St. Albert birdwatchers should log in to a free talk on Friday if they want to find out how to bring all the birds to their yard — and no, the answer is not “put up a bird feeder.”
Bird enthusiast Melissa Penney is giving a free online talk for the Edmonton Nature Club March 18 on how to design a bird-friendly yard.
Penney has been working on the yard of her home near the Telus World of Science in Edmonton for about 10 years and specifically gardening for birds for the last three. Despite not living near a river valley, lake, or park, she has managed to draw a mind-boggling array of wildlife to her property through research and experimentation.
“So far in my yard in the last three years I’ve had 90 species of bird,” she said, including barred owls, rufous hummingbirds, and 21 of Alberta’s 23-odd warbler species. (She also gets northern flying squirrels.)
Surprisingly, she didn’t put up a zillion bird feeders to do so.
“That is the worst way to get birds to come to your yard,” she said, as feeders don’t feature the native seeds and bugs preferred by local and migratory birds.
“The best way to get birds to come to your yard is to create habitat.”
Penney said her talk will focus on urban wildlife habitat, better bird feeders and baths, and managing invasive species.
Birds need a variety of native trees, shrubs, and flowers for food and shelter, especially as human development fragments the natural landscape, Penney said. Plant them, and you will get more birds and save money on water and fertilizer, as native plants can better survive our climate. Placing your plants in clumps also provides birds with more places to hide, which should make your yard more attractive to them.
Penney said gardeners should avoid “bug-free” plants and pesticides, as those will reduce the amount of bird food in your yard.
“You want bugs in your yard.”
Penney said bird feeders, especially tray-based ones, can spread disease and result in mice infestations. She recommended using contactless feeders such as suet feeders instead. Bird baths should be only puddle-deep and feature many sticks and rocks for birds to perch on.
The talk starts at 7 p.m. Visit www.edmontonnatureclub.org/calendar.html for details.
