Some yards seem to be magnets for birds. Providing a variety of delectable bird food in various feeder types at numerous locations, plus a fresh water source are key features in such locations, but the setting of those features is every bit as important. Providing a landscape that is safe and alluring to birds is an essential element in attracting diverse species.

The common burdock (Arctium minus) is considered a weed by most people, in part because it is not a native plant, but was brought here from Europe, and now grows wild from coast to coast. Those familiar with the plant, which can grow to six feet, know it mostly because of the tenacious burrs it produces. It can be a death trap to hummingbirds!

Dear Birdsquatch: I get it that songbirds feed their nestlings grubs and caterpillars and other insects, and so using insecticides can harm baby birds. But I'm an avid gardener. I don't want hornworms to destroy my tomato plants, or worms on my cabbage. How can I grow beautiful vegetables without using insecticides?

—Peggy S.,
Rolla, Missouri

To clean or not to clean last year's nest from a bluebird box in preparation for nesting this spring—that is the question. Research shows that bluebirds, when given the choice, overwhelmingly select boxes with an old nest in it. This goes against a popular thought that bluebirds avoid old nests due to parasitic blowfly larvae. Blowflies lay their eggs in old nests, and the larvae attack the young birds.

You're likely already well-versed in the art of providing food and water for backyard birds. But do you know how to effectively provide cover to attract and protect birds? There are several important factors to take into consideration when installing shrubs or positioning feeder stations in your yard.

Dear Birdsquatch: We have been maintaining a birdbath in our backyard for more than 10 years. It has always been visited by a few bees every day. Last year the number of bee visitors increased, and this year there are so many that birds won't use the birdbath. What do you suggest?

A native shrub found commonly from coast to coast, primarily in the northern half of the United States and across southern Canada, is important in helping birds survive winter.

The first day of fall—the autumnal equinox—is September 23. As the days turn colder, look beyond your feeders to the trees and bushes in your backyard. You may be surprised at what you find!

It's a myth that a hummingbird, or any bird for that matter, will be deterred from heading south in the fall because of human-provided food. Instinct and hormonal urges are what drive birds to migrate, and hummingbirds are no different. Besides, there is good reason to leave your nectar feeder up and full of fresh sugar water until the temperature dips to below freezing, even if you haven't seen a hummer for weeks.

Planting conifers in your yard helps provide shelter, food, nesting sites, and nest-building materials to a diversity of species that rely on these trees for survival. If you're curious about how different conifers benefit birds or are wondering about cone identification in general, we've rounded up a selection of common cones for your consideration.

Dear Birdsquatch: We have been maintaining a birdbath in our backyard for more than 10 years. It has always been visited by a few bees every day. Last year the number of bee visitors increased, and this year there are so many that birds won't use the birdbath. What do you suggest?

Throughout North America, August usually brings the driest weather of the year. Natural water sources for drinking and bathing can be few and far between, so by providing a birdbath or other water feature, you'll help the birds get through the dog days, and you will likely be rewarded by attracting species that don't visit your feeding station.

Native vines check off multiple boxes of what birds need: nourishment, cover, housing, and mobility. Their fruits and seeds make them great food resources, their knotty networks provide shelter from the elements and protection for active nests, and small birds like warblers, chickadees, and kinglets are known to use vine systems to safely move from the tops of trees to understory shrubbery, then down to ground level. The following list explores some native vine options to consider growing in your own backyard for maximum birdy benefits.

A flock of European starlings can make short work of your birdseed and suet. To encourage them to dine elsewhere, adapt your buffet and your serving utensils. Starlings' favorite foods are peanuts, mixed seed, bread products, table scraps, and suet. Foods they don't care for include peanuts in the shell and gray striped sunflower seeds—their bill isn't designed to crack open hard hulls.

If you're lucky enough to find an oriole nest in your backyard or neighborhood this year, you'll be looking at the culmination of several days' hard work on the part of these vibrant orange and black birds.

The word "sunflower" applies to about 70 species of Helianthus, and nearly all of them are native to various locations in North America. All varieties produce a central cluster of seeds. From mid-May to early June is a great time to plant these fast-growing beauties that will mature into nature's own bird feeder.

