[rls1321]

Hello,

My husband and I have recently discovered birdwatching as a hobby and we both really enjoy it. We very quickly decided that we wanted to create a bird space in our yard. I have done research on the types of things that different birds like around here, flowers/shrubs to plant, water sources, types of feed and feeders. Our neighborhood consists of several houses, rather close together, with small yards. Our yard backs up to a retention pond which attracts lots of waders; we see many egrets, herons, anhingas, pelicans, etc. On the other side of the "lake" is a somewhat busy road.

The area we've chosen to develop as a bird garden is in the middle of the backyard, with shrubs nearby (against the house) and a clump of a 2 or 3 palm-type trees about 30 feet away (they do provide some dense shelter and our current birds like hanging out there). Currently we mostly see starlings, doves and mockingbirds. We like those just fine but I'm really hoping we can attract a variety of other birds with the right food and plant life.

Without having any heavily wooded areas nearby, I guess my question is do you think I can expect to see some different things now that I'm offering food and such? Or will I need to learn to be happy with my mockingbirds and little blue herons?

Here's a little about my setup:
- Double shepard's hook with hummingbird feeder and a hopper with black oil sunflower seeds
- Bird bath
- Knockout rose bushes

I was going to plant a firebush, some lantana, and some zinnias or black-eyed susans. The area gets full sun. We have a high insect population including spiders and worms (and lovebugs at the moment, like everyone else).

As for what I want to attract, anything really.. jays, cardinals, titmice, sparrows, hummingbirds, woodpeckers, and of course the ones everyone wants (buntings, tanagers, orioles, etc.). I just like seeing different things. I chose pure black oil sunflower seeds because it is said to be something that is widely sought after by a lot of different species.

I would really appreciate any thoughts or ideas. Thank you

[Zackiedawg]

I haven't made any real all-out studies as to what works and doesn't, so my input is very unscientific. However, I live in suburban Boca Raton, not near any wooded areas, and get a pretty good selection of birds in my yard.

Basics are: I added a backyard birdbath - a big stand-up kind - and also placed out 3 smaller dish-style birdbaths in the front and backyard, that sit on the ground. I have two feeders in the backyard that have standard birdseed mixes in them. I have an orange tree, lots of azalea, hedges of ficus, arica palms, and other assorted plants around the backyard for plenty of perching space and shade, and I put out peanuts in the shell in the front and backyard (primarily something I started for the squirrels, but I've found that blue jays and grackles prize the peanuts above any other kind of food I've put out there). I also sprinkle old bread in the yard after drying it out a bit in the oven so it crumbles - this is favored by the doves & waders.

My normal and regular yard visitors are blue jays (outnumbering everything else) and grackles (not far behind the blue jays), followed by brown thrashers, grey catbirds, mockingbirds, starlings, various doves, northern cardinals, redstarts, yellow-throated warblers, palm warblers, downy & red bellied woodpeckers, ibis, and cattle egrets. I get occasional visits by some ducks (mottleds, whites, and muscovies) that look for bread bits and like to swim in the pool, occasional great blue herons, and a few red-shouldered hawks that are looking to feed off the birds that visit the yard. I also have squirrels, raccoons, opposum, and a good reptile variety (brown and green anoles, iguana, knight anoles, northern curly-tails, red-bellied black snakes, racers, grass snakes, house geckos).

[rls1321]

That is encouraging - thanks very much for the response. I was wondering if a citrus tree might be a good idea. The bread is a great idea - I forgot to mention we have a flock of whistling ducks that reside at our lake so they might like that. The only reptiles we've seen are anoles and tiny ring-neck snakes.

You get all kinds of things! I appreciate this info. Definitely gave me some more ideas.

Anyone else have success with a suburban FL bird garden?

Thank you

[merryslug]

Getting ready to try this a little myself. I'll be taking smaller steps, but will probably start out with the water and grow from there.

[bulos]

After not having done so for quite a few years since I was away so much of the time I just last week started putting out white millet. early this morning there was a male Painted Bunting and again later in the day hiding in the wild coffee. When I moved into my East Davie home 23 years ago they were always here then after a lot of local "development" they disappeared. I built a rather large in ground bird bath with a little water fall on a timer when I first moved in here and it pays off. In the past few days there have been a few species of warbler, Red-Bellied Woodpecker, Mockingbirds, Blue Jays, 3 species of dove and I'm sure I've missed a bunch since I don't stay glued to my kitchen window. This is an old pic of the bath. In past years I've had hawks, egrets, herons, it's amazing how well water works down here.
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[bulos]

I built a rather large in ground bird bath with a little water fall on a timer when I first moved in here and it pays off. In the past few days there have been a few species of warbler, Red-Bellied Woodpecker, Mockingbirds, Blue Jays, 3 species of dove and I'm sure I've missed a bunch since I don't stay glued to my kitchen window. In past years I've had hawks, egrets, herons, it's amazing how well water works down here.
As for vegetation; Live Oak, Gieger Tree, Fire Bush, Wild Coffee, all work very well.