BirdScaping

 BirdScaping

If you love birds and want them flying and chippering around your home then just go for BirdScaping 👉

BirdScaping is all about optimising your space to attract birds and create a Bird Habitat.

You can attract many birds at your home garden / windowsill / balcony / backyards by providing birds with water, food and shelter.
BirdScaping includes installing -
• Bird baths
• Water pots
• Bird feeders
• Feeding ramp
• Nests
• Nesting material

Water

Birds need water for drinking and bathing.  Bird do bath daily all year round not only in summer but also in rains and winter as well.  Birds drink water during summer and winter too.
Bird Bath / Water pots

Install 2-4 water pots for bird to bath and drink water from.  Birds need cool, fresh and shallow water for drinking and taking baths. Ideally 1" to 2" depth is preferred by birds.  They avoid deeper water.


Daily add fresh water and once a week pot cleaning is important.
Flowing water is more preferred but it needs more space & technical assistance.
Use earthenware as they keep water cooler even in scorching heat. 

Natural terracotta pots are best, don'tuse coloured pots.
Do not use plastic or metal water baths and pots as metal & plastic pots heat up the water.


Food

Bird's appetite is very fast and they frequently need healthy food.  In urban areas because of habitat loss there is always scarcity of food. Hence urban bird diversity is dwindling day by day.  So it's very necessary to make availability of food for birds. Birds prefer diverse range of foods depending on their feeding habits and breeding season.

Bird feeders

Install 3-4 feeders for birds to feed inn. Bird feeds on variety of diet like Grains, Fruits, Insects, Nectar etc. Accordingly different feeders are to be installed.

As the modern ways of malls and super markets are more and more becoming common in cities the traditional ways of drying/cleaning of grains in backyards/ rooftops has become scarce. This has made urban birds very hard to find foods causing them to leave the cities. Sparrow is classic example of this, once most common bird nowadays has almost vanished from many cities.
GRAMINIVOROUS Birds

• House Sparrow
• Scaly Brasted Muniya
• White rumped Muniya
• Indian Silver bill Muniya
• Cinerous Tit
• Indian Yellow Tit
• Baya Weaver Bird
• Laughing Dove

Grains

1. Foxtail Millet
2. Sunflower Seeds
3. Paddy (rice w/shell)
4. Bajari
5. Peanuts
6. Shelled Peanuts
7. Jawar (Sorghum)
8. Wheat
9. Safflower seeds
10. Oats Seeds
11. Niger Seeds

In market you will get varieties of Bird feeders. Hanging feeders are accepted easily.  You can keep feeders on compound walls, balcony railings etc. Also see that feeders should be safe from rain showers.
While selecting feeders in open spaces see that they should be useful all around the year even in rains. Once wet grains sprout up and become un useful to birds. So feeders with big hoodie are recommended.  Birds use feeders more in rainy season as food is not available in wild that time. Use whole and raw grains as they are available in nature instead of decoated and ready to cook grains.



FRUGIVOROUS Birds

• Rose Ringed Parakeet
• Alexandrin Parakeet
• Red Vented Bulbul
• Red Whiskered Bulbul
• Coppersmith Barbet

Fruits
1. Papaya
2. Guava
3. Banana
4. Pomegranate
5. Grapes
6. Mango
7. Apple
8. List is very big you can try all seasonal fruits

Install separate bird feeder for FRUGIVOROUS Birds.  Many birds are fruit eaters relish varieties of fruits. Fruits should be kept in separate feeders do not mix up with grains. Fruits can be kept whole or in cut pieces.

INSECTIVOROUS Birds
• Magpie Robin
• Indian Robin
• Tickel Blue Flycatcher
• Ashy Prinia
• Tailor Bird
• Indian Myna
• Brahmini Myna
• White Eye
• White Browed Flycatcher
• White Spotted Flycatcher

Insects

1. Mealworms Live
2. Mealworms Dried

Many birds are INSECTIVOROUS and eat insects. They feed on Locusts, Spiders, Caterpillars, Worms, Grubs, Larvae, Beetles, Bees etc.  Even many GRAMINIVOROUS and FRUGIVOROUS birds do need insect diet during breeding season for raising their chicks. High protein diet is needed by chicks to grow fast and flew away.

