There’s nothing better than the birds singing their beautiful songs in the morning. A wild bird presence can bring a positive atmosphere to your garden and for many, bird watching can become a great hobby. So, what are some other benefits you can achieve by atracting birds to your garden?

• Birds Help Eat and Control Bugs
• Birds Pollinate Plants
• Birds Help Control Garden Weeds

If you want to attract birds to your garden you need to cater for their needs. These needs are pretty basic – water, food and shelter.

• Water – Water is actually an essential part of a healthy birds life. They use water for drinking and bathing. We suggest keeping water available in your garden all the time and making sure to check it is always fresh and accessible for birds.
• Food – Different birds eat different types of food. When you cater for the culinary need of birds make sure that you have a varied menu. You can divide your menu into four basic groups – seed eaters, insect eaters, fruit eaters and nectar eaters
• Shelter – In order to attract birds to your garden, you need to make your feathery visitors feel safe and welcome. Provide shelter by planting trees. Supply roosting supports. Supply building material for nests or nesting boxes. Scatter different feeding stations in different places of the garden to prevent species conflict. Try to prevent pets like cats and dogs from access to parts of your garden.

Gardening for birds is easier than you may think. We are so lucky to have such great biodiversity in South Africa. Perhaps your garden is just kicking off or perhaps well established but, whatever the case, you can rest assured that you are creating a unique ecosystem and encouraging biodiversity.