Do you remember the days when you had to physically go to a Woolworth's garden center instead of scrolling through Pinterest for ideas on garden décor? Well, the beloved garden ornaments you have been collecting over the years may be upsetting your feathered friends. Some of those favorite yard accessories could be scaring your birds, here's why and what you can do about it.
Bring Hummingbirds Right To Your Window!
Check PriceYour Wind Chime Collection From 1985
Your brass and copper chimes from your trip to Sedona may be lovely to you, but they may be causing distress to your backyard birds. One wind chime may be pleasant, but your collection from wind chimes gift shops is an anxious wind symphony. Perhaps it is time to retire some members of the orchestra.
Save this article for later so you don't lose it. Enter your email and I'll send it to you now—plus you'll get my favorite backyard birding tips delivered to your inbox.
Your Trusty Metal Wheelbarrow That Squeaks Like a Rusty Swing Set
The Radio Flyer wheelbarrow is a nice garden tool, but every time you take it out rusty wheel screeches. With every trip to the garden to tend to your tomatoes, you announce a predator alert to the neighborhood. Your garden peace may be restored by a little WD-40.
The Shiny Pinwheels From Your Grandkids' Garden Phase
Do you remember the time when Tommy came to your house and said the garden was missing some color? He then brought the garden a whole bunch of cheap windmills. The kids may like them, but those windmills are doing the opposite of what you want. Instead of attracting birds, the windmills are going to scare them away because the birds are going to think the windmills have moving predator eyes.
Get our free Hummingbird Attraction Guide! Plus, we'll send you our best tips for attracting more birds to your yard.
Your Sister Claims You'll Adore It! The Rainbow Glass Gazing Ball
The shiny ball your sister brought back from QVC may look nice in your rose garden, but it is making a house of mirrors effect and confusing and startling birds. Any reflected movement looks like a threat and is turning your nice garden into a fear fun house. Some gifts from sisters, even if they are well meaning, need to be placed more strategically.
The Rotating Sprinkler That Reminds Me Of Summer Holidays
Imagine those nostalgic backyard sprinklers that we loved to run through as kids in the 80's. While their tick-tick-tick sounds and random sprays seem fun to humans, they're frightening to birds. To them, sprinklers are monsters that could strike at any moment without warning. Soaker hoses are a much better option. You'll get less nostalgia and memories, but birds will thank you!
Your Prized Collection of Copper Garden Stakes
Your impressive copper garden markers and stakes from the garden show (even if the spouse didn't love them) might be confusing your birds: the reflection of light off different parts of the copper is making shadows that some birds might see and think are from some type of aerial predator. You might want to consider using the wooden stakes that you've got stashed away in the garage instead.
The Windsock Left From Your Dreams Of A Beach House
That wind sock with a nautical design that you thought would be perfect after your Cape Cod trip in '95 could be giving your local birds PTSD from snake encounters. Even the most courageous birds that visit your back yard will experience a fight or flight response when a wind sock starts to move in the breeze. Not every beach souvenir is a good idea for the birds in your yard.
Those solar lights that flash like your old kodak camera
Do you remember thinking those cheap solar lights would transform your garden path into a magical fairy wonderland? Well, it turns out their uneven flashing (especially when the clouds come in) is like lightning to birds – or worse, like the flashbulbs of your old Instamatic camera. What looks enchanting to us is like a disco emergency to our feathered friends.
Your Husband's Garden Gnome Army
Local birds may be developing some serious trust issues. Your husband's collection of retirement garden gnomes probably isn't helping. Gnomes are considered creepy and even predatory, giving the same vibes as dangerous lurking predators. Perhaps suggest the hobby of constructing a birdhouse from that workshop at the hardware store!
The Metal Plant Support Grid You Saw On QVC
Your expandable plant support system purchased during a late-night infomercial may have a surprising drawback. The system’s metal cross bars create a web-like shadow structure which can cause birds to instinctively avoid the area. Old-fashioned wooden stakes and twine, like your father used, may still be the best solution.
