Backyard Birding
Turn your backyard into a bird haven with tips on feeders, habitats, and attracting your favorite species.
Feeders and Food
Common Backyard Feeder Problems (and How to Solve Them!)
Bird feeding provides enjoyment to millions of North Americans each year. However, this hobby we all enjoy comes with its own challenges….
Successful Winter (and Year-round) Backyard Bird Feeding
I’ve always been fascinated by birds, and my efforts to feed them is a win-win: They get to eat, and I get…
What Foods for What Birds?
The experts at Bird Watcher’s Digest have compiled this informative bird food and seed list to help you attract the birds that…
How to Revive a Faded Hummingbird Feeder
Each spring when I pull my hummingbird feeders out of storage in anticipation of the hummingbirds’ return, the red parts of the…
Top Four Foods to Attract and Feed Woodpeckers
Suet Suet is number one on most woodpeckers’ list of preferred foods offered by humans. Suet is dense, hard, white beef fat….
Backyard Tips: How to Make Your Own Hummingbird Nectar
Hungry hummingbirds sip at a backyard feeder. Photo by J. Quinn. ’Tis the season for hummingbirds! Hanging a hummingbird feeder in your…
Does Bird Feeding Affect Bird Behavior?
A male American goldfinch visits a backyard feeder. Photo kindly contributed by Todd Smith. Much of the behavior we observe in our…
The Well-Equipped Birder: Squirrel-Proof Feeders
BWD Editor Dawn Hewitt and Production Director Bruce Wunderlich tested out a two different squirrel-proof feeders. Here are their reviews. Dawn Roamwild…
These Recipes Are for the Birds!
The holiday season means lots of different things, like Christmas Bird Counts, family gatherings, and food—lots of food! As you busily prepare…
DIY Projects
Build Your Own: Bird Bath Fountain
Birdbath and fountain: sound and motion make for special allure A home-made garden sculpture at a fraction of the retail cost. A…
These Recipes Are for the Birds!
The holiday season means lots of different things, like Christmas Bird Counts, family gatherings, and food—lots of food! As you busily prepare…
Do It Yourself: Birdbath Tips
Easy Drippers We know that water in motion attracts birds, and I’ve discovered an inexpensive, easy way to add a dripper to…
Do-it-yourself Pipe House
A new use for PVC pipe! by A.J. Hamler, excerpted from the March/April 2011 issue of Bird Watcher’s Digest Many do-it-yourselfers use…
How To: Woodpecker Box
Build an Easy Box for Golden-fronted, Red-headed, and Hairy Woodpeckers Download detailed plans you can use to build your own woodpecker box….
Build Your Own: Build a Brush Pile
Create a winter shelter for wildlife in your backyard High on the list of important microhabitats you can create for wildlife in…
Do It Yourself: Bird Bath Heater
Keep your birdbath water warm all winter long When winter comes to our farm, the daily ritual of feeding our birds intensifies…
Build Your Own: Easy Platform Feeder
Attract Birds and Protect Seed With a Simple and Effective Feeder Design The more places birds can feed in your yard, the…
Backyard Tips: How to Make Your Own Hummingbird Nectar
Hungry hummingbirds sip at a backyard feeder. Photo by J. Quinn. ’Tis the season for hummingbirds! Hanging a hummingbird feeder in your…
Hummingbirds
Tips on Choosing Hummingbird Feeders
The very first hummingbird feeders were small glass tubes filled with sugar water and ornamented with a red artificial flower to attract…
Foiling a Bully Hummingbird
Conventional wisdom said to offer multiple hummingbird feeders out-of-sight from each other—perhaps a feeder in the front and the back of your…
What do Hummingbirds Eat?
Introduction “What do hummingbirds eat?” is a question often asked of hummer enthusiasts. It’s a simple question, and you’d think the answer…
Autumn is Here! Should I Take Down My Hummingbird Feeder?
This answer depends upon where you live. Some regions of North America host hummingbirds all year long, so the answer for them…
Amazing Facts About Hummingbirds
We could fill an entire book with “amazing facts” about hummingbirds because they are birds to which the adjective “amazing” very much…
An Introduction to Hummingbirds
General Info The hummingbird family, Trochilidae, occurs only in the Western Hemisphere, where it is second only to the tyrant flycatchers in…
Frequently Asked Questions about Hummingbirds
1. How I can estimate how many hummingbirds I feed each day? A: Hummingbird experts Nancy Newfield and Bob and Martha Sargent…
Readers Ask: When Should I Put Up My Hummingbird Feeder?
It’s that time of year when we start hearing the perennial question: When should I put out my hummingbird feeder? Here in…
Bees and Wasps at Nectar Feeders
Just like hummingbirds, bees, wasps, yellow jackets, and other stinging things love sugar water. In late summer, they can swarm a nectar…
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