Ed note: In October 2004, Audubon Magazine released a “State of the Birds” report that had 23% of North American bird species in decline, chiefly because of habitat loss by human activity. Last month, The Current ran an article on buying bird-friendly products. This month, we focus on making yards bird-friendly. As humans press outward from urban areas, gobbling up land in ex-urban development, birds lose habitat. In this article, we offer a variety of suggestions for making your yard attractive to all kinds of bird species, not just those that will visit backyard feeders.

Our tips:

1. Consider leaving a portion of your yard “native.” If your yard is thoroughly domesticated, let a portion revert back to nature, through well-considered plantings and a little benign neglect. Reduce your human impact on the land you own! Side benefits: there will be less to mow and in reducing use of your lawn mower, you’ll be cutting back on the considerable air pollution released by your mower’s two-stroke engine.

2. Plant native species. Native birds recognize native plants as good places for nesting, foraging and taking cover, because native birds and plants have evolved together. Don’t know what’s native to your area? A good reference for Chisago and Isanti County residents is Minnesota’s St. Croix River Valley and Anoka Sandplain: a Guide to Native Habitats by Wovcha, Delaney and Nordquist (University of Minnesota Press.) (UM Press page, opens in a new window.) It’s easy to locate sources of native trees, shrubs and flowers. The largest nursery is Outback Nursery, Inc. in Hastings (www.outbacknursery.com ) It has an impressive array of plants for all types of habitats. In our yard, we have chokeberry, nanny berry and highbush cranberry from Outback, providing food for berry-eating birds like robins and waxwings.

A local source for perennial plants is Landscape Alternatives (www.landscapealternatives.com) This locally-owned company specializes in native plants that come from Chisago County. This is particularly attractive, because plants living in one area evolve very specific genotypes for that area. Buying from Landscape Alternatives aids our birds and also helps preserve local plant genotypes, which otherwise might become extinct. They are in a new location on Hwy 95, south of Franconia in Chisago County.

A second local source, good for local genotype trees is Branch Landscape Nursery (www.branchland.com) This company has white pine, red maple and poplar trees, grown from saplings taken from local woodlots. Still another good source of native plants is Prairie Restorations in Princeton. Flex that green thumb and try growing native plants by seed! Native plant enthusiast Tom Dickhudt, Center City, has both seeds and plants of local varieties for sale. Call him at 257-4414. Friends of Wild River State Park hold a native plant sale during the Seegwan Festival at the park. This year’s sale will be May 21 beginning at 9:00 a.m. at Wild River State Park, north of Almelund. From Hwy 95, go north on Chisago County Road 12 to the park entrance.

3. Add native plants to your flower garden. Red and purplish trumpet-like flowers are magnates for hummingbirds. Blazing star and purple cone-flower provide seed for finches and sparrows. An excellent source of information is Landscaping for Wildlife by Carroll Henderson of the Nongame Wildlife Program of the DNR. If you can implement only one suggestion this year, do this: plant a clump of cone-flowers. I have a big cluster of black-eyed susans in my rock garden that keep finches happy summer, fall and through the winter.

4. Feed the birds. Bird feeding stations that have a variety of feeder types and offer a variety of food attract the most birds. Include platform, suet, “fly-through” and columnar feeders. In spring and summer, offer oranges and apple jelly, beginning May 1 to attract orioles and catbirds. Experiment with mealworms to appeal to bluebirds. We feed all year round, but remove the suet in the warm months.

5. Provide supplemental water. Birdbaths, heated in winter, are important sources of water for birds. Also, birds are attracted to the sound of water, so fountains and water gardens with trickling water, powered by little solar pumps are a boon to bird-friendly yards. One reference for water gardens is Better Homes and Gardens’ Creating Water Gardens by Mary Moody. We are in the planning stage of a water garden for our yard (they are surprisingly easy to do) and Moody’s book is our primary source.

6. Provide birdhouses for nesting. Tree swallows, eastern bluebirds, chickadees, nuthatches and wrens are all cavity nesters. Check out your local wild bird store for nestboxes to accommodate those species. Peterson’s North Branch Mill has a great variety of bird accoutrements, including wren houses. However, the non-native and aggressive house sparrows will vie with natives for these boxes. You must be vigilant and destroy nests, eggs and young of these invasive birds in order for our native birds to flourish. Think of them as weeds because that’s what they are.

7. Keep your cat indoors. Why attract birds to your yard, if a deadly predator patrols the premises? Domestic cats are documented doing tremendous damage to bird populations, killing hundreds of millions each year. My cat demands every day to go out, but I don’t let her, because she is safer indoors and I love birds.