Backyard birding is the act of creating a backyard that will attract birds by providing food, shelter and water, where you can then watch them. Backyard birding is a great new hobby that has a great number of benefits. The benefits are not just for you, but can be better for the community and the environment.
This post is all about the benefits of backyard birding for you and the environment.
1. You can observe birds without having them as pets
Most birds are not easy pets to take care of. For some birds, such as parrots, having a bird is basically taking on an entirely new lifestyle. Cockatoos and macaws can literally go crazy and lose their minds if you don’t give them hours of attention every day. Many who own those types of birds will tell you that it’s the equivalent of taking care of a toddler. This toddler however, never actually grows up. They can get jealous when they see you interact with others, leading to your bird attacking others. Not all birds are this demanding but even easier birds can be a real commitment. This means daily interaction, daily feeding, etc.
There are some who would argue that it is unethical to keep birds in cages at all. I’m not in this camp, but if you want to enjoy birds without having to deal with this moral problem, then backyard birding is a great alternative.
Backyard birding is a better way to enjoy having birds around without the upkeep. Some birds will even return to your backyard from year to year.
If you’re someone with allergies, this is another reason to consider backyard birding. You won’t have to deal with birds triggering your allergies as much as they would inside.
2. Improve Mental Health
There are numerous studies that have shown the mental health benefits that come from being exposed to nature. Bird activity and bird songs are among the things that can put you in a better mood.
A study published last year indicates that birdwatching can improve your mental health for the next eight hours. This study controlled for other exposure to other environmental factors like trees or running water. You can read the study here (https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-022-20207-6).
Stress relief is not simply a matter of feeling better. If you aren’t aware, stress can actually cause physical issues like heart problems and weight gain. Stress management is as important for mental health as it is for physical health. Some doctors now put stress management as important as having a proper diet.
In today’s world of doom scrolling and political division, backyard birding can be just the thing to get you feeling better.
3. Help the local bird population
More and more bird habitats are being destroyed to make room for human populations. The bigger the metropolitan area, the smaller the area that can act as bird habitats. This creates large areas that birds don’t have access to water, food and shelter.
However, if you and others provide food and water for birds in your backyard, birds can get what they need even when they fly through urban or suburban areas.
This is true for migrating birds as well. Migrating birds that need to fly over large urban areas can be helped immensely by providing them what they need in your backyard.
Anything helps! The more urban areas become hospitable for birds, the less of an impact we’ll have when destroying their homes.
4. More Pollination
Bees are not the only thing out there that pollinate flowers. Hummingbirds are the most obvious bird that helps with pollination. Others that pollinate include sunbirds, some parrot species, honeycreepers, white-wing doves and honeyeaters.
Planting more plants in your backyard will be better for the environment as they will draw carbon out of the atmosphere, thereby offsetting climate change. Plants will also absorb heat from the sun. Even if you don’t have plants in your backyard, attracting birds can help pollinate plants in the surrounding area.
If you want your plants to produce fruit and seed, then the more pollinators in your backyard, the better.
Male Northern Cardinal
5. Rodent Control
Rodents are a favorite prey item for many bird species. Owls, hawks, falcons and other types of birds are known for their exceptional rodent hunting abilities. Getting more of these birds to your backyard will control their presence. Try providing shelter or a nesting site for them.
Rodents can also be vectors for disease. Rodents were, in fact, the vectors of the bubonic plague in Europe, which ended up wiping out 1/3 of its population. Coming into contact with saliva, urine or feces from an infected rodent is how humans get hantavirus. It can be fatal in some cases.
Also, large raptor species are visually impressive. Besides the rodent control, having predatory birds in your backyard can be fun to watch as they are big and powerful predators.
6. Pest Control
It’s not just the rodents that birds can control. Lots of birds feed on insects and arachnids. Birds that help control bugs include sparrows, bluebirds, cardinals, woodpeckers, swallows, titmice, warblers, orioles, chickadees and nuthatches. There are probably more birds that eat bugs than birds that don’t.
Having bugs in your backyard will naturally attract more birds. If you want to get more of them to your backyard, make sure that you have other reasons for them to visit, such as other food, shelter, nesting sites and water.
Having more birds in your backyard can even help control mosquitoes. Is there anything that can ruin time outside more than being bitten by mosquitoes? Hummingbirds not only eat nectar but will also eat the mosquitos for you. If you didn’t need another reason to attract hummingbirds. If wrens are native to your area, then try getting them to your backyard for mosquito control as well. Wrens can easily eat hundreds of bugs in a day. A single wren could hypothetically eat all the mosquitoes that are in your backyard in a single visit.
More birds, means less pests.
7. Learn More about Birds
Learning about birds can be a lot of fun. There’s a reason why birdwatching is among the most popular outdoor activities and backyard birding makes this hobby even more convenient.
Birds are among the most common types of animals in the world. Learning all of your local birds, along with knowing their calls can be a bit of a challenge. However, there comes a satisfaction when you can easily identify a bird species or bird song. You will eventually advance to identifying birds by their appearance in flight or their breeding plumage.
Learning can not only be fun, but learning helps prevent cognitive decline.
When you learn more and more about each species in your area, you can change your setup as you like, by putting out your favorite bird’s preferred type of food. Hummingbirds for example, can be attracted by special liquid feeders. These can be bought at most local pet stores and grocery store chains like Wal-Mart. Other birds can be attracted using seed feeders.
8. Not Having to Travel
Backyard birding can be a lot fun in part because it can be completely different from day to day without going to different places. One day you may only see sparrows and cardinals, but the next day a barn owl might visit. It’s even possible that a vagrant from another continent might show up. Other similar activities will require you to travel around.
Maybe you don’t have the time to drive across town every night. Perhaps, you need to cut down on your monthly gas bill, or maybe you need to stay at home to look after others. Or maybe you are someone who’d rather stay at home instead of head out for fun. If you fall into any of these categories, then backyard birding may be just a good choice for you.
You can order everything you need online. This can cut down on even more travel time.
In this post-pandemic world, a lot of us have taken to working at home regularly. This opens up the option of backyard birding even when you’re at work. Completing a report or helping customers out over the phone will be much more enjoyable in the presence of bird activity.
Having bird songs and experiencing a connection to nature while working can severely cut down on your daily stress.
Cautionary Note:
It’s largely a good thing to get more birds to come to your backyard, for the reasons already discussed. However, there can be a downside. This downside, is that you need to be aware that larger birds can threaten children, your pets or even you.
Although this is somewhat rare, large birds do present a threat that you need to think about. It’s best for you to err on the side of caution and do your best to look after your family, pets and yourself if large birds are around.
Conclusion:
Backyard birding is a great way for you to enjoy all the benefits of birdwatching without having to go anywhere. You can learn more about birds, control pests and improve your mental health. All you need is to provide them with water, food or shelter and they’ll come to you.
