Bringing in Birds to a Tropical Garden

A few individuals enjoy bird watching but prefer to do their bird watching in their back yard. Below are some suggestions on bringing in wild birds to your back yard.

First of all it depends on having wild birds in the general area where your house is located and then you can attract them to your yard.

The method used to catch the attention of the birds will depend on what's the diet of the bird. If the bird is a nectar feeder e.g. bananaquits or hummingbirds, then large flowering plants will attract them. Hummingbird bills are totally adapted to the different kinds of flowers which they feed on, so various sorts of flowers will attract different hummingbirds. Some hummingbirds have especially curved or elongated bills that allow them to feed on special flowers, eg the White-tipped Sicklebill hummingbird whose downward curving bill allows it to draw nectar from heliconias. The Ruby-Topaz Hummingbird has a short and somewhat decurved bill that's best for feeding on the flowers of the ixora shrub. The Blue-tailed Emerald has a short bill that's suited to feeding on the Hibiscus flower. The Copper-rumped Hummingbird has a straight long bill which allows it to feed on medium sized tube shaped flowers such as the allamanda. Hummingbirds have little if any sense of smell, so color is very important to a hummingbird's search process for locating flowers that contains nectar. Whilst they will go to any flower that has sufficient nectar they like flowers that are red to orange in color. It is thought that this color preference is because of the fact that red flowers standout in a green background and so are more easily seen by the hummingbird. It's also believed that because hummingbirds compete with insects for nectar they choose flowers that are less likely to be visited by insects. Most insects do not see well at the red end of the colour spectrum and so may not visit red flowers whilst hummingbirds see the full visible spectrum.

If space in your yard is quite limited, preventing you from having large flowering shrubs, an area to consider is the curb area between your property line and the roadway. You can plant small flowering shrubs like the miniature ixora, which will then attract nectar feeding birds to your property.

For birds which are fruit eaters, the presence of ripe fruit will attract and so having fruit trees will catch the attention of birds. Nearly all trees nevertheless only fruit once per year for a few months, so the attraction is not year round. If your garden has adequate space then multiple fruit trees that bear at different times in the year will ensure a continuous bird presence. One tree which bears fruit for a very extended period is guava and so can attract birds for most of the year. Trees are also an attraction to birds because they provide nesting and resting sites. If you have the palm trees which people usually plant in from their houses which will generally attract Palm Tanagers who'll feed on the small nuts, make use of material from the tree for building their nests and may also nest in the tree.

When a big number of flowering shrubs and/or fruit trees is not an option, you can consider buying a bird feeder. The kind of feeder will also be dependent upon the kind of birds in the area and the kind of birds that you want to attract. For nectar feeders you use a sugar solution (the feeder usually has directions). You need to put the feeder in a location where the birds will see it and you must change the solution regularly (2 -3 days). Red Feeders are good for attracting hummingbirds because they have a preference for red flowers. If you use a feeder it will take a few days for the birds to recognise that it's present inside your yard.

Other feed can attract other types of birds. Bare-Eyed Thrushes and Kiskadees are rather omnivorous and so you can make use of rice (not boiled). I have discovered that they'll also be attracted by dog food. Tropical Mockingbirds may also be attracted with rice. Additionally, ripe fruit such as bananas, mangoes and cherry can be used and will generally attract Blue-Gray Tanagers, Palm Tanagers and Yellow Orioles.

As a substitute to buying a feeder you can construct a feeder. For fruits you are able to build a simple chicken wire basket or bamboo joint to hold the fruit and attach it to the fence. Another low cost feeder could be constructed utilizing a plastic bowl with a narrow edge. To construct this feeder you punch 3 holes, equidistant around the bowl. Then attach wire strands through each hole with the strands coming together at the top to form either a hook or a loop for suspending the bowl. Three strands are required to provide stability to the bowl particularly when birds alight on the bowl to feed. It is necessary to punch several holes in the base of the bowl to allow any rainwater or liquids to drain out the bowl.

Attracting birds, apart from the visual delight also provides the benefit of controlling the insect population, as numerous birds are insect feeders.

[youtube:dUZWy8y7byk;[link:Gouldian Finches];http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dUZWy8y7byk&feature=related]


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