I have always liked watching birds starting back when I was a kid. My mom used to have a bird feeder in the side yard of our row type house in a small town which was in the middle of many factories. The feeder attracted a lot of birds, mainly brown headed cowbirds, northern cardinals, and some blue jays. My mom, I believe, was really only trying to get the cardinals as they were her favorite. I liked them too but there is something about the blue jay that fascinates me even more.
As I grew older and married, my husband and I moved to a two-story house in the city where we lived on the first floor. Of course I had to have my own bird feeder outside the window which pretty much attracted the same birds as my mom did. Little did I know that after moving to our very first home on six and a half acres which was mostly wooded, that there actually was a much better variety of birds out there to attract. It took a while but my husband and I started learning that if you put different types of bird seed in the feeding stations you attract more varieties of birds. Consequently, over time, my husband and I have gotten quite a few different species of birds to our backyard feeders.
For example, if you want to attract woodpeckers, having nuts in the ingredients will definitely bring them in as well as having a suet feeder with peanut butter and sunflower seeds (they love them). There are a few different types of woodpeckers in our area of southwestern Ohio too, which I never realized until they came in to the feeders. Such as the Pileated, Hairy, Downy, Northern Flicker, Red-bellied, and Yellow bellied Sapsucker (seen on the left). Other birds also like nuts and also different dried fruits, sunflower, safflower and on and on. You just need to know which birds are attracted to which seeds.
Twenty two years later Jeff and I ended up moving across the river into Kentucky to a subdivision due to work relocation. It is a much different habitat than the six and a half wooded acres that we used to have for sure. So consequently, it has taken us a few years to attract the wide variety of bird species to our backyard that we are used to. We started by landscaping with certain flowers, shrubs, and trees that helps attract different varieties in. We also provided water sources such as bird baths that the birds need year round. We placed bird houses in some trees to provide the cavity nesting birds like the wrens, chickadees, and swifts places to raise their young and for retreating to during bad weather. Plus we added a few bird feeders to attract different species of birds. We’re finally getting some good birds to our yard now!
In Conclusion
As you can imagine, the backyard birding did not stop there. Birding has become a passion for both myself and my husband. Okay, I will admit that my husband is the more fanatical one (see photo on the left). He wants to seek out every possible bird species there is. That includes the shore birds and waterfowl. Me,not so much, because frankly, I am happy just to get to see all of the songbirds, owls, woodpeckers, and hawks. But I do enjoy taking long rides to go find them. It is always an adventure!
Speaking of long rides, it has become a thing now to travel to “see the birds” as part of our vacations . We take two or three a year to destinations mainly in the United States, but have also traveled to Mexico and in October to Belize in South America. It is amazing the many beautiful species of birds that are out there. Some more beautiful than the next.
So as you can guess, this website is about learning how to attract many varieties of birds to your backyard. It is also about discovering the different travel destinations that you can take to see the many different species of beautiful birds in the world. You might be surprised at just how many too. It is Amazing! Check out my Pinterest Boards to see what I mean. Once you get hooked on the birds you can’t stop. That’s why bird watching has become so popular over the years for many people.
Happy Birding!
