Best-Ever Backyard Birding Tips: Hundreds of Easy Ways to Attract the Birds You Love to Watch - Softcover

Martin, Deborah L.; Editors Of Rodale Garden Books

Softcover

ISBN 10: 159486831X ISBN 13: 9781594868313

Publisher: Rodale Books, 2008

Synopsis

Grab a front row seat for the sights and sounds of feeding, nesting, and bathing birds right in your backyard using these tips shared by experienced birders. Whether the aim is to attract tiny hummingbirds or large and raucous blue jays, or lay out the welcome mat for temporary visitors stopping in during their seasonal migration, Best-Ever Backyard Birding Tips by Deborah L. Martin explains how to play up various landscape features and how to appreciate what happens in the backyard "birdscape."

The book targets all skill levels, offering new birders a few basics while intriguing longtime birders with new ideas. Here readers will learn:
-why moving water, even a single dripper, will make a difference in which birds visit the yard
-how to plan an entire bird garden that offers food, shelter, and water for bathing and drinking
-what seeds and foods appeal to birds at different times of the season
-how to attract new species of birds no matter which region of the country they live in
-what type of shelter keeps baby birds safe until they are ready to leave the nest

Birders will enjoy reading features such as "Everybody Wins" (birding practices that benefit nature and the environment) and "Budget-Wise Birding" (free or inexpensive ways to feed and attract birds). They'll also find step-by-step illustrations for installing a water feature, building a simple tray feeder, and converting a craft-style birdhouse into a suitable residence.

About this title

About the Author:

Deborah L. Martin is a freelance editor and writer who has made appearances as a gardening expert on HGTV and elsewhere. Previously she spent more than a decade at Rodale as a garden book editor and was the project editor for The Backyard Bird Feeder's Bible and Stokes' Backyard Bird Book. An avid amateur birdwatcher, she lives near Allentown, Pennsylvania.

Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.:

HOW TO USE THIS BOOK

This is a book meant for browsing. You can go from start--"Bird-Attracting Basics"--to finish--"Less-Wanted Guests"--or choose a chapter that interests you--about landscape plants for birds, perhaps, or water features- -and dive right in. Or simply open the book to any page and peruse the tips there--you're bound to find something new to add to your own list of best practices for bringing in the birds.

Throughout the book you'll also find opportunities to "Take a Closer Look" at the birds that are most likely to spend some or all of their life cycles in a home landscape setting. Use these features to learn more about your feathered favorites, including which foods they prefer, where and how they raise their young, and what you can do to make them feel at home.

From seeds and feeders to houses and roosting sites, discover page after page of easy, practical, actionable ideas for enjoying maximum bird- watching pleasure. Start with tips that offer almost-immediate results and advance to plans for long-term bird benefits. Find out how to "borrow" bird- friendly elements from beyond your property lines and how to bring birds close for easy window-watching from the comfort of your favorite chair.

The tips that appear in this book have been gathered by and from knowledgeable birders, dedicated gardeners, experts in a variety of subjects, and amateur naturalists. Many of them are people just like you, who began by watching the birds around them and turned that simple pleasure into a passion for bird conservation. There's something for everyone--for every bird lover and for (almost) every bird--among the hundreds of hints ahead. Let's get started: Open this book and let it open your eyes to the wonderful possibilities of surroundings brimming with beautiful birds.

About this edition

• Publisher: Rodale Books
• Publication date: 2008
• ISBN 10: 159486831X
• ISBN 13: 9781594868313
• Binding: Paperback
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 384