by Glory Lennon

Created on: September 18, 2008

You hope and pray for them to start singing at the crack of dawn signaling to you to get up and start your day. No, it's not Led Zeppelin you want screeching from your clock radio. You want songbirds, those pretty little feathered creatures which make your life worthwhile. You love those cute little guys and their funny antics. You spend tons of money every year buying all sorts of things to attract them to your yard. You put up bird feeders full of birdseed, suet feeders, bird houses, bird baths and bird condos and still they don't seem to like your place. Well, why not? You don't even have a cat!

Have you considered landscaping for the songbirds? Songbirds like nature and your yard lacks, shall we say, a natural feel which makes them very uncomfortable. Yes, you want your garden to look nice but to attract songbirds you need to relax your strident view of how a yard should look. Landscaping for the birds doesn't mean you have to live in the unkept woods or a ragged meadow. Songbirds, like most creatures of the world, just need to feel protected, safe from predators and well cared for. Yes, birds are just funny like that. But you and your landscape are not without hope. With a few adjustments you can have a yard the songbirds will clamor to be allowed into. Want to know how? You wouldn't be here otherwise.

First off, that bird feeder you got there is in the wide open where birds feel less safe than a toddler walking down Ventura Boulevard during rush hour. What are you thinking? What songbirds need to feel safer is a few bushes or trees nearby for concealment and for perching to take a quick look around to assure themselves they are safe from getting pounced before zooming to the feeder. They have to watch out for the neighborhood feline bully.

These shrubs or trees need not look horrible. They can be any kind you like but, and please excuse the pun, to kill two birds with one stone you might want to choose a bush or tree which produces edible berries. This provides an extra treat for the songbirds. What to plant? Burning Bush, Tartarian Honeysuckle, Viburnum, Rosa Rugosa, Dogwood, Crabapple, Washington Hawthorn and Cherry all are quite pretty on their own and the birds go nuts for them.

The same goes for the bird baths and bird houses. They need to be placed near plants for the songbirds' concealment and safety. But another word about the bird houses. I know they were expensive and they are pretty as can be but many songbirds prefer to build their own nests.

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