To install feeders for INSECTIVOROUS Birds you need special technique.



Feeding ramp

If you have ample space you can erect feeding ramp.

Feeding Ramp is an area where you install number of feeders closely or an elevated structure on which you can keep all varieties of food.  It should be big enough that large numbers of birds can enjoy feeding together.  On feeding ramp you can invite varieties of birds to feed i e grain eaters, fruit eaters, insect eaters and nectar eaters.
Once Parakeets starts visiting your areas add Sweetcorn, Chilli etc to the menu.

Ready-made food stuff like bread, farsan, chips, wafers etc etc will affect birds health.
Cooked food like rice, chapati etc etc left over food stuffs are also harmful to bird's digestion.
So never use ready-made and cooked food in feeders.

Use food in raw form only. If possible try to hang rice corns, wheat corns, Sunflower heads etc as it gives more natural ambiance and birds feels at their own natural home.

NECTARIVOROUS Birds
All sunbird species

• Purple Rumped Sunbird
• Purple Sunbird


Plants
1. Russelia
2. Stachytarpheta indica
3. Stachytarpheta mutabilis
4. Sleeping Hibiscus
5. Thunbergia species
6. Bottle Brush
7. Hibiscus
8. Hamelia
9. Scarlet Sage
10. Bird of Paradise

And varieties of flowering plants.


Nests

Birds need nests to breed. Different species of birds have different types of nests. Some birds build their own nests while some birds use cavities, holes, platforms to nests.

Bird building their own nests never use artificial nests. But birds using cavity as nests can be invited in your BirdSpace.

Birds that use artificial nests

• Sparrow
• Common Myna
• Brahminy Myna 
• Magpie Robin
• Owls
• Parakeet

You will get varieties of artificial nests in market. Different birds use different sized nests. Hole size is very important and must be according to bird size which uses it. Bird nests can be made from wood or ply. Such nests must be installed in a place where rains doesn't reach.

Round clay pots with holes are also available can be installed outdoors.

Nests made from fiber, metal aren't recommended. Even brightly colored nests should be avoided.

Hanging nests high enough is most important because cats are main enemies of bird's fledglings.

Birds could build their own nests in your garden

• Red Vented Bulbul
• Tailor Bird
• Ashy Prinia
• Laughing Dove
• Scaly Brasted Muniya
• White Browed Flycatcher
• White Spotted Flycatcher
• Sunbirds

Nesting material
Bird require nesting materials for building nests. Also need it to keep inside the nest for safety of their eggs.  Finding such materials in cities is a tedious jobs for birds.

• Cotton
• Cloth pieces cut in stripes
• Coconut husk and coire

In many pet shops you will get Nesting material.  Keep nesting materials in your birdSpace which will be readily available to birds.

Birds do not use bird baths, bird feeders, artificial nests immediately after its installation. Sometimes they took months to be accepted by birds. So one should have patience and consistency in keeping fresh water and food.  Once accepted the birds wait eagerly for fresh water and food to be kept.

Also take care that these utensils shouldn't be in range of cat attacks and free from human interfaces. Hence  hanging high and elevated utensils are readily accepted.

Use some wooden branches perches in your BirdSpace to feel birds at home.


Many times Pigeons are first to invade your bird baths and feeders. Pigeons are dominant and finish the food creating nuisance.  So if your area has more numbers of pigeons use pigeons free bird baths and feeders or avoid using grains that are eaten by pigeons like bajari, rice, jawar, wheat.


Once BirdScaping is done properly you will certainly attract upto 15-20 bird species in your BirdSpace. Your birdSpace will be ever chippering portion that will give you immense joy and happiness 😊

If you have bigger space for gardening you can create Bird Orchard. Plant as many fruit bearing trees, flowering herbs, climbers etc.

An undisturbed corner is very much preferred by birds.  In such bird orchards many birds do nestings and roosting.


All above stuff is preferably for urban areas.

So be Happy start BirdScaping ☺️


Faruk Mhetar
Kolhapur