Backyard birds a Father’s Day gift everyone can enjoy

How about a Father’s Day gift that the entire family can enjoy? You can easily turn your yard into a habitat for birds and bring song, color and life to your home. Anyone, young or old, can enjoy this relaxing, educational and exciting hobby.

A huge variety of birds lives in the Chicago area year-round, including cardinals, blue jays, nuthatches, chickadees, goldfinches and three species of woodpeckers. Migratory birds that you see in the summer include robins, warblers, grosbeaks and orioles.

Feeders#147;For somebody to start out, the easiest thing to do is get a squirrel-proof bird feeder,#148; suggested Ron Zick, owner of Wild Birds Unlimited in Arlington Heights and Glenview. #147;You can put a feeder anywhere you want #8212; on a tree, pole, or overhang of your house.#148;A squirrel-proof feeder is weight-sensitive; the feeder shuts off the food supply under the squirrel#146;s weight. It stays open for birds. The size you choose is based on seed capacity. Locate your feeder in a place that is convenient for you to see and where it is easy to fill. In a large, open yard a feeder on a pole may work best. Don#146;t think that you have to have the feeder only in the back yard. Wherever you put it, that#146;s where the birds will grow accustomed to it. #147;Birds are opportunistic, but they don#146;t grow dependent on one feeder,#148; Zick explained. #147;Birds will visit 10 to 15 places during the day.#148;Birds are always looking for food and locating multiple food sources. If you are consistent in filling your feeder, the birds will be consistent in coming to eat there.Eat like a birdBirds have huge appetites and are always looking for food. Given their body size, they eat an immense amount of calories. #147;Buy a quality no-mess blend of seed that will attract a variety of birds,#148; Zick said. #147;In regular blends, the seed have shells and this can leave a mess on the ground.#148;All bird seed is not the same. The mixed seed you find at big box stores is inexpensive, but also has a lot of #147;filler seed,#148; such as milo, wheat and barley, which birds don#146;t eat. Consequently, it ends up in a pile on the ground, grows like weeds and kills the grass.#147;No-waste seed blends are 100 percent bird food with no fillers,#148; Zick explained. #147;You will pay more, but there is less waste, so you are actually saving money.#148;Mourning doves are primarily ground feeders and house sparrows will eat anywhere, so whatever seed falls on the ground will not go to waste. Nyjer thistle will attract goldfinches to your yard. You will need a special thistle feeder for them. A weather guard on top helps keep the seed dry and fresh, which is the best combination for finches. Nyjer thistle gets stale and can mold, so buy the seed as you need it, not in large quantities. #147;I like a stainless steel mesh feeders the best,#148; Zick said. #147;Goldfinches don#146;t need a perch, so they cling on the sides of this feeder, allowing more finches to feed at a time.#148;Beyond seedOrioles and hummingbirds won#146;t eat seed at all, but you can attract them with different kinds of food. Half of an orange or grape jelly in a special feeder cup will bring the orioles. Plants that you already have in your yard such as butterfly bush, weigela, morning glory vines, hosta, columbine, petunia, salvia and snapdragons attract hummingbirds who are looking for nectar in tubular (resembling a trumpet) flowers. Hummingbirds are highly attracted to red, which is why nectar feeders feature that color.#147;Put the nectar feeder right by a window. Hummingbirds are fearless and will come right up to the house,#148; Zick said.You can make your own nectar with one part sugar to four parts water; boil one to two minutes. Cool and store in the refrigerator, where it will stay fresh for two to three weeks. Never use honey, which ferments easily, or artificial sweeteners, which have no food value. Replace the nectar in the feeder every other day as it ferments and the birds will stay away from it. #147;Woodpeckers are always in your back yard, whether you see them or not,#148; Zick said. #147;They eat insect larvae in tree bark and other kinds of bugs.#148; Downy woodpeckers are the most common and live their entire lives in frac12;- to 1-acre areas. They like oily, greasy suet, which they digest as they swallow it, giving them an instant boost of energy. Suet is a substitute for insect larvae, which are fatty and high in calories. Woodpeckers also enjoy peanuts. Home sweet homeWrens and chickadees nest in cavities. They like man-made nesting boxes and will readily make them their home.#147;Nesting boxes are a great way to attract bird activity to your yard,#148; Zick said. #147;Leave them out year-round. Chickadees will sleep in them during the winter.#148;It#146;s OK to peek in the box and check it once a week. According to Zick, birds have very little sense of smell or taste, so you won#146;t chase them away. It is fine to remove a broken egg or dead baby bird; wear plastic gloves when you do so.Planting the kinds of shrubs, trees and flowers that attract native birds will dramatically increase the migratory birds that come back in the summer. Incorporating more feeders will also bring more birds and different kinds of birds to your yard. ExtrasBirdbaths help birds dramatically. Besides bathing, they drink a lot, especially in the summer. Water is as important and even more important for them if there#146;s a drought or it#146;s hot and dry. Keep the birdbath filled and clean it regularly with a solution of 10 percent bleach and 90 percent water. Feeders should be washed at least three to four times a year with hot, sudsy water. #147;Scrub and rinse really well, making sure that it is completely dry before refilling it with seed,#148; Zick said. There are Ecoclean feeders made of plastic infused with silver ions, which are antimicrobial. This helps prevent the spread of pathogens from the feeder to the bird. This protection is good for the life of the feeder. They still need to be rinsed thoroughly and dried on a regular basis. For the birdsThe entire family can participate in turning the yard into a bird feeding habitat that benefits the wild birds and the environment, while bringing pleasure to the humans who also participate. Start small and go from there. #147;You can go as crazy with this as you want,#148; Zick said with a smile. #147;You can easily attract 30 to 40 different species of birds.#148; Ÿ For more information, check the website arlingtonheights.wbu.com or call (847) 259-7286. 18001041Wild Birds UnlimitedBirds, like theses blue jays, will scope out 15 to 20 spots to feed during the day. Use fresh seed to attract birds. 28372129Wild Birds UnlimitedDifferent types of feeders attract specific birds. Here, a blue jay feeds on a spiral wreath filled with peanuts. 774522Wild Birds UnlimitedA bird bath provides a place for these two cardinals to take a drink or have a bath. 24001524wild birds unlimitedHummingbirds, like these ruby-throated ones, are attracted to red. You can make a syrup with water and sugar for the feeder, but it should be changed every other day. 7751200wild birds unlimitedFinch feeders designed to foil squirrels can block the seed holes when it senses the weight of the squirrel.