Backyard birding
Turn Your Backyard Into a Bird Watching Spot
You don't have to travel far to start bird watching. Your own backyard can become a great place to observe birds, learn their behaviors, and practice identification.
Attracting Birds
Simple changes can make your yard more appealing to birds throughout the year.
Explore →Bird Feeders
Learn about feeder types, placement, cleaning, and the foods birds enjoy.
Explore →Bird-Friendly Plants
Discover why native plants, flowers, shrubs, and trees can be valuable to backyard birds.
Explore →Providing Water
Learn how bird baths and other water sources can make your yard more attractive.
Explore →Bird Houses
Understand what makes a nest box useful and which birds may use one.
Explore →Backyard Bird Identification
Use simple characteristics to figure out which birds are visiting your yard.
Explore →Start small.
One feeder, a water source, or simply spending a few minutes watching the birds outside your window can be enough to get started.
Your first backyard birding checklist
- ✓ Find a comfortable place to observe birds
- ✓ Keep a pair of binoculars nearby if you have them
- ✓ Learn 3–5 common local birds
- ✓ Pay attention to bird sounds
- ✓ Keep notes about what you see