Birds eat much more than suet, seed and necrotic, and feeding birds in your backyard also invites them to feast on the insects, worms, snails and spiders in your landscape. This can provide ideal organic pest control with little need for toxic insecticides or other harmful chemicals.

Not only do birds eat insects that can help keep your landscape healthier, but they assist with flower pollination. This can result in more luxuriant, full flowerbeds and beautiful bird-friendly landscaping with less overall effort for gardening.

Many small birds such as sparrows and finches eat tremendous amounts of seeds, especially from seed bearing flowers or weeds that might be undesirable in your landscape. Feeding these birds will also attract them to the natural food sources in your landscape, including weeds. Winter landscape will also be more interesting if you let some of your flowers and native plants up for the winter.

Photographers with an interest in nature subjects can enjoy a proliferation of poses right outside their windows when they feed the birds. Painters and other artists can also similarly benefit from feeding birds.

For many urban birders, the birds they see at their feeders may be the only wild animals they have the chance to interact with. This can be an ideal activity for senior citizens, individuals with limited mobility or young children to get their first exposure to nature.

As you become more familiar with your backyard birds, it is possible to begin recognizing individual birds by their unique markings or personalities. These “outdoor pets” can be very enjoyable, without the extra costs of extensive veterinary care, housing and training that more traditional pets will require.

While feeding the birds brings backyard birders many benefits, it also benefits the birds by replacing food sources that have been destroyed by development. When homes are built and landscaped, birds lose nesting spots, shelter and natural food sources, but proper feeding and bird-friendly landscaping can help replace those resources so the birds and birders can live together in harmony.