Taking Care Of The Birds

As the heat of Summer is covering us, already, I wanted to bring some awareness to the care of wild birds.

They, of course, need water provided & also enjoy a sandy, gritty little area to roll around in.
Choosing plant material, even in a small urban Garden, with birds in mind will provide layers of pleasure, while supplying them food and shelter from weather and predators.
Honeysuckles and clematis, lantana, liatris ,canna lillies, hibiscus and salvias, to name a few, attract hummingbirds (along with everything that blooms in hues of red.)
Butterfly activity is an extra gift in a Garden.
Berry bushes (including blue & black berries, elderberries, raspberries, winterberries, viburnums.....) provide year round seasonal interest for me.  Their leaves always hold a beautiful Fall color.
If you want to salvage berries for yourself, netting the edible bushes is a common practice.  When 'volunteer' bushes pop up over time, transplant them in an area you can dedicate to the birds.  It will be a lovely partnership.
Birds will forage thru mulches and ground covers looking for bugs and seeds that have dropped.  So .... do not poison them !
Fertilize with compost, and study beneficial insects for your Garden  ('Good Bug / Bad Bug' by Jessica Walliser) .  Corn glutten may work on eradicating some weeds.
Then there is the idea of birdhouses / nesting boxes.
In our yard, squirrels can not be kept out of them.  So ..... I try to provide a safe natural habitat of fallen and pruned branches for them.  (Exercise caution when collecting branches in the late winter or spring, as it coincides with nesting times.)