How to Attract Song Birds in Southeastern Michigan

Understand what song birds need. Their most basic needs are simple: food, water, shelter and a little space. You can attract song birds such as Carolina wrens, chickadees, white-crowned sparrows, goldfinches, titmice and nuthatches to your southeastern Michigan yard if you offer what these feathered friends need.

Provide diverse cover in varying heights. All birds like a little cover and song birds are no exception. If your yard is full of a variety of plantings such as flowers, low-growing shrubs, tall evergreens, and deciduous trees then you have some very inviting real estate for birds. A barren, perfectly manicured lawn may look nice, but song birds become easy hawk bait!

Lure them in with food. Song birds will have no problem finding some store-bought bird seed that you put out in bird feeders. Choose seed that contains a mixture of black-oil sunflower, sunflower chips, safflower seed, and white proso millet. Some birds scratch and eat food from the ground, so sprinkle some bird seed directly on the ground or on top of a wayward stump to attract different species.

Place bird feeders in areas with nearby cover so they can quickly dart back and forth to eat seed. They'll usually eat a little, then quickly dart back into a pine tree to keep out of site of hawks or other predators.

Provide a water source. You don't need to have a lake, pond or stream, just a simple birdbath that you keep clean and filled with water will suffice. Place it near a tree or an evergreen shrub to provide convenient cover for quick escape if needed.

Use a bird bath heater to keep the water from freezing during those long, cold Michigan winters to help the song birds have a ready water supply. Nelson Products Blue Devil Bird Bath Heater is good for up to -40 degrees and shuts off to conserve energy when the water temperature reaches between 40 and 50 degrees.

Offer proper housing for song birds. Wrens need a bird house that has a smaller opening to deter house sparrows and have successful breeding. The entry hole should be 1 to 1 1/8 inch in diameter. The Audubon Cedar Wren/Chickadee house is an excellent choice. A male Carolina wren will sing in delight to attract a mate to a yard that offers food, water, shelter and a home to raise their young.