Butterfly And Bird FeedersBy Rachel Dawson Butterfly and bird
feeders attract lovely critters to your yard. Your primary ways of
supplying food are with appropriate flowers and with bird feeders.
Many flowers attract both butterflies and hummingbirds. You can
plant herbs such as sage and thyme. Also try catnip, hyssop, or
lavender. Try other plants such as butterfly bush and bee balm.
Phlox, purple coneflower, and sedum make good choices, as well. And
you have numerous other options that will help to attract
butterflies and hummingbirds to your yard. Hummingbirds also like
hummingbird feeders. You can boil together one part sugar to four
parts water. Let the solution cool completely before adding it to
the feeder. Contrary to popular opinion, you don?t have to add red
food coloring to the sugar water to attract hummingbirds. Some
experts even discourage red food coloring. You should clean out the
feeder once per week with hot, soapy water. You should rinse the
feeder with boiling water. Then refill it with a fresh batch of
sugar water. Even if the hummingbirds did not drink all the sugar
water from the previous week, you should replace it. If you leave
it longer, it can ferment and harm the birds. If you find they
aren?t drinking much, don?t fill the feeders as high. Hanging bird
feeders attract other types of birds (finches, for example). Some
songbirds prefer platform feeders, and others are most likely to
eat right off the ground. When placing bird feeders, you should
consider some of the following suggestions. Place bird feeders a
few feet away from shrubbery or trees. Dense foliage gives birds a
place to hide from predators. They may not want to feed in areas
where they are more open to attack. Secondly, a location shielded
from wind will probably help to attract birds to the feeder. If
winds typically come from a certain direction, place the bird
feeders on the opposite side of your house; the building will help
to break the wind. Depending on how you stock your feeders, you can
attract different types of songbirds. If you want to buy only one
type of seed that will attract the largest variety of birds,
black-oil sunflower seeds will be your best choice. Chickadees,
finches, woodpeckers, blue jays, cardinals, and sparrows all prefer
sunflower. Mixed seed is also a popular choice, but it works best
either sprinkled on the ground or offered in a platform feeder (as
opposed to a tube feeder). Fruit can also attract birds such as
robins and mockingbirds. In this case, try sliced apples or
bananas, or even raisins. By planting appropriate flowers, you may
be able to entice butterflies and hummingbirds into your yard.
Installing hummingbird feeders will provide an extra food source
beyond nectar. Bird feeders should attract songbirds. Take care to
place them out of the wind, in an area where they can hide from
predators in bushes or trees. Choose your feed based on what
varieties of birds you would like to attract. Then sit back and
watch as interesting creatures visit your yard. About the Author:
Rachel Dawson is a freelance writer who likes to watch interesting
animals. She writes about bird feeders [1] and outdoor relaxation
[2]. Source: www.isnare.com [3] Permanent Link:
http://www.isnare.com/?aid=372995&ca=Gardening [4] [1]
http://www.outdoorfurnitureplus.com/garden-decor-bird-feeders.html
[2] http://www.outdoorfurnitureplus.com/ [3] http://www.isnare.com
[4] http://www.isnare.com/?aid=372995&ca=Gardening
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