My brother-in-law called my bird feeder setup 'too clean' and it stuck with me

He was over for a cookout last weekend and pointed at my new feeder pole in the corner of the yard. He said, 'Birds like a little mess and cover, not a perfect little restaurant.' He suggested I let the grass grow longer under it and maybe toss some fallen branches nearby. I've always kept the area neat, but now I'm rethinking if that's actually better for the birds or just looks nicer to me. Has anyone else tried making a feeder area more 'wild' on purpose?

2 comments

2 Comments

emerydixon21d agoOG Member

Oh man, the 'perfect little restaurant' line is SO true. I had the same wake up call last year. I moved my feeder near a scraggly bush instead of the open lawn and the difference was crazy. Suddenly there were sparrows hiding in there, just popping out to grab a seed. It felt way more alive. I stopped raking up all the shells under it too. Letting the area be a little messy made it feel like a real spot for them, not just my decoration.

karenm4921d ago

Yeah, the "real spot for them, not just my decoration" part really got me. I used to keep everything so tidy and wondered why birds never stuck around. Letting it get a bit messy made all the difference.