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Go in for plants to attract birds
Bird houses and bird baths are fine, but to get your garden to really harbour and sustain birdlife on an ongoing basis, what you need to do is to grow the right kind of plants. Grow plants which offer both food and shelter to birdlife.
"Ideally, choose a variety of plants; plan your garden such that there are plants that provide food, shade, perches for them to sit on, and nesting places", suggests K.V.Sudhakar, secretary, Madras Naturalists Society. And the mantra is, go local. Exotic palm trees and the like might add grace to your landscape, but will not do much to nurture birdlife. "It would be a good idea to mimic the vertical layers of local plant communities", adds bird watcher Shivani Mannath. That is, trees, followed by large shrubs, small shrubs, and then grasses, and create a natural setting.
Food-yielding plants
Flowering plants like hibiscus and ixora are a must, says birdwatcher and photographer S. Venkatraman. Do not despair if you do not have garden space. You can grow potted Hibiscus plants in the balcony to successfully attract birds.
As for trees, the Indian coral tree or Erythrina Indica, regular drumstick trees as well as the ’thorny drumstick’ tree (Mul Murungai in Tamil) are recommended.
These trees have nectar laden flowers which attract birds like mynahs and sunbirds, says Sudhakar.
He says "The red silk cotton tree might also be a good idea, but it is a huge tree; so, reserve it for bigger gardens or for avenues. Fruit yielding trees like fig, guava and mango are very attractive to bulbuls and mynahs, besides the rose ringed Indian parakeets, which we mistakenly refer to as parrots".
To supplement the bird feed, you might also scatter seeds and grains on a flat, raised and safe (from ready to pounce predators like cats) platform in your garden.
For shade and shelter
Include plants with broad leaves, like money plants, monstera, etc. "Broad leaves are used by the long-tailed and light green-hued tailor birds to tailor their nests and lays eggs in. Likewise, the tiny and colourful sunbirds are attracted to bougainvillea plants, where they feel protected. The white and grey hued night herons like to nest in coconut trees, so you might include a coconut tree in your garden.
They, along with neem trees, also happen to be attractive to wood peckers", informs Sudhakar. And don’t chop down those dead tree stumps. Birds like to perch on them, especially if the stumps happen to be tall. "They use them as singing posts to declare that it is their territory", says Sudhakar.
Space permitting, include a small water pond (with a gradual slope, which birds find convenient to wade into), in your garden. This will be both a source of water for the birds.
And finally, avoid pesticides. If at all, you need to use them, use organic pesticides.
HEMA VIJAY
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