During the spring, hundreds of wild bird species return from their tropical, wintering grounds to nest and raise their young. This massive spring migration brings the greatest opportunity of any season to attract birds by providing nesting materials and safely located nesting boxes. With birds expending so much energy during migration, courting and looking for food, these helpful additions will make their lives easier.
Since few hollow trees remain in cities and suburban yards, man-made nesting boxes have been credited with helping to increase the previously declining populations of cavity-dwelling wild birds, such as bluebirds.
“A bird’s primary consideration when choosing a nesting site is security,” according to information from Jeff & Joann Royer, owners of the Murfreesboro Wild Birds Unlimited. “Protection from predators and proximity to food is of vital importance to the success of a bird’s offspring.”
The Royers added that it is both entertaining and educational to watch birds as they go through the many stages of their lives, including choosing a nest site, making the nest, laying eggs, feeding their hatchlings and then watching the fledglings as they venture out on their own.
It is also hard to describe the emotions produced by seeing freshly fledged bluebirds being brought to the feeders by their dad, the joy in watching the antics of fledgling chickadees and goldfinches as they endlessly harass their parents to be fed, or the humor as clumsy young woodpeckers learn the ways of using a bird feeder as they wait patiently behind a nearby tree for an adult to share a bill full of suet or mealworms.
Many of these birds will call your yard home. You might even say that their families will become part of your family. And you can make a significant difference in how well these extended families will survive and thrive in your backyard during this year’s nesting cycle.
For more advice on caring for your bird families, contact your local bird feeding experts at Wild Birds Unlimited, located at 2615 Medical Center Pkwy. (Suite 1060) in Murfreesboro, or visit wbu.com/murfreesboro.
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Photos Courtesy of Wild Birds Unlimited
