The Bird Buffet

I once had a sparrow alight upon my shoulder

for a moment, while I was hoeing in a village garden,

and I felt that I was more distinguished by that circumstance

that I should have been by any epaulet I could have worn.

~Henry David Thoreau

Birds dotting the yard with heads down and tail feathers up, flashes of color flitting through the trees, a cacophony of chatter and songs. It can only mean one thing… the bird buffet is open! Our yard is a combination of snack bar and meeting place for a variety of feathered friends; many of which enjoy a “mixed diet” of seeds, nuts, fruit and insects. Did you know that identifying the birds frequenting and/or taking up residence in your yard reveals a connection to the pests in your garden?

Everything in nature is balanced. Birds are natural pest control! Like picky children, different varieties of birds prefer a diet of specific insects. This spring we have seen blackbirds in the yard nearly everyday, though never in our yard before. The recent appearance of crickets has caught their eye. With a neighborhood population explosion of those destructive pests, the blackbirds have arrived to relish the fine dining experience.

Slugs in the lettuces? A downy woodpecker’s delight. Ants and ant eggs are a garden feast for sweet nuthatches, brown creepers, titmice, flickers and chickadees. We don’t have chickens, but juncos and and towhees fit the bill of free-range ground insect foragers, snatching grubs and other pests from the soil. Our yard, graced by bluebirds and catbirds, is also home to grasshoppers for them to feast upon. It’s really quite amazing!

Of course in order to keep the beautiful and beneficial birds coming back to our yard and garden we aim to keep our “garden restaurant” open year round. We’ve planted native trees and shrubs for food and shelter and have several water sources available all year. Nesting houses encourages diners to “stay a while.” Providing for a few simple needs will keep our feathered friends gracing our backyard dining hall for years to come…and our gardens pest-free! Happy gardening!

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