10 Simple Tips To Keep Birds Flocking To Your Yard In The Fall

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Making sure your yard stays bird-friendly throughout fall isn't difficult, but you do need to be thoughtful as the days shorten, leaves drop, and seasonal rhythms change. As native species shift their diets and scout safe places to roost and migrating flocks on the move look for reliable food and water as they make their way south, fall is an outstanding opportunity to offer essentials that make your feathered friends feel welcome. Whether you live in the suburbs, out in the country, or in a city where green space is scarce, when you provide plenty of nourishment from plants and feeders, shelter that offers protection and play, and water that supplements when natural sources dry up or freeze, birds will flock to your backyard in the fall.

Hanging bird feeders and roosting boxes are among the more basic birdscaping tips to turn your yard and garden into a bird haven. For anyone who loves waking up to birdsong or spotting an unexpected traveler soaring overhead, the rewards are immediate. Shelter gives birds refuge from predators and chillier temperatures, while plants provide both food and habitat, enriching the larger ecosystem around your home and neighborhood. Supplemental food sources are also crucial, helping birds build their energy reserves whether they'll be continuing to migrate or sticking around for the winter. By focusing on three simple categories — plants, food, and shelter — you'll ensure your yard has everything your neighborhood birds need most in fall. The payoff is brilliant color and movement right outside your windows, and the knowledge that you're helping sustain birds during one of the most beautiful yet demanding seasons of the year.

Growing late-blooming flowers is an excellent way to keep birds flocking to your backyard. No matter your experience level, there are dozens of end-of-summer plants that will keep your garden full of pollinators through fall. Ruby-colored pentas (Pentas lanceolata), Mexican bush sage (Salvia leucantha), and Carolina asters (Aster carolinianus) provide plenty of nectar for hummingbirds flitting along migration routes. Black-eyed Susans (Rudbeckia spp.) and annual sunflowers (Helianthus annuus) provide abundant seeds. Incorporating prairie plants, like goldenrods (Solidago) and vervain (Verbena), is ideal for migrating birds who prefer to eat insects on their journey.

Thrushes, bluebirds, woodpeckers, and cedar waxwings are among the many birds that love to eat berries. An excellent food source during the fall and winter months, a few fruiting shrubs will make your yard highly attractive to species seeking out sweet treats. Try northern bayberry (Myrica pensylvanica), chokeberry (Aronia), mountain ash (Sorbus americana), and viburnum to add beauty and berries to your backyard birdscape. If space allows for more than just a few shrubs, consider adding deciduous fruiting trees like flowering dogwood (Cornus florida), crabapple (Malus sylvestris), or holly (Ilex aquifolium) to the mix.

After you've mowed your last strip of grass and cut back your bushes, it's tempting to clear everything away. But there are many benefits of keeping a brush pile in your backyard. One of the simplest ways to support birds through the fall, brush piles offer dense cover that provides protection from predators, wind, and frigid temperatures. As the wood decays, it will attract insects which become vital food sources. What looks like yard waste to you can be an attractive and appetizing refuge for migrating birds looking for safety before continuing south.

Another task you can take off your list if you want to attract more birds in the fall is deadheading. You can offer seeds in your feeders, but birds will enjoy picking them directly from the stalks of coneflowers, sunflowers, mullein, or even grasses. Leaving seed heads on plants also allows them to self seed, and can add visual interest to your yard in the winter months thanks to the organic shapes they form after drying out. Be careful to avoid leaving anything invasive, as they can quickly crowd out beneficial native plants. 

Offering high-fat suet cakes to birds helps them prepare for cold fall nights and harsh winter weather. Typically made from melted lard or rendered fat, bird seed, and special treats like dried fruit or nuts, it's likely to attract larger birds like bluejays, cardinals, and woodpeckers to your yard. Don't overlook the common mistakes when making bird suet if you plan to DIY. Use high quality ingredients, wait for cool temperatures to avoid a melted mess, and be sure to hang your suet in a safe spot away from squirrels and predators.

If you want to attract a wider range of birds, try mixing different seed types in your bird feeders or simply scattering some directly on the ground. Cardinals, chickadees, and finches will be thrilled with black oil sunflower seeds. Quails, juncos, and sparrows will enjoy white millet. And, safflower is a great choice for nuthatches, bluejays, and grosbeaks. Keeping the range of seeds diverse ensures different species have the nutrition they need as cooler weather arrives. Consider offering mixed seed in rustproof feeders like the Gray Bunny Squirrel Proof Bird Feeder.

The idea of live or dried mealworms probably doesn't appeal to you, but for many insect-eating birds, they're a favorite treat. Packed with protein and fat, mealworms provide high-energy nutrition as natural insect populations decline in the fall. Regularly providing a platter of dried mealworms like PICKY NEB Dried Mealworms can draw bluebirds, wrens, nuthatches, chickadees, and robins to your yard. Despite the dense nutrition they offer, it's still important to provide a variety of other food sources alongside mealworms, so consider mixing them with seeds for your feathered friends.

Cracked corn is another inexpensive way to provide your backyard birds with a quick energy source, which is exactly what they need as the weather gets cool and natural food becomes scarce. Ground-feeding birds like doves, blackbirds, and even wild turkeys will happily peck away at kernels tossed on the ground. Best suited for foragers, simply scatter cracked corn directly on the ground or fill a low platform feeder like the Kingsyard Recycled Plastic Ground Feeder for Wild Birds with a generous helping.

Ensuring those late-migrating or overwintering hummingbirds have a reliable food source throughout the fall and even winter is simpler than it sounds. The key is to leave feeders up year-round rather than packing them away at the first sight of falling leaves. Keep them full of homemade hummingbird nectar, and refresh it regularly to prevent mold. Once temperatures start to dip, make sure feeders are placed in sheltered spots with low-wattage bulbs nearby, wrap them with plumbers heat tape, or simply bring them indoors overnight.

When it comes to providing sustenance for birds during the fall, food is only half the equation. Water is equally important, especially as natural sources dry up or freeze overnight. Birds need water for drinking and bathing, and are far more likely to visit if there's a reliably-filled birdbath nearby. Any shallow basin of water is better than none, but if you can add a fountain to your birdbath, you should. The sound and sparkle of moving water makes it easier for birds to spot it from overhead and the movement reduces algae buildup.

Heated birdbaths may sound a little over-the-top, but if you live in a cold climate where water is likely to freeze overnight, they can ensure birds have access to adequate hydration. There are a variety of options available, like the highly rated BIRD WISH Stable 5-Prong Metal Base 75W Heated Birdbath or the GESAIL Heavy Duty Detachable Metal Pedestal Bird Bath Bowl. No matter which one you choose, make sure to situate it close to a power source and in a safe, visible spot where birds already gather.

There's one more simple and affordable way to support birds in fall: Turn off your lights. Most migrating birds travel at night, and artificial lights can quickly disorient them. Keeping outdoor lights off or using motion sensors like the Blink Outdoor 4 Wireless Smart Security Camera to ensure they only turn on briefly when you need them creates a safer and calmer path for passing flocks. Combined with available food sources, a darker outdoor space can make your yard feel more secure for birds who want to land, have a snack, or even spend the night.