What Is a Garden without Birds?
2022-08-09
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1Waking up to a dove making cooing sounds or watching a sparrow feeding helps many people connect with nature and reduce tension.
2But fewer people know that birds are also the most cost-effective way of reducing the number of pests in their garden.
3Young birds love to eat insects, including aphids, whiteflies, cabbage worms and cucumber beetles.
4Doug Tallamy is a professor at the University of Delaware professor.
5He wrote the 2007 book Bringing Nature Home: How You Can Sustain Wildlife with Native Plants.
6He describes how a small group of chickadees, for example, could eat 6,000 to 9,000 caterpillars from birth through their first flight.
7That would clear out pests from any garden.
8Jessica Damiano writes about gardening for the Associated Press.
9She said you do not have to be a bird expert to get pest-control effects that will help your garden.
10All you need to do is create a bird-friendly environment.
11Damiano says the answer includes using native plants to feed native insects, which will attract hungry birds.
12They could be different kinds of plants that provide berries, nectar or seeds all year.
13The Audubon Society's Native Plants Database is an excellent source of bird-friendly plant suggestions for your area.
14When food is in short supply in the cold, winter climate, leave flowering perennial plants out for birds to eat.
15As autumn leaves fall to the ground, place them under shrubs and trees to attract insects to feed the birds.
16And as the leaves break down, they will enrich the soil to give spring plants more nutrients.
17Set a bird feeder in the garden. Select one that comes apart for easy cleaning and that is built to keep the seeds dry.
18To avoid spreading diseases that can sicken birds, provide only enough seeds to last a few days, and clean feeders at least two times a month.
19Choose high-quality seeds high in fat and protein, like unsalted peanuts or black-oil sunflower seeds.
20Migrating birds need to store calories to prepare for their end-of-season trips.
21Suet is a nutritious cake made from animal fat and often mealworms, seeds or grains.
22It can be hung in a feeder designed to keep out other wildlife.
23Place the bird feeder in a different place regularly to avoid the buildup of discarded seed shells and bird droppings on the ground.
24Remember to provide the migrating birds with fresh water for bathing in a container.
25It should be cleaned and disinfected every week.
26And avoid using chemical poisons to kill insects.
27They do not necessarily kill pests immediately.
28Insects that eat or touch the insecticide product can be eaten by birds, which can be poisoned as a result.
29I'm Jill Robbins.
1Waking up to a dove making cooing sounds or watching a sparrow feeding helps many people connect with nature and reduce tension. 2But fewer people know that birds are also the most cost-effective way of reducing the number of pests in their garden. 3Young birds love to eat insects, including aphids, whiteflies, cabbage worms and cucumber beetles. 4Doug Tallamy is a professor at the University of Delaware professor. He wrote the 2007 book Bringing Nature Home: How You Can Sustain Wildlife with Native Plants. He describes how a small group of chickadees, for example, could eat 6,000 to 9,000 caterpillars from birth through their first flight. That would clear out pests from any garden. 5Bird-friendly environment 6Jessica Damiano writes about gardening for the Associated Press. She said you do not have to be a bird expert to get pest-control effects that will help your garden. All you need to do is create a bird-friendly environment. 7Damiano says the answer includes using native plants to feed native insects, which will attract hungry birds. They could be different kinds of plants that provide berries, nectar or seeds all year. The Audubon Society's Native Plants Database is an excellent source of bird-friendly plant suggestions for your area. 8When food is in short supply in the cold, winter climate, leave flowering perennial plants out for birds to eat. As autumn leaves fall to the ground, place them under shrubs and trees to attract insects to feed the birds. And as the leaves break down, they will enrich the soil to give spring plants more nutrients. 9Bird feeders 10Set a bird feeder in the garden. Select one that comes apart for easy cleaning and that is built to keep the seeds dry. To avoid spreading diseases that can sicken birds, provide only enough seeds to last a few days, and clean feeders at least two times a month. 11Choose high-quality seeds high in fat and protein, like unsalted peanuts or black-oil sunflower seeds. Migrating birds need to store calories to prepare for their end-of-season trips. 12Suet is a nutritious cake made from animal fat and often mealworms, seeds or grains. It can be hung in a feeder designed to keep out other wildlife. 13Place the bird feeder in a different place regularly to avoid the buildup of discarded seed shells and bird droppings on the ground. 14Remember to provide the migrating birds with fresh water for bathing in a container. It should be cleaned and disinfected every week. 15And avoid using chemical poisons to kill insects. They do not necessarily kill pests immediately. Insects that eat or touch the insecticide product can be eaten by birds, which can be poisoned as a result. 16I'm Jill Robbins. 17Jessica Damiano reported this story for the Associated Press. Hai Do adapted it for VOA Learning English. 18_____________________________________________________________________ 19Words in This Story 20pest -n. an animal or insect that causes problems for people especially by damaging crops 21shrub -n. a plant that has stems of wood and is smaller than a tree 22discarded -adj. something thrown away 23______________________________________________________________________ 24Do you have a garden? We want to hear from you. 25We have a new comment system. Here is how it works: 26Write your comment in the box. 27Under the box, you can see four images for social media accounts. They are for Disqus, Facebook, Twitter and Google. 28Click on one image and a box appears. Enter the login for your social media account. Or you may create one on the Disqus system. It is the blue circle with "D" on it. It is free. 29Each time you return to comment on the Learning English site, you can use your account and see your comments and replies to them. Our comment policy is here.