Gardening for Birds

Florida yards often attract a wide range of native birds. How you landscape and maintain your yard can make a difference for bird conservation and the environment. Plant trees and dense shrubs that can provide nesting areas and shelter when storms or predators threaten our winged friends.

You can provide food for birds by planting species with berries, seeds, and fruits and filling your bird feeders with high quality seed. Make sure your bird feeders protect the seed from rain, minimize spillage, and are easy to see from the air. And keep them at least fifteen feet away from vegetation to thwart cats and creative, determined squirrels.

If you can, always try to have a clean source of water for birds to drink and bathe in.

UF/IFAS Sites

• Florida Bird Monitoring Program
• Florida Wildlife Extension: Landscaping for Wildlife
• Landscaping for Wildlife
• Landscaping with Native Plants to Attract Birds

UF/IFAS Publications

• Attracting Birds in Brevard County (PDF)
• Attracting Birds to Your Landscape (PDF)
• A Bird's-Eye View: How Birds Select Habitat
• Helping Cavity-nesters in Florida
• Hummingbird Plants and Trees

Also on Gardening in a Minute

• Bird Feeders
• Bird Monitoring
• Birdbaths
• Birdhouses
• Birdwatching
• Bluebirds
• Cardinals
• Hummingbird Gardens
• Landscaping for Wildlife
• Snags

Other Sites

• Attracting and Feeding Songbirds--Clemson (SC) Cooperative Extension
• Attracting Birds--North Carolina State University Cooperative Extension
• Attracting Birds with Ornamental Plants--University of Georgia Cooperative Extension
• Audubon Society of Florida
• Audubon Society Resources for Florida
• Create Bird Habitats in Your Landscape--Georgia Cooperative Extension
• Landscaping for Birds--Cornell University Lab of Ornithology
• Landscaping to Attract Birds in South Florida--Florida Plants
• Native Plants to Attract Wildlife--Pinellas Chapter of the Florida Native Plant Society (PDF)
• Plants That Attract Birds--Floridata.com
• Turn Your Yard Into a Red Zone: Attracting Cardinals--National Wildlife Association