Birds in a forest garden?

Hey guys, not sure if there is a thread on this somewhere, I didn't find one, but what's the deal with birds? I'm getting mixed messages from the bits I find here and there. Some say birds should be encouraged with water to drink and bathe so they can eat pests, others say birds eat fruits like strawberries, tomatoes, etc. Let's assume we are in a forest garden and we have birds and we also want to grow things birds might peck at. Can someone share their experiences? Has anyone tried supplying bird feed to keep them satisfied and away from crops?

That is a great question, and I don't think I have a definite answer for you. In general, I try to attract more animals to my area... though I try to exclude parts of my garden. I feel that have a diverse ecosystem will provide more benefit than harm.

I can tell you, in my experience, having bird food around does nothing to keep them from eating things from my garden or orchard.

Birds have never been a huge problem for me in my area, so I generally just try to grow enough of the crop so they cannot eat it all. In some areas that would not work.

Bird being helpful depends on area and type of bird.  

When I was on the east coast birds and squirrels were a slight issue when it came to fruit and vegetables. The easiest solution for this is building an enclosed vegetable garden (mesh wire) around the specific fruit there are targeting. The next best solution, but the hardest/expensive would be to grow more than what they are consuming.


Now that I'm in the desert, rabbits and free-range cows are the issue. Almost impossible to out-grow a food source for them, so working on better fencing.

Yes - the birds will eat any seeds or grains that might be available, then go for dessert. Berries are a favourite, or they'll eat the tiny apricots before they get a chance to grow, or the almost-ripe quinces, leaving only the cores hanging on the tree.  It gets worse if there is any suspicion of drought.  A friend once remarked "don't worry about it, you can go to the shop for a tin of fruit - they can't"  In general it's the larger birds that tend to be a problem, the smaller ones stick to grass seeds and small insects.  Berries - I have to fend off lizards too, but somehow I don't begrudge them.

Interesting. I've heard of putting up a net to protect the crops as well, but I am not a fan of it personally. I guess it might be doable to make it look nice and add some other benefits. It does seem like there is room for experimentation on this topic. This is one of the fun parts about gardening. Other animals being a problem complicates things, also, particularly in a forest garden if you don't want too many fences up. At least I don't think I'll ever have to deal with free-range cows in the garden, haha, that's rough.

I love birds in my gardens! I grew high bush blueberries in FL and GA- my agreement was, I let them grow tall and leave what I can’t reach for the birds. Have had nests in the bushes and still more berries than I can pick alone each year. My chickens snack on the lowest parts and try to ‘jump’ and help me when I’m picking what I can reach. It’s a fun good time out there. I also let beauty berries grow here and there just for the birds. Flax, wheat berry and other grows wild from chicken feed. I’m not sure if that helps. Bonus- birdies drop seeds everywhere so new growth berries pop up in exciting and unexpected places. No feeders in the yard and I let wild weird things be wild and weird and go to seed as they wish in wild places. Loads of buggies and seeds for the birds to snack, which is overall helpful.