Love the idea of attracting birds to your yard? Then you’ll love it even better when you discover these five benefits of backyard bird gardens.
If you’ve considered the idea of creating a bird garden in your yard, maybe now’s the time to make this a reality.
Not only do birds offer loads of enjoyment for homeowners, but hosting a bird garden also has its advantages and benefits.
And, they are:
1. Pollination
2. Pest Control
3. Wildlife Conservation
4. Resource Management
5. Relaxation
Here’s the lowdown on each of these benefits:
Pollination
You might not be aware of this benefit but a well thought out bird garden encourages a symbiotic relationship between birds and plants.
We all know bees are great for gardens because of their pollination prowess, but did you know that birds are important pollinators, too?
Indeed, birds, like bees and butterflies, transfer pollen grains from plant to plant, fertilizing each so that it can reproduce seeds necessary for regeneration.
Without pollinators, like birds, many plants would cease to exist. And, seed, is not only essential for a plant’s renewal but also as a food source for many creatures, birds, included.
Did You Know? If you choose the right plants for the right location, you’ll find that not your plants thrive but your bird, bee, and butterfly population will too.
Thus, by attracting such pollinators to one’s garden, you are essentially helping nature continue with it’s job of reproducing healthy plants, one at a time.
RELATED: Best Plants for Bird Gardens
Pest Control
Birds are natural pest eliminators. So it’s no wonder that another important benefit of bird gardens is natural insect control–all without the use of deadly chemicals, pesticides or insecticides.
In truth, birds offer the best ecological solution to control insects. They do this naturally and have been for millions of years.
DID YOU KNOW? A tiny swallow will devour 1,000 leaf hoppers in 12 hours. ~Mother Earth News
And, with year-round food, water, and shelter, the birds will continue to do so from season to season.
Wildlife Conservation
Another benefit of a healthy bird garden is that it’ll encourage positive wildlife sources to visit your garden.
You see, many creatures thrive in environments rich with food, shelter, and water, birds included.
So not only will you enjoy the beauty of watching your favorite feathered friends, but you’ll also see a variety of wildlife visiting and interacting in this rich habitat.
With a bird garden, you’ll enjoy the benefit of healthy plants, plenty of birds, and a wealth of positive creatures, to boot.
RELATED: How to Attract Birds to Your Yard
Resource Management
The idea of resource management when talking about benefits of bird gardens might be a foreign idea to you but it really shouldn’t be.
Resource management is the act of managing all of the aspects that affect one’s outdoor space from wildlife, to water, to soil, and yes, even the plants you choose.
All of these things are interconnected and failing to attend to any one of them can directly affect the success of your bird garden negatively.
RELATED: Organic Gardening for Bird Gardens
But the benefit of a properly managed bird garden is that it can affect the overall environmental health of where you live, too.
Think of your yard as a microcosm of interrelated parts working like clockwork, day in and day out.
If you are cognizant of this, chances are you’ll find that those things like bird, bee and butterfly populations, as well as other wildlife will be healthier, too–all thanks to your efforts, be it large or small.
You see, it really doesn’t take much to make a difference in the life of nature’s creatures. But with a properly managed bird garden, the benefits are endless.
Relaxation
One of the last benefits of a bird garden is relaxation.
The fact is, there’s nothing better than taking an active roll in making your backyard a haven for all nature’s creatures, including birds, bees and butterflies.
As you have seen, by practicing good conservation methods and providing the necessary food, shelter and water, your garden becomes host to an amazing assortment of plants and animals–all for your personal enjoyment.
Birdwatching and songbird identification are just a couple of the backyard activities you can engage in if you host a bird garden.
So, now’s the time to sit back and enjoy the results and benefits of your garden planning and sweat equity. Because, you know that your feathered friends are being looked after in the best way possible.
And, that’s something to be proud of.
For more information on birds and backyard gardens, be sure to check out Wisconsin Homemaker’s Garden Section.
Leave a Reply