10 Tips for Birding from Your Window

10 Tips for Birding from Your Window

**Disclosure: I do work with The Wildbird Shack and help them with their social media outreach. They are sponsors of the blog. All opinions are 100% my own.

Ever since I moved into my house, I have been entertained by the antics of the cardinals and sparrows in my yard. Over the years, I have added some more bird friendly elements. If you are looking for a great way to entertain your family while enjoying and learning about nature, backyard birding is a great activity to start. Here are 10 tips to get you started so you can even bird from your window!


1.) Bird Feeder and House Placement: Make sure that you have your feeders and houses set up where you can see them.
2.) Spots of Safety: Place your feeders about 10-12 feet from a spot where birds can fly to get away from predators. Our setup is near two trees as well as shrubbery.
3.) Have a Source of Water: Having a source of water will also attract more birds to your yard.
4.) Keep Your Feeders Full: If you want to attract the birds, make sure that you have food ready! Also, make sure the food is fresh.
5.) Have a Variety of Feeders: Having a variety of feeders for different types of birds will help you attract more! I have both suet and platform feeders in my yard. I typically see downy woodpeckers, red bellied woodpeckers, sparrows, cardinals and mourning doves in my yard. In winter, I get juncos. I also see catbirds, red-winged blackbirds and grackles from time-to-time. My suet feeder is one of the log suet feeders from Wildbird Shack. I LOVE IT! We have woodpeckers at it every day. You can also add hummingbird feeders and oriole feeders!
6.) Plant Bird Friendly Flowers: Plant flowers that will attract birds to your yard. For example, goldfinches love the seeds from coneflowers! My hummingbirds love hostas and swamp milkweed. A good place to start -- research the native plants of your region.
7.) Keep Birding Binoculars Near Your Window: I like to keep mine near the kitchen window where I can see the most birds. My birding pole, feeders and house are easily in the line of sight. Plus, I can see two different trees.

Basics for Backyard Birding.

8.) Keep Your Guidebook Near By: I have an Illinois Birds Naturalist Guide that I love to keep handy. It is a fold out and has helped me a lot with identifications. Wildbird Shack has them available if you are looking for one. They also have quite a few others available to help you learn all about birds!
9.) Keep a Log Handy: With a log, you can jot down things you notice. It may help you better sculpt your yards for birds. Notice bird habits, what they like in the yard, the weather they like, the food they like and more.
10.) Try Looking Out the Window at Different Times of Day and During Different Weather: Different birds have different habits. From observation, I know that my cardinals like to come after a rain or later in the day. My red-bellied woodpeckers needs it to be quiet. My downy woodpeckers and sparrows come whenever. I know my juncos come in the winter because that is the only time I observe them.

With these basics, you will easily be able to get started backyard birding! Birding is both engaging and calming. I have found it to be a way to relax my mind and focus on something enjoyable. Such a wonderful way to be in the moment!