Backyard Birding
Turn your backyard into a bird haven with tips on feeders, habitats, and attracting your favorite species.
Feeders and Food
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…
Go Ahead and Feed the Birds!
White-breasted nuthatch photo by Shutterstock. Last summer, wildlife organizations in several Midwestern and mid-Atlantic states issued advisories for backyard birding enthusiasts to…
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….
Top 10 Backyard Questions
“There’s a bird question on line one. Can somebody pick it up?” Between the telephone calls, regular mail, and e-mail, we get…
Essential Tips for Summer Bird Feeding
Bird feeding is a rewarding pursuit—for us and the birds!—that can be enjoyed year-round. Whether you’re offering sugar water to hummingbirds, suet…
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….
Feeders and Feeding: Orioles
I feed the birds all winter here in Missouri. We help each other survive the cold, snowy months. Do I quit feeding…
Cleaning Bird Feeders in Winter
It’s wintertime here in Ohio, and that means keeping an eye on the weather forecast on the regular. As a steady supplier…
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…
DIY Projects
Do-It-Yourself: Prevent Squirrels from Raiding your Bird Feeder
This baffle prevents squirrels from accessing a hanging feeder from above. Two metal salad bowls, one 10-inches and another 18-inches in diameter,…
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…
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…
Do-It-Yourself Stovepipe Predator Baffle
Materials: Aluminum electrical conduit, ½-inch diameter, 5-foot length Iron rebar, ½-inch diameter, 5-foot length One hanger iron (two 7-inch strips attached with…
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…
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…
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…
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….
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…
Hummingbirds
Gardening Tips for Hummingbirds: Tips for Your Region
Continental East Imagine you could plant a garden so lush, green, and full of blooming things that angels would come down from…
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…
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…
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…
Gardening Tips for Hummingbirds: Tips for Your Region
Continental East Imagine you could plant a garden so lush, green, and full of blooming things that angels would come down from…
Praying Mantis: Hummingbird Predator
Though we tend to think of hummingbirds as cute, dainty little things, in reality they make bold and fierce competitors. They don’t…
Frequently Asked Questions About Hummingbird Feeders
Feeder Placement There are a few things to keep in mind when placing your feeders. First of all, the feeders need to…
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…
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…
The Number 1 Resource for Birders
Subscribe today for tips and advice for everything related to birds, from backyard birding to photography, plus entertaining stories, award-winning photography, an annual gear guide, ideas and inspiration for birding destinations, and more!