Turning your yard into a bird-friendly habitat: Why less mowing can mean more birds

The dull roar of lawnmowers has joined the cacophony of sounds in May, another surefire harbinger of spring in Rochester.

If you’re looking to attract more birds to your backyard, however, consider resisting the urge to craft a perfectly manicured lawn by mowing every week. Keeping your shrubbery and gardens too pristine can turn away birds in search of safety, said Randi Minetor, president of the Rochester Birding Association.

“Birds need shelter,” Minetor said. “... Especially when they’re breeding and they have a nest and they have eggs.”

Building a bird-friendly yard

Having shelter, either by undergrowth or a leaf or brush pile, can give birds a safe place from predators, including other birds. Birds can hunt, roost and nest in brush piles, created from larger logs and smaller branches, according to the National Wildlife Federation.

Another important factor to creating a bird-friendly yard is the presence of native plants. They are well adapted to local conditions and offer abundant food sources that birds and pollinators like butterflies, bees and months can take advantage of, according to the Audubon Society.

“The manicured lawn is a bad thing for birds and butterflies and other pollinators,” Minetor said. “They need native flowers that they recognize as food, they need the bugs that come out in leaf piles and that hatch in the spring.”

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Native plants bring in more birds

Audubon has an online native plant database which highlights best options based on zip code, including the species of birds the plant may attract. Rochester area recommendations, of which there are more than 100, include Allegheny service-berry, American witch-hazel, scarlet beebalm and fragrant sumac.

Native plants are often more low-maintenance and provide better food sources for local insects, which bring in a more varied set of birds. They’re also more attractive to species that don’t typically visit feeders like May’s highlight migrant, warblers.

In addition to supporting native plants, local gardeners should look into removing invasive species that can out-compete native species and destroy habitat. New York Invasive Species Information has a list of common non-native plants of concern, including giant hogweed, purple loosestrife and Norway maples.

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Bird baths and feeders

Outside of tailoring your yard maintenance and being selective of what you plant, a bird-friendly yard is about amenities. Those can include a bird bath (with fresh water every two to three days to prevent mosquitoes) and a few bird feeders.

Feeders supplement natural food sources and bring a variety of species up close, depending on the food provided. Offering different options, such as sunflower seed, suet, peanuts and cracked corn, will attract different species with a variety of feeding habits.

Just don’t be discouraged if you see a sudden influx of birds on the feeder, then none at all. Birds cycle through several feeding locations throughout the day, Minetor said, and having those options takes the worry out of finding an empty feeder.

“If you’re going on vacation and your feeders are going to be empty for a week, the birds won’t die,” she said. “They’ll just skip you and move on to the next thing.”

— Steve Howe covers weather, climate and lake issues for the Democrat and Chronicle and wanted to be an ornithologist when he was a kid. An RIT graduate, he returned to Rochester after working around the state and in Utah. Share with him at showe@gannett.com.

This article originally appeared on Rochester Democrat and Chronicle: How to turn your yard into a bird-friendly habitat: Tips and advice