How to Attract Wildlife to Your Backyard

Food, water and shelter are the three basics of attracting wild birds. Creating a habitat in your yard that provides these necessities will increase the number and variety of bird species that will visit.

Location, Location, Location

If you are creating a focal area for attracting birds, carefully plan where it will be located. Where do you spend the most time looking out your windows? Our family has several large windows in the great room, at the front of the house, so we situated our feeding station where we could easily see it from both the dining and living room area. If you have bushes or trees in your yard that can provide some cover for the animals, build your habitat near these important assets. Once you have selected an area, there are both short-term and long-term changes that will make your yard more attractive to wildlife.

Instant Wildlife Habitat: Providing Food and Water

Putting out feeders and a water source are simple additions that will quickly bring the neighborhood creatures to you. The food choices that you offer will influence which type of animals you'll be likely to attract. There are numerous different varieties and combinations of seed mixes and feeder styles designed to appeal to a specific range of bird species. Although I primarily refer to birds in this article, if there is food and water, other critters will show up as well. Particularly in northern climates, squirrels are opportunists that will always crash the party.

Bird Seed Feeders and Squirrels

If you want to discourage squirrels from eating all of your birdseed, purchase special squirrel-proof bird feeders. This type of feeder is either enclosed by a cage-like barrier that allows smaller birds in, while excluding large birds and small mammals, or has an apparatus that closes off access to the seeds when something heavier than a bird is hanging on the feeder. But squirrels are very crafty, and don't be too discouraged if they steal some of the booty. These persistent little mammals will provide you with endless entertainment as they try to rob you blind. Of the squirrel-proof feeders available, I prefer the cage-enclosed feeders, since they don't have moving parts (which can easily break and make the feeder useless).

Suet Cake Feeders

Feeding suet (a mixture of fat and seeds) is easy, inexpensive, and will attract a wide range of interesting birds, including woodpeckers, flickers, crows and nuthatches. The feeder is just a small cage that can be hung from a hook, and in which the suet cake is placed. Squirrels don't bother these feeders, and with the unusual bird species attracted, suet feeders give you the most bang for your buck. Winter is a great time to use them, as suet can get a bit messy to handle in the warmer months. There are, however, heat-resistant suet cakes and products available that cost a little more, but are well worth it.

Squirrel Feeders

Although squirrels can often be attracted without any effort, there are a number of fun feeders available specifically for them. Dried corn (on the cob) holders are inexpensive, and provide the food that squirrels are very fond of. We have even recently added a squirrel bungee feeder; a rectangular block of seed attached to an elastic lead. Watching the squirrels' acrobatics as they attempt to feed from a bungee is truly hilarious.

Water Sources for Wildlife

In harsh winter months, water is often in short supply. Providing a heated water source is simple, and one of the best ways to attract a wide range of thirsty animals. Heated water baths can be found online, at garden stores and at shops dedicated to wild bird feeding. In the spring, summer and fall, unheated birdbaths and water dispensers can be used, attracting birds particularly when there are no nearby bodies of water.

Bird Houses

You can entice more birds to make your yard a permanent home by putting up a variety of bird houses. Large, multi-room martin or swallow houses will attract many of these communal birds. Added bonus, these species eat large quantities of flying insects. Small bluebird houses can be purchased inexpensively or can easily be built from scratch. Placing bluebird houses on posts, in an open field, will increase the likelihood that you will attract bluebirds. The same small houses placed in wooded areas will quickly become inhabited by sparrows.

Long-term Backyard Habitat Building

If your yard is short on shelter and natural food sources for animals, you may want to eventually plant bushes and trees that provide both. As your habitat grows to offer wildlife a wider variety of resources, you'll be rewarded with a wider variety of wildlife. Fruit tress and berry bushes are powerful wildlife attractants.

For great tips on creating backyard habitats, visit the website of the National Wildlife Federation Backyard Habitat Program.