February marks National Bird Feeding Month making it the perfect time to show backyard birds some extra love. What better time than Valentine's Day to send love to your feathered friends or someone you know who loves birdwatching? Here are some ways to do so.
Add something new to your backyard
Winter can be a difficult time for birds as it is harder to navigate open water and find feed. By adding feeders, feed variety, birdhouses, and a heated bird bath, they will have what they need to keep pecking. The feeder and variety of feed will encourage more birds to come visit, while the birdhouse and heated bird bath will ensure shelter and open water during the winter months. There’s a variety of API® heated bird baths that you can choose from!
API® Deck-Mounted Heated Bird Bath
Keep bird products clean
Clean and disinfect your backyard birds’ products regularly, so your birds can stay healthy. It’s important to discard any food that looks wet, smells off, or appears to have mold or fungus growing on it. Birds can get sick easily with contaminated feeders and bird baths. To properly clean a feeder, All About Birds recommends to, “Take it apart and use a dishwasher on a hot setting or hand wash either with soap and boiling water or with a dilute bleach solution (no more than 1 part bleach to 9 parts water). Rinse thoroughly and allow to dry before refilling.” For bird baths, just rinse and scrub the surfaces with nine parts water, one part vinegar. Lastly, make sure to refill the water every other day to prevent bugs from residing.
Give something new to someone you love
Help others show their love to backyard birds by providing them with a birdhouse, heated bird bath or perhaps a Water Wiggler®! These feature a unique agitator action that creates continuous ripples. Movement not only helps attract your feathery friends, but also helps prevent mosquitos from breeding in the water. They are easy to install, completely silent, and will run 24/7 to keep bugs away thus making birds wanting to stay. Check out our full line of API® Water Wigglers®. It will help your lovebird keep them hydrated, healthy, and especially willing to come back for more visits.
Plant native species
Choose native plants that will provide a good variety of bird food throughout the year. This will provide them with a rich food source and appropriate shelter making them feel right at home. Native plants tend to have bright colors which birds are very drawn to. Find out what plants are the best bird and wildlife friendly plants in your area by using this native plants database. Overall, it can be easy to show your love and appreciation this Valentine’s Day to the backyard birds that provide us with much entertainment. Have frequent visitors in your backyard? Share your photos with us on Twitter by tagging us @MillerMFG