Inviting birds an easy move for gardeners

Timothy Newcomb
Tribune assistant editor

The finch is an easy bird to attract to a Pacific Northwest garden with just a few simple steps that provide for a birds' basic needs.

WHATCOM -- There are simple steps available for making a garden inviting for local birds.
  Our winged friends require three standard elements: food, shelter and water. A personalized combination of these elements will attract the type of birds you are interested in, according to Wes Ladner of Bakerview Nursery in Bellingham.
  Proper shelter can include anything from nesting boxes of various styles to properly selected shrubs and trees.
  And food can be in the form of bought bird feed, but can also be attained by a mixture of plants and flowers.
  Ladner said that a mix of both low-growing and taller shrubs and trees will bring a mixture of different birds.
  Wrens, finches and towhees desire low-growing shrubs such as viburnum, rhododendrons and ferns.
  “They want them to be a bit dense,” Ladner said. “The more dense, the better. The more cover, the better.”
  Grosbeaks, jays, nuthatches, sishuis, juncos and “tons and tons” of other birds desire the higher shelter for safety. The birds will then “drop” down to pick buds or insects for food.
  Ladner said the options for taller shrubs and trees is quite wide and anything from oaks, magnolias, fatina and laurel to clematis, old rhododendrons and even the super tall Douglas firs, hemlocks and spruces are popular for birds.
  A mix of evergreen and deciduous shelter is best to entice a mix of birds.
  Once the shelter pieces are established, plants that offer food options need to be added.
  Birds will be drawn to anything from grasses with flower heads, berry-producing plants (such as hawthorns), flowering trees with fruit to even conifers that attract with their cones.
  Flowering plants will also attract a variety of bugs, a fun feast for birds.
  Local nurseries will be able to provide a more detailed list of flowering plants that attract specific birds.
  Water is the third element. Ladner suggested a running fountain to keep bacteria from forming. A bird bath is acceptable, but will need to be changed frequently to ensure birds stay healthy.
  Stagnant water allows bacteria such as salmonella to form, sickening birds in your yard.
  Gardeners can purchase bird houses, nesting boxes and bird feeders and seeds to attract nearly any type of bird to supplement their own additions. But if you desire to go completely natural, mixing and matching the three basic elements in your yard can prove nearly as effective.
  Special feeds for butterflies and even bats are also available.
  E-mail Timothy Newcomb at tim@lyndentribune.com.