Create An Easy And Practical Backyard Bird arden (NAPSA)—Gardening and bird- Tv r watching are two of the most popular hobbies in the United States. i i . hs - a Li i q y i a. i‘ \ Ai ir You can combine both and may 4 . * Et ] " iY rf make moneyin the process bycreating a backyard bird garden. n According to Michigan State Uni- versity, a well landscaped yard can increase your home’s value by o to 11 percent. “Choosing what to plant to cre- ate a bird garden is easy and takes only a few steps,” says Wingscapes Birding Expert Stephen Kress, author and co-author of numerous birding books, including The Audubon Society Guide to Attracting Birds and The Audubon Backyard Birdwatch. What To Plant You only need to consider a few basic plants to start your bird garden: e A front row of wildflowers and nectar-bearing flowers, such as yellow black-eyed Susan and purple echinacea. Consider adding 3-foot-tall stakes for vines, such as the hummingbird-friendly trum- pet vine and morningglory. Four or five taller flowering Creating a backyard bird garden may add value to your home and increase your enjoyment. pole feeder and choose a high- quality birdseed mix that includes sunflower seeds. Spread some of the seed on the ground. Birds like to splash in birdbaths year-round. The key consideration is to select a shallow bath just an inch or two deep and to keep it clean. Photograph Birds While You’re Away You can enjoy watching all the birds in your garden even while youre away. Wingscapes BirdCam is a weatherproof, motion-acti- as blackberry, blueberry, holly and vated digital camera that captures high-resolution photos and videos berries and give birds a perch, such videos on your home computer or Feeders and Birdbaths via Wingscapes.com, Flickr”, YouTube or other social media Web sites. For more information, visit www.wingscapes.com. and berry-producing bushes, such winterberry. Two small trees that produce as flowering dogwood, hawthorn, crab apple or serviceberry. Feeders will also attract birds to your garden and makebird- watching easier. Consider a large of birds. You can view the images and TV. You can also e-mail those imagesor video clips or share them
