There are many things you can do to encourage birds to visit your garden, as well as helping the local bird community thrive. Some of it is pretty obvious, of course, but there are also some things homeowners don’t always consider when creating a bird-friendly garden.

The best place to start is to buy a bird feeder and continuously replenish it with the best bird seed you can find. If you don’t have a lot of experience feeding birds, you can find all the information you need on hobbyist websites like Love the Birds. Not surprisingly, there are plenty of websites made by bird lovers for bird lovers.

Having a bird feeder does more than just encourage birds to visit your garden. Bird feeders give birds something they don’t often have in the wild: a year-round stable food source. That’s the animal equivalent of giving your local birds universal basic income. It allows them not to have to worry over where they’ll get food in cold months, and it helps more baby birds survive into adulthood, as their parents can quickly get food from your feeder and bring it back to the nest. It all goes towards helping your local bird community grow and thrive.

Another good bird-friendly amenity to offer is a birdbath, which serves the double purpose of giving birds fresh drinking water and a place to wash their feathers, which is an essential part of a bird’s self-care routine.
Finally, if you have cavity-nesting birds in your region, you might want to consider installing a few birdhouses. Of course, it is hard to ensure that birds build a nest inside a birdhouse you put out for them. But if they do, that will ensure there are always some birds near your house.