Spring gives a promise of increased bird activity and fresh floral blossoms, but what does it mean when your feathered friends are preying on petals? If you maintain a garden in your yard, there's a reasonable chance that you've noticed birds plucking at your blooms at some point. While this behavior can sometimes be attributed to actual flower-eating, also called florivory, it's possible that those birds tearing at your blossoms are practicing something else entirely.

Have you considered renovating your backyard to be more comfortable for birds? WBB contributor Elizabeth Bacher offers 11 ideas to make your property more appealing and safer for your feathered friends.

Here's one weird, but true way to help birds during nesting season: Save your eggshells and offer them to your avian visitors. Female birds need calcium—especially during egg-laying season.

Don't expect a jay or hummingbird to use a birdhouse you provide. Only "cavity nesters"—bird species that naturally nest in hollow trees or similar secluded shelters—will select a human-provided nest box. And not all cavity nesters readily adopt boxes.

Is it too early to wish you a happy spring? I've been a spring anticipator my whole life. It's not that I dislike winter, but, if winter were optional, I'd probably ask for a no-thank-you helping—just enough to taste it. But spring! Oh, give me kite-flying winds and light-blue skies and soggy new, green grass, and daffodils all year long. Plus there's the anticipation of our returning bird friends.

Birds might not celebrate human holidays, but they are well aware of shorter days, longer nights, and dropping temperatures. Since most of us celebrate winter holiday by giving gifts, here are some ideas for holiday presents for backyard birds.

Dear Birdsquatch: A red-breasted nuthatch visited my feeder briefly in mid-September but I haven't seen it since. This is a species I occasionally see in winter, but not September! What's up with that?

As you scrape out pumpkin guts for a pie or jack-o'-lantern, don't throw away the seeds! Don't even compost them! Squash seeds of any sort, including pumpkins, are a high protein treat for birds.

Whether you'd like to admit it or not, summer is over and autumn is upon us. Spring cleaning gets lots of attention, but for the backyard bird watcher, there's just as much to do in fall as in spring. Check out four tips to help your backyard birds in fall.

Our vegetable and flower gardens are dormant this time of year, long after the growing season has petered out, I'd like to clean them out so the yard doesn't look so unkempt. I've also heard that cleaning out the dead plant matter from your garden reduces the chances of pests overwintering and emerging to attack the plants in the spring. My husband swears that he read an answer by you in this publication that stated it was best to leave the garden fallow all winter long. I think that my husband is just looking to avoid doing the clean up work. He's not lazy, but he's close to it!

Raccoons are undeniably cute, but they are not good neighbors. If raccoons are raiding your feeders by night, these 10 tips are for you. Most backyard feeder perperators can use all the help they can get in fighting this mammalian marauder.

Did you know? All those bird-friendly plants in your yard and garden can keep on being a source of food long past their blooming prime. Flowers such as zinnias, coneflowers, salvias, poppies, and other summer garden staples retain tiny seeds in their flower heads that birds will find in the months following frost, or the end of the blooming season (if your area doesn't have frost). Even garden plants such as tomatoes, peas, squash, and corn will harbor insect life in their stems and under their brown, curly leaves.

Looking ways to attract birds to your backyard this summer? Here are 10 suggestions for enhancing the bird-friendliness of your backyard. These tips will work no matter where you live in North America!

Dear Birdsquatch: Last spring a pair of house wrens took over a bluebird house in my backyard. I suspect them in the untimely demise of a clutch of Carolina chickadee eggs, which I found pierced and dropped below the nest box the chickadees were using. I've heard that house wrens are not good neighbors to other cavity nesting birds. Is this true? And if so, what can I do to discourage the house wrens?

While it seems helpful to offer it to nest-building birds, it is not a suitable material for the job. First, the strands are too short to be woven strongly. Nests built with it can develop holes, sag, or even collapse because they lack tensile strength.

Monarda enhances almost any yard dedicated to attracting birds. It is native to North America, and in the mint family. Garden shops and wildflower books use such names as "bergamot," "bee balm," "Oswego tea," and "horsemint" for the various Monarda species.

Most people can't wait for spring to arrive, and backyard bird watchers seem especially eager for the earth, spinning on its invisible axis, to lean closer to the sun. When the winter weather breaks, it's time to get outside to look for hopeful signs that spring is on its way!

