A Blue Jay feeding at a garden sunflower that was grown and left in place for birds was photographed by Kim Caruso, the Judges’ Choice winner of the most recent biweekly BirdSpotter Photo Contest. Judy Carlson’s photo of a dozen Eastern Bluebirds at a winter birdbath was the People’s Choice winner.

What do you do to make your yard a haven for birds? The Cornell Lab of Ornithology and FeederWatch sponsor Wild Birds Unlimited have announced their second of four Data Entry contest winners among the many birders who responded to that question. The randomly selected winner, Gail Beasley, wrote about some of the steps she takes for her local birds, and the Lab provides other important steps birders can do to improve their landscaping to provide better backyard, office, and school habitats.

Ms Beasley shared, “I purposely leave the plant material, seed heads, and other cover in my hanging baskets, deck planter boxes, and raised flower beds as shelter and food sources for birds. It’s best not to get too concerned about making these spaces look neat.”

Gail is right, birds benefit from extra food and shelter, and it’s easy to make your yard more bird-friendly. Even just leaving your flower beds and vegetable gardens “messy” for the winter can help, and some additional bird-friendly improvements include:

- Reducing the amount of space covered by mowed lawn in favor planting native shrubs and trees.

- Planting multiple layers of structure throughout your landscaping, including tall trees, medium shrubs, long grasses, short grasses, and wildflowers. Use native plants whenever possible. It’s good for birds, and you can use this effort to improve the look of your yard too.

- Permitting selected areas of lawn to grow, mature, and seed can be another way of providing different heights of cover and feeding for birds, while adding a variety of levels of landscaping to your yard. Some birders even install a native lawn to replace traditional turf.

- Using fewer helper chemicals, such as pesticides and fertilizers.

- Adding plantings to attract nesting birds to your area.

- Providing a constant source of fresh clean water for birds.

To win upcoming Data Entry contests like Gail Beasley did, the Cornell Lab and FeederWatch sponsor Wild Birds Unlimited are rewarding registered birders with BirdSpotter prizes. After entering your bird counts (data) into the FeederWatch website, participants have the opportunity to share a story, memory, or tip by clicking the “Enter to Win” button on the Count Summary page at https://feederwatch.org/pfw/data/ Entries are open until February 4, and if you’re not already a FeederWatcher, you can join the fun at https://feederwatch.org/

Habitat Around the Home – BirdSpotter Photo Winners

In addition to the above FeederWatch activities, the 4th BirdSpotter photo contest category encouraged FeederWatch participants to submit a photo of birds using the habitat around their homes: Birds are attracted to plants and water features just as they are to feeders! Selected from among the wealth of photos submitted from across North America, The Judges’ Choice winner was Kim Caruso, submitted her impressive photo taken of a Blue Jay feeding on a dried sunflower head. In response, Kim said: “Each year I look forward to photographing sparrows enjoying the gleanings from the garden. On this particular day, the Blue Jays claimed the sunflower heads for themselves.”

Leaving your garden “messy” over the fall and winter can be a great help to birds. Leftover seed heads provide food and the plants themselves can act as cover, similar to a brush pile. When planning your garden this year, consider using lots of native plants and berry-producing shrubs. Birds will react in exciting ways for you when they utilize these habitat elements next fall.

Birds are especially attracted to water features, just as they are to feeders, and the People’s Choice winning photo was taken by Judy Carlson. Judy shared more about her experience seeing 12 Eastern Bluebirds at her bird bath: “We love watching birds and have several feeders, bird houses, and a bird bath that we equip with a heater during the winter months. The heated bird bath attracts a lot of different birds.

“After a 6-inch snowfall we saw 2 bluebirds getting a drink, then there were 4, and in no time there were 12 bluebirds getting a drink from the unfrozen water. I was able to get a few pictures before they were all gone. We have a bluebird house and enjoy watching bluebirds all summer, but they seem to disappear during the winter, so it was really a treat seeing so many at one time.” To learn more about the biweekly BirdSpotter Photo Contests, refer to https://feederwatch.org/birdspotter2020-21/

Bird baths are a great way to attract birds to your yard. Birds need water to drink and to bathe in, and a heated bird bath can be a great winter addition to any yard. Change the water daily to keep it fresh and clean.

We’ve covered a lot of backyard bases in this week’s Backyard Birding article – landscaping, backyard habitats, gardens, water features, and photography – all to help you make your yard one to be very proud of – something we all aspire to – and it’s never too early to start planning for the next growing season with birds in mind.