A great way to add value to your yard is to focus on attracting the birds and the bees.

Kimberly Sagi, owner of the Severna Park Wild Bird Center says it all boils down to plant native bushes, grasses, shrubs and trees that provide habitat for birds and bees year round.

The key reason to attract bees is that they are the best pollinators for your flower and vegetable gardens.

Just how do you do this? How do you make your yard a welcoming place for birds of all feathers?

Kimberly entertained a full house during a recent Educational Series meeting with some basic advice for new birders:

• An easy way to bring a wide variety of birds to your backyard is to offer suet because it provides nutritional benefits throughout all the seasons
• Try hanging a feeder is from a simple hook from the eave in front of a window so you can enjoy your visitors. These little guys are quite bold and will readily come right up to your house to investigate a (red-colored) feeder.
• Don’t forget about providing water. It’s as crucial for birds as it is for us. An adequate supply will attract great variety of birds. Try a birdbath that attaches to deck railings. An alternative is to put out hanging bath. Remember, a birdbath requires daily filling so be mindful of this requirement when choosing a spot for your birdbath.
• Don’t want a mess on your deck? There are “no-mess” seed blends which contain no hulls (what the birds leave behind). Another solution is to use a deck hanger to suspend your feeder over the side of the deck.
• Try a peanut feeder. Wrens, chickadees, titmice, nuthatches and a variety of woodpeckers love nuts as well as mealworms.