Save your eggshells and offer them to the birds. Female birds need calcium—especially during egg-laying season. Also, consider leaving those old logs in your yard. The combination of wood, water, and soil creates gold for the birds, in the form of invertebrates attracted to the decaying wood.

Bird watchers who pay close attention to their feeders recognize the changing of the seasons by more than the need to flip a page on the calendar every 30 days or so. Birds have their own inexorable seasonal rhythms, and for many of us it takes no more than a glance at the crowd that has gathered on or under our bird feeders on any morning to recognize that change is under-way.

Looking for an ideal tree for the birds? Better for the birds than an artificial or freshly cut holiday tree is a live tree: one with roots attached and neatly balled in burlap, ready for planting in your yard as soon as the holidays are over.

Looking for ways to enhance your fall birding? WBB editor Bill Thompson, III, has a few tips that will increase your chances of attracting fall migrants to your backyard.

Migration, which appears to be a simple concept on the surface, is actually an immensely complicated process. Migration is widely understood to be the movement of birds from one place to another. We see migration every year in our yards: Sparrows and finches arrive from the North in the fall and leave in the spring. The big picture, however, obscures the complexity.

I bought a birdbath at my local garden center. It's ceramic with a beautiful blue glaze on it. It looks amazing in my flower garden but it's been out there for a month and still no birds have gone near it. I've kept it clean and full of water. What gives? Don't the birds need water?

Looking for plants that are easy to grow, and repay the effort of planting them with gifts for both people and birds? Author, artist, and naturalist Julie Zickefoose lists ten flowers that are well-suited for the purpose.

American goldfinches do not visit feeders as often in the summer as they do at other times of year. One way to get goldfinches to visit your yard is to grow plants they like. Generally, the goldfinch is a seedeater, preferring seeds from birch and alder trees, burdock, chickweed, and dandelion. But they also eat the leaves of Swiss chard and beets.

Our tall, hairy, and slightly stinky columnist answers reader questions about feeding suet dough, why nest boxes might fail, and pizza. Birdsquatch loves pizza.

What is the most attractive feeder food for cardinals? What types of feeders do they favor? These are important questions if you're looking for ways to attract cardinals to your yard. We have the answers!

If you think birdhouses are just for nesting, you're wrong. On cold, winter nights, songbirds use tree cavities and human-provided nest boxes as shelter. There are ways to make such boxes more welcoming for your winter resident birds.

WBB Contributor Andy Haynes Avery recently moved from an urban neighborhood in Bloomington, Indiana, to a rural area with a wildlife refuge nearly across the street. Her yard birds changed, but not in way she expected.

It's a myth that a hummingbird, or any bird for that matter, will be deterred from heading south in the fall because of human-provided food. Instinct and hormonal urges are what drive birds to migrate, and hummingbirds are no different. Besides, there is good reason to leave your nectar feeder up and full of fresh sugar water until the temperature dips to below freezing, even if you haven't seen a hummer for weeks.

Most nesting birds feed their young protein in the form of insects, especially soft and juicy caterpillars. Some birds are strictly insectivorous, and those are unlikely to visit your seed feeders. A great way to see warblers, vireos, and other such birds is to encourage caterpillars in your garden.

Here's a very affordable way to please birds! Songbirds need perches. If you can find room to plant just one tree, ideally a species native to your area, birds will find your yard to be friendlier and more welcoming, and more will visit you. If you have a tiny yard and no place to plant a tree, or if you have a postage-stamp-sized yard, or only a porch, deck or balcony to offer the birds, "plant" a dead tree! Not a plastic one, but a branch from a real tree—the biggest one you can comfortably fit in the space you have for it.

Although it is rare—even unheard of—for humans to become sick from handling a bird feeder, there is no doubt that microorganisms flourish on their surface. That's why it's important for you to wash your hands after handling your feeders, including after refilling them. Much more of a threat are illnesses and diseases spread among the birds that visit and share feeders. To keep your feeder birds healthy, and to prevent the spread of disease, follow these steps.

The weather outside might be frightful for a month or two longer, but dedicated gardeners know that winter is the best time to plan a garden. Use these winter months to devise a plan to make your yard more friendly and accommodating to the birds!

