Birds can visit your yard for many reasons. It’s often very satisfying to see birds in your yard. Usually, they are beneficial to your yard and garden. But their visits may cause harm too.
Why are there so many birds in my yard?
Thousands of birds in a yard can mean migrating bird groups have landed to take some rest. While regular bird visits in a yard can indicate that the yard has abundant seeds, insects, worms, and other food sources for them. Usually, it’s good for home gardens as insects are more harmful than birds.
Table of Contents
Here are the possible reasons for numerous birds visiting your yard-
The birds are migrating:
One day you wake up hearing birds chirping and find thousands of birds in your house. You ask yourself, why are there so many birds in the yard today? You look around the house and find so many birds on the lawn, backyard, and roof.
Wonder what you should do in such situations? Well, those birds are migrating to North America and they are eating and resting in your yard for a while. You should not disturb them by going near or creating harsh sounds. Those birds will be gone soon.
The birds don’t come randomly all of a sudden. There are two seasons for birth migration. One is Spring migration from March to May and the other one is Fall migration from August to October.
About 650 bird species migrate together in a mass migration season. So, if thousands of birds land on your house you will see birds of different colors and sizes- blackbirds, red birds, or other small birds.
If your house has many big trees and food sources, there are more chances of birds landing. Usually, bird migration occurs at night. So most of the time you will discover the birds in the morning.
To find food:
If you see many birds in your backyard without the migrating season. That may be because of the larvae and insects in your yard. In this case, there will not be thousands of birds but a couple hundred is normal.
Some people just love the presence of birds. They even set up bird feeders and water sources for them.
However, birds can eat up garden fruits and do damage to some crops. But remember only one species of bird can serve up to a billion dollars every year.
To avoid predator:
If birds are flying over your house in a large group, that means the birds are protecting themselves from predators. Flying in a group gives them a numerical advantage and often helps to look out from predators.
But why over your house? Well, it is more of a random thing.
What attracts birds to your yard?
Birds usually look for food, shelter, and a quiet place without much activity. Check out what makes your yard attractive for birds.
Trees and plants:
Trees and plants will attract lots of birds as trees provide them food, shelter, and safety. They can sit on a tree, find insects, nectar, and fruits for eating.
Migrating bird groups will always choose a place that has sufficient trees. Local birds will also visit regularly if you have some trees in your yard.
You can grow plants to attract different types of birds. Such as glossy abelia, burning bush, daylily attracts hummingbirds. Winterberry, cranberry bushes attract bluebirds. A feeder with sunflower seed and white milo attracts red birds (cardinal).
A dark place:
Turning off your backyard light in bird migration season can save millions of birds. Because of light pollution birds start migrating early and nest early. They breed earlier than normal so their babies hatch when their food is not ready.
However, lights also scare the birds. A dark place is necessary for migrating birds to land and take a rest.
Food:
If your yard has various food sources for different species, many birds will visit your yard. Insects, earthworms, and larvae are the most attractive food for them. Some birds also like grass seeds.
Bird visits are often beneficial to your garden as they work as pest and weed control. Some people set up different kinds of bird feeders to attract birds. But that can sometimes harm their natural tendencies to seek food in the wild.
Water source:
If you have only a water source, some birds will regularly visit to drink water. Especially in dry seasons, it can be very beneficial for birds.
Termite swarm:
There is a season for termite swarming. When it happens, thousands of termites fly together to find a new place to make a new colony.
That swarming day is the best day for birds. They fly in a group and catch termites. If your backyard has a termite colony, lots of birds can visit when termite swarms.
Is it good or bad to have birds in your yard?
Usually, it’s good to have birds in your garden, but if you are growing crops, fruits, or berries, it’s better to repel them.
Let’s talk about the bright side first. Birds help to control bugs and insects. Insects can harm your garden and spread disease. Birds are relaxing to watch and hear.
Small birds like hummingbirds can help pollinate your plants. Some birds like sparrows and finches will eat up all the weed seeds from your garden. That will be a great help to control your garden weed.
Birds can be annoying sometimes. A large group of birds makes harsh noise that can disturb your daily activities. Woodpeckers can harm your wooden structure or house. If you like to grow fruits and crops in your yard, birds can be a big threat to your garden.
However, birds are an essential part of our ecology and we should never do anything harmful for birds.
What will make birds go away and keep them away from my yard?
There are some simple and effective ways to keep the birds away. Find out which one suits you the best,
Dolls and balloons:
Hang realistic scarecrows, owls, or snake dolls and balloons in different parts of your yard. Birds are mostly dependent on their eyesight. And snakes and owls are the natural predators of birds.
So if you want to keep the birds away from your yard, this one is an easy and cheap way to keep the birds away.
Bird repellent tape:
There is one kind of bird-repellant tape that can be pretty useful to scare away the birds. Those tapes are shiny and reflect sunlight. So birds get confused by the reflection and avoid the place.
Insecticides:
If you can reduce insects and food sources from your yard, bird visits will reduce automatically. You can use insecticides to reduce insects and larvae. However, sometimes it can also be bad for the ecological balance of your garden.
Bird repellent machine:
There is a kind of machine that can effectively keep the birds away. The machine creates a low-frequency sound that mimics the noise of predators. The sound is very effective to make the birds go away.
Usually, college and commercial institutes use the machine to avoid birds landing on their field. But the machine is quite expensive for personal properties.
Sonic Bird Repellers:
Sonic bird repellers can create incredibly loud sounds in a certain direction. All you have to do is to press push-liver aiming in the bird’s direction. Birds dislike the loud sounds.
It will scare the birds away and hopefully, the birds will remember the sound and stop coming.
Cover the trees with a net:
Why keep the birds away if you can cover your fruit plants and crops with a net. It’s an effective way to save your garden from birds and still enjoy the birds’ presence.
Why are there so many lifeless baby birds in my yard?
Lots of lifeless baby birds can indicate that they were born at the wrong time. Birds breed and raise babies in the most favorable season when they can find sufficient food for them.
Due to light pollution birds migrate and breed earlier. After hatching the babies, birds can’t find enough food for them.
This can be the reason for the life loss of millions of baby birds. Climate change, light pollution, and massive urbanization is causing various problems to birds and other animals.
Baby birds can also lose life because of illness. If you find any lifeless bird in your yard, be careful as infected birds can cause serious illness. Barry the bird wearing a protective mask and hand gloves. Sanitize your hand and equipment after the process.
Final thoughts
Thousands of birds can stop in your yard while migrating. Migration is a very important event for them. So, you should be careful if they land in your yard. We should unite and work together to stop global warming for a better world for humans, birds, and every animal of the world.