter and keeps larger, predatory species from entering the nest inside.
• Robins, swallows, blue jays, mourning doves, cardinals, and phoebes don’t need birdhouses. However, they will be attracted to a simple bird platform they can build a nest on. You can place these in a tree, upon a fence or in an area where it will be protected from the elements.
• If you don’t already have a birdhouse up, you might want to hurry. Birds are nesting right now. If you don’t have a place for them to live, well, they just might move in with your neighbors.

You can find the perfect plants that will attract our avian friends by checking our Plant Care Guide. Learn more about using bird-friendly elements in your gardening with our upcoming gardening classes in Kansas City, too, like Birdfeeders on July 24 and Bird Baths on Aug. 7.

Image from Flickr.