3 Bird-Friendly Garden Ideas
This post may contain affiliate links, please see our privacy policy for more information.
Have you ever wanted to create a magical bird sanctuary in your garden that feels like something out of a fairytale? In this post, I will be sharing with your three adorable ideas to invite birds into your backyard. This year, I have truly found myself diving into the art of bird watching and gathering various bird feeders and bird houses to decorate our garden. I want it to be as whimsical as possible and feel like a cottage garden out of my favorite childhood stories, like a Beatrix Potter tale! If you are also looking to create your own Beatrix’s Potter’s garden, then I hope you enjoy these ideas to create a Scandinavian folk art painted birdhouse, a bird nesting material station, and natural bird treats.
Creating a Bird Sanctuary:
To turn your backyard or garden into your own whimsical bird sanctuary, there are a few points to consider. Birds are attracted to places that feel safe to create a habitat in. Before you begin, it’s nice to know what types of structures, feeding areas, and tools you can add to your list to help invite birds into your backyard.
Water. All living things need water! Adding a water source to your garden can be helpful in attracting birds to your yard so they have a place to drink and to bathe. Birds listen for water, so adding a bubbler or fountain can also attract several species of birds!
Shelter. Some birds, like sparrows, bluebirds, and chickadees, like enclosed spaces to call home. Bird houses come in a variety of shapes and sizes, though in this post we’ll be making something fairytale inspired! Make sure the entrance is only as big as the species you want to attract. If the entrance hole is too large, predatory birds could get inside!
Food. Different birds enjoy different types of feeds. Keep reading to see which types of birdseed attracts which type of bird you might want visiting your garden!
Nesting. If you want birds to call your garden home, providing birds with nesting materials and opportunities can be a way to help them know your yard is a safe place to stay.
A Scandinavian Folk Art Painted Birdhouse:
The more I learn about my ancestry, the more intrigued I am by all of the art from the regions where my family came from. We have been incredibly inspired by folk art from Sweden and Denmark, and I’ve recently also started diving into the folk art from Poland, Russia, and Lithuania.
This bird house was so fun to create, and while I feel the art definitely leans more toward Scandinavian designs, we were also heavily inspired by Polish folk art as well! It’s a bit of a mix. Bird houses painted like this certainly lean more towards a historical decor piece, which makes it unique and fairytale-esque! In the Dutch-American town Pella here in Iowa, there are many bird houses like this in their historical village.
*Please note that while painting a birdhouse can be really fun and creative, birds often choose to make homes in birdhouses or bird boxes that are neutral or natural in color. Bright colors can attract predators!
Supplies To make the bird house:
Step One: Find inspiration! We loved the classic fairytale-esque look from Northern and Eastern European folk art. However, you might enjoy another region’s art to gather inspiration from. Perhaps you picture your bird sanctuary truly looking like something from the Tale of Peter Rabbit!
Step Two: Paint your birdhouse! We chose to use acrylic paint, but you might prefer something else more natural like milk paint. We also wanted to add a shingled roof to the birdhouse, so we painted jumbo popsicle sticks and wood glued them to the roof.
Step Three: Once your birdhouse has dried, give it a nice coating of tung oil, which will prevent it from inclement weather!
how to build a bird nesting station:
You can help attract birds of all kinds to your garden by providing them with a safe place to nest. Spring is the perfect season to create a nesting material station for birds. A bird nesting material station is a little open cage filled with natural materials that birds can use to build their nests. This is usually filled with wool roving, straw, string, yarn, and even human hair!
The nesting material station can be incredibly simple to elaborate, depending on your time and creative skill.
To begin, you’ll first need to gather some materials:
Green branches, like willow
Pet Hair
Ribbons
Straw
Step One:
Begin by gathering your branches. How many you need will depend on how intricate you want your nesting station to be! You want the ball or cage to have holes large enough for the birds to easily pull the material out while also being tight enough so that the material does not fall out. We used about 3 to 4 green branches about 2-3 feet (1 meter) long from our weeping willow tree.
Create three rings about 6-inches (15 cm) across, with one ring being slightly larger than the others. To make the rings, weave one branch around itself like a flower crown. Place 2 of the rings inside the large ring, making a sphere.
Step Two:
Secure the sphere with twine. Tie the top end together, joining the three rings together. Repeat the same at the bottom of the sphere and spread the rings out so that they are evenly spaced.
Step Three:
With a separate willow branch, begin weaving around the outside of the sphere to create a convergent line. This will be your cage-like structure that holds the material in the sphere. Create about 2 to 3 of these woven around the outside of the ball.
Step Four:
Fill your station with materials! You will want to use more natural colored materials as birds prefer to have their nests hidden from predators. You can use all sorts of materials, but do make sure to not use anything unnatural like plastic bags or tin foil. Materials like wool roving or yarn are great options. You can even be sustainable and use pet hair or straw from your garden. Some people recommend cutting yarn or hair to prevent tangling.
Ideas for natural bird treats:
Another incredibly easy and charming way to invite birds to your yard is by making homemade natural treats. This is one of my favorite activities to do, especially in the winter and early spring when foraged food is scarce! All you need to make homemade natural bird feeders in your yard are some pine cones and apples!
Supplies for Making Natural Bird Feeders:
The supplies needed to make your own DIY natural bird feeders are things that you most like have in your home and pantry already!
Apples
Oranges
Peanut Butter or “Tree Icing”
Bird Seeds
Raw Nuts
Dried Fruit
Make your treats:
To make treats, simply tie some twine around one end of a pine cone. You can also cut an apple in half or into slices and core out the center, or likewise hollow out an orange and use the rind like a little cup! Cover the pine cone or fruit with peanut butter and then dip in bird seed, raw nuts, or dried fruits. Hang in your tree and enjoy bird watching!
seeds that attract birds:
There are several different types of seeds that attract birds to your yard. The most popular seed amongst birds is sunflower seeds. Can’t you just picture them all chatting away about that in their finest clothes like a storybook?
Sunflower. Black-oil and striped sunflower seeds are attractive to many types of birds as the shells are easy for them to crack open.
Safflower. This type of seed is most favored by cardinals, chickadees, grosbeaks, doves, and some sparrows.
Thistle. This seed is enjoyed by goldfinches, indigo buntings, pine siskins, and common redpolls.
Cracked corn. If you are looking to attract more wild game, they love cracked corn (as do my chickens!). Turkeys, pheasants, grouse, and quail all will enjoy some corn if offered. We have several bobwhite quail that live on our farm, and it’s lovely to hear their call during the summer! However, many other wildlife also enjoy corn like raccoons, squirrels, and deer. If you are trying to keep those animals away, perhaps you might want to reconsider!
Peanuts. Peanuts are the seed of choice for one of my favorite birds, the blue jay! Crows, chickadees, titmice, and woodpeckers also love peanuts.
final thoughts:
Whether you are new or old to backyard bird feeding and having a bird-friendly garden, I hope that these ideas gave you some new inspiration to creating your own homemade bird sanctuary that fits your personal style. I have always been a bit disappointed by the lack of variety of the bird feeding items for sale. There are so many wonderful homemade ideas out there that are more charming, whimsical, and magical. I am looking forward to inviting more wildlife to our garden this year!
Xoxo Kayla
