Enticing Feathered Travelers to Your Property During Fall Migration

By Denice Rackley

Shorter days, cooling temperatures, and falling leaves announce autumn is on the way. Those same signs and the fact that food becomes less available signals the birds to begin their fall migration. Migration offers a great opportunity to attract feathered visitors to your property while helping them successfully complete their journey.

Cornel Lab of Ornithology experts state that over 4 million birds in North America migrate south each autumn. The distance birds travel to their winter homes varies extensively.

Not all birds migrate, some like northern bobwhite and bridled titmouse, simply head to lower elevations to await spring where food is available and weather is more hospitable. Others birds such as the white crowned sparrow, eastern blue bird, and killdeer migrate medium distances staying in North American. Then there are others who are called ‘neotropical’ migrants that spend summers in Canada and North America and winter in the Caribbean and northern South America. Waterfowl to raptors are included in this group, as are many shorebirds, hummingbirds, thrushes, warblers, orioles, and thrushes. A few species of birds take heading south seriously. Whopping cranes travel 2,500 miles and Artic Terns rack up 24,000 miles traveling from pole to pole.

Migratory birds bulk up before and during migration. Having enough fuel for the journey is crucial. Attracting birds during migration is a great opportunity to see species that are passing through your area.

You can make the most of this seasonal journey attracting large numbers of feathered visitors by adding water, food, and shelter for the travelers.

Consider these suggestions:

1.  Provide running water

The sound of running water in a bird bath or pond acts like a beacon for wildlife. Birds come for a drink, to bathe, and still others come to eat insects from the water.

Installing a bubbler or mister into birdbath or adding a recirculating pump to a multilevel bird bath will provide a welcome stop for feathered travelers.

2.  Plant fall gardens for birds

Plant evergreens for shelter, bushes that yield edible berries, and flowers and grasses that provide seeds.

Bushes with edible berries  - Firethorn (Pyracantha coccinea), Winterberry (Ilex verticillate), American Cranberrybush (Viburnum trilbum), Chokeberry (Aronia), Crabapple (Malus), Serviceberry (Amelanchier)

Flowers for seeds – Sunflowers (Helianthus), Coneflowers (Echinacea), Coneflower (Centaurea cyanus), Black-Eyed Susan (Rudbecia hirta), Daisy (Bellis perennis), Aster (Symphotrichum), Marigold (Tagetes)

3.  Natural Areas

Allow some areas of your yard to remain natural. Leaf litter holds water, attracts insects, and provides organic matter for the soil. Leaving an area of mature grasses, rather than mowing, will allow seed eating birds to have a little feast before moving on.  

A stack of branches and brush will harbor insects for birds and provide shelter for sparrows, junco, and titmouse who prefer to forage on the ground.

4.  Provide food for insect and fruit eaters

Apples, berries, jellies, oranges, peanut butter and meal worms will attract a variety of birds including bluebirds, robins, mockingbirds, woodpeckers, cedar waxwings, thrashers, orioles, and tanagers.

5. Provide sugar feeders

With limited natural food sources available, keeping hummingbird feeders out through the fall with give the hummers a much needed energy boost as they make their way south.

6. Clean out nest boxes   

Several species of birds, bluebirds, chickadees, and nuthatches, remain in some locations during the winter depending on food availability and temperature. These year-long residents benefit from a cozy spot to keep warm and dry. Cleaning out bird boxes, removing the old nest material also removes pests and parasites and provide birds with a nighttime resting spot.

7. Add feeders

Offer a wide variety of feed in different feeder to attract the greatest variety of birds.

There is a wide variety of feeder designs and wild bird food available. After all each type of bird has specific preferences.

Suet feeders are specially designed for birds that hang onto tree trunks and branches searching for insects. Nuthatches and woodpeckers enjoy these feeders. Cardinals and others prefer tray feeders while chickadees and finches land on wire feeders or perches then extract seeds.

Sprinkle seeds on the ground near cover for those bids that are shy and don’t enjoy community dining.

Sunflower seeds, especially oil sunflower seed are a favorite of many birds. Cracked corn, peanut hearts, and thistle seed are readily consumed.

 In addition to the commercial wild bird food available, if you live near a livestock feed mill you may be able purchase ground corn and other seed products like wheat and oats. Suet is animal fat and is often available at butcher shops.

8.  Protect from window collisions

Millions of birds die each year from collisions with windows. Windows reflect foliage and the sky so birds fly right into them. If you can see these reflections in your windows there are things you can do to prevent bird collisions.

Decals, stickers, masking tape, or even sticky notes placed close together on the outside surface of the window work well. Window screens, netting 3 inches from the glass, external sun shades, and shutters work well. Internal vertical blinds with the slats half open are also successful.

There are commercially available window treatments specifically designed to reduce or eliminate collisions – ABC Bird Tape, Acopian Bird Savers or Zen Curtains, and One way transparent film such as Collidescape.

9.  Keep an eye on pet cats

When deciding where to place your bird feeders and baths, do so with the knowledge that cats often take advantage of gathered birds gathering. By placing feeders high off the ground or near a bit of shrubbery where the birds can hide you can increase their safety. Keeping cats inside during the early morning will also enable the birds to dine in peace.

10.  Clean baths and feeders throughout the season

Removing the seed hulls from feeders and cleaning the bird baths will help keep your feathered visitors healthy. 

According to the Fish and Wildlife Service there were 45 million birdwatchers in the U.S. in 2019. That number has grown over the last two years as people have been enjoying nature near their homes. If you are looking for a hobby that can be enjoyed from the comfort of your living room or wanting to get outside in nature, birdwatching fits the bill.

By providing enticing food, water, and shelter for the feathered travelers you will be able to enjoy their company during the fall and winter while eagerly anticipating spring and the next migration.