Wendy Clark has always enjoyed holiday decorating, but now she lives in a condo that doesn't allow much room for a holiday tree. Instead of overstuffing her small living room with a tree, she places it outside on the deck and decorates it with teacups filled with birdseed.

People may tell you that nest boxes must be put up in the springtime, when birds start to sing, mate, and build nests. Actually, nest boxes can be put up any time of year. The longer a nest box is part of your backyard habitat, the more likely birds are to accept and use it.

If the weather gets harsh in your part of the continent, you can give birds shelter, a safe place to eat, and a place to hide from predators with a backyard brush pile. Simply pile up sticks, fallen branches, and even your holiday tree when you're done with it, to form a brushy tangle.

Whether you'd like to admit it or not, summer is over and autumn is upon us. Spring cleaning gets lots of attention, but for the backyard bird watcher, there's just as much to do in fall as in spring. Check out four tips to help your backyard birds in fall.

Almost all migratory birds are experiencing population decreases due to loss of habitats and environmental contamination. Nonmigratory resident birds, too, are feeling the effects of the growing human population. This is not a call to rally on the White House lawn. You can do your part in your own backyard.

Keep your birdbath clean. It's a simple adage, oft repeated, but there are reasons to be scrupulous that go beyond hygiene and aesthetics. Of course, the birds' health comes first. If we're going to provide water, we owe it to them to give the bath a good scrubbing when droppings and algae foul the water. Bird droppings contain nitrogen, which is algae fuel, so the quicker we get rid of them, the cleaner our bath will stay.

If birds have vanished from your yard, perhaps they are trying to tell you something about your landscaping. Birds prefer landscapes that are a bit wild and unkempt.

Sometimes, yes, sapsuckers damage trees. Their boring won’t kill the tree, but it will weaken the wood and allow the potential for disease to enter. But not necessarily. We’ve seen enormous, healthy-looking trees with sapsucker scars. Unless you plan to sell your tree for lumber, you might never notice a health problem with the tree. Odds are, it will live for many decades despite the sapsucker holes.

If you've got some time to spare, here are a few backyard projects to keep you going on those slow weekends.

When my son, Ryan, and daughter, Amanda, were around 5 and 3 years old, we built our first squirrel box as a family project. Soon after placing it high in our maple trees, squirrels began to entertain as we watched their babies grow and frolic in and on top of the box—our gift to them.

Semi-retired 35 years later, I decided to relive the good times past by placing a new squirrel box in our mulberry tree.

You don't have to be an avid birder to keep a bird list. If you're serious about feeding the birds, why not keep track of the bird species that you have seen at your feeders, in your trees and shrubbery, or otherwise in or over your yard or property?

The seeds of evening primrose can be a valuable food source for birds in cold climates throughout North America. Each flower produces hundreds of seeds, and when the flower dies, it holds on to some and drops others. The stalks of dead evening primrose are "Eat Here" signs to songbirds, marking a likely food source at the base.

As you scrape out pumpkin guts for a pie or jack-o'-lantern, don't throw away the seeds! Don't even compost them! Squash seeds of any sort, including pumpkins, are a high protein treat for birds.

Raccoons are undeniably cute, but they are not good neighbors. If raccoons are raiding your feeders by night, these 10 tips are for you. Most backyard feeder perperators can use all the help they can get in fighting this mammalian marauder.

If you only have a little room in your garden, or want to simplify things and plant a few flowers that really appeal to hummingbirds, you can't go wrong with these recommendations.

Winter can bring more northerly sparrows into your yard. Here's how you can make your yard more inviting for native sparrows.

Winter may be the best time of year for backyard feeding stations, as wild food sources become scarcer. In our yard in northwestern West Virginia, we also take an extra step that is often undervalued: We spread some handfuls of mixed seed on the ground in sheltered spots where we know skulking birds hide.

Looking ways to attract birds to your backyard this summer? Here are 10 suggestions for enhancing the bird-friendliness of your backyard. These tips will work no matter where you live in North America!

Most people can't wait for spring to arrive, and backyard bird watchers seem especially eager for the earth, spinning on its invisible axis, to lean closer to the sun. When the winter weather breaks, it's time to get outside to look for hopeful signs that spring is on its way!