Bring your backyard to life

Practical guides to feeding birds, choosing optics and trail cameras, and welcoming wildlife home.

Latest guides

Trail Cameras

Trail Camera Placement Tips for Backyard Wildlife

Height, angle, sun direction, and settings that give you more clear wildlife photos and fewer blank triggers.

Backyard Wildlife

How to Create a Wildlife-Friendly Garden

Native plants, layers, leaving the leaves, and skipping pesticides to support birds, pollinators, and backyard wildlife.

Birding & Feeders

How to Identify Common Backyard Birds by Song

Memorable phrases (mnemonics) for the songs of common backyard birds, plus free tools for learning.

Backyard Wildlife

How to Attract Owls to Your Backyard

Habitat, owl nest boxes, and why avoiding rat poison matters if you want owls nearby.

Birding & Feeders

Birdbath Guide: Choosing, Placing, and Cleaning a Birdbath

Why depth matters, where to place a birdbath, how to keep water clean, and options for moving water.

Birding & Feeders

Bird Houses by Species: Entrance Hole Sizes and Placement

Which birds use nest boxes, the right entrance hole size for each, and where to mount them.

Birding & Feeders

Best Bird Seed Types and Which Birds Eat Them

Black-oil sunflower, safflower, nyjer, millet, peanuts, and suet: a quick chart of what attracts which birds.

Birding & Feeders

Winter Bird Feeding: How to Help Birds Through the Cold

High-energy foods, open water, shelter, and feeder hygiene to support backyard birds in winter.

Birding & Feeders

Hummingbird Nectar Recipe and Feeder Care Guide

The simple 1:4 sugar-water recipe, why to skip red dye, how often to clean, and how to choose a hummingbird feeder.

Birding & Feeders

Squirrel-Proof Bird Feeding: Strategies That Actually Help

Baffles, feeder placement, weight-activated feeders, and seed choices that keep squirrels from emptying your feeders.

Backyard Wildlife

How to Identify Backyard Animals by Their Tracks and Signs

Tracks, scat, and other clues that tell you which animals visit your yard.

Trail Cameras

Trail Cameras for Backyard Wildlife: What to Look For

Discover who visits your yard at night. Key features and setup tips for trail cameras.

Binoculars & Optics

How to Choose Binoculars for Birding

What 8x42 means, why field of view matters, and the features worth paying for.

Birding & Feeders

Choosing the Best Bird Feeder: A Buyer's Guide

Tube, hopper, platform, suet, or nyjer? How to match the feeder to the birds you want.

Birding & Feeders

How to Attract More Birds to Your Backyard

The four things every bird needs—food, water, shelter, and nesting spots—and how to provide them.

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Free printable: