Bird-Friendly Gardening Guidance and Projects for Supporting Birds in Your Landscape

by McGuinness, Jen

• ISBN13: 9780760382110
• ISBN10: 0760382115
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2024-04-02
• Publisher: Cool Springs Press

Summary

Bird-Friendly Gardening is the definitive guide to planting a wildlife-welcoming home landscape filled with a diversity of native plants that feed, shelter, and support birds.

With hundreds of North American bird species facing population decline or at risk of extinction, right now is the perfect time to create a home-based habitat garden that offers birds the resources they need to safely feed, migrate, breed, and thrive.

Thankfully, making your outdoor space a secure and comfortable haven for many different bird species isn’t a Herculean task. It’s a matter of understanding the needs of our avian friends and how native plants, combined with purposeful garden design, can help meet those needs. And that’s exactly the know-how you’ll find here, outlined in a simple-to-follow, actionable format by author Jennifer McGuinness. 

Step beyond the seed-filled bird feeder and suet block, and learn how to further provide for birds. Some of the topics covered in the book include:
 

• How to design a bird-centered habitat garden in spaces large and small 
• Advice on providing fresh water year-round
• Understanding the connection between native plants and insects and the birds that rely on them
• How to design and plant a fruit garden, a bird seed garden, a runoff-absorbing rain garden, or even a container garden that nurtures birds
• Meet dozens of trees, shrubs, and other plants that support the insects almost all adult birds need to feed their young
• 18 step-by-step garden design projects and plant lists for creating a diversity of bird-friendly spaces
• Tips for preventing window strikes and cat kills
• Best practices for including bird feeders, nest boxes, and bird baths in your landscape

Whether your “spark bird” was a lightning-fast Ruby-throated Hummingbird, a brilliant Indigo Bunting, or a petite Hammond’s Flycatcher, it’s time to put out the welcome mat for birds in your home garden. YOU can make a significant impact on the lives of thousands of birds, whether they’re just passing through during migration or making a feather-lined summertime home for raising the next generation.

It’s time for gardeners from coast to coast to heed the call and welcome their flighty friends home with Bird-Friendly Gardening. 

Author Biography

Jen McGuinness is a writer, editor, and photographer who began regularly writing as Frau Zinnie in 2011 on FrauZinnie.com. The website features Jen’s writing, photography, and personal gardening experiences in her Connecticut, US, garden, along with interviews with garden experts. She is a proponent of organic gardening methods and wildlife-friendly gardens.

Jen has worked in local journalism, nonprofit communications, a small business, and now in corporate communications. She explored other interests along the way, earning two master’s degrees. Jen is an award-winning local journalist, earning recognition from the New England Press Association, the Connecticut chapter of the Society of Professional Journalists, and the Awards for Publication Excellence.

Table of Contents

Part I INTRODUCTION
Part II ALL ABOUT BIRDS 
Basic needs 
What birds eat 
Regional differences 
Providing fresh water throughout the year 
Migration 
Four main travel routes 
Safe feeder practices 
Nesting box basics
Part III BIRD-FRIENDLY GARDEN PROJECTS 
GENERAL PROJECTS
How to prevent window strikes 
Tips for safely photographing birds 
Drought-tolerant garden featuring native grasses 
Grow your own birdseed 
Fruit garden for the birds 
Birder Spotlight: Susie Creamer 
Native plant rain garden 
Incorporating bird feeders into your garden 
Ways to reduce your lawn area
SMALL-SPACE PROJECTS
Hummingbird haven/balcony patio garden 
Shady patio retreat 
Birder Spotlight: Jamie Weiss 
Water-wise native garden 
Native plant container gardening 
Birder Spotlight: Jillian Bell 
Condo-friendly plantings 
West coast window box
MEDIUM-SPACE PROJECTS
Moisture-rich garden 
Insect garden 
Sunny hummingbird and songbird garden 
Deer-resistant garden 
Southwest retreat 
Birder Spotlight: Jason Kitting 
Flowering vines hideaway
LARGE-SPACE PROJECTS
Woodland retreat 
Create an owl-friendly habitat 
Warbler-friendly habitat
Birder Spotlight: Laura Jackson 
Coastal garden for migrating birds 
Streamside garden  Mountain habitat 
Birder Spotlight: Morgan Amos
Part IV CONCLUSION
Resources 
References/Citations 
USDA Hardiness Zones and Temps
Photo Credits
Meet Jen McGuinness 
Author Acknowledgments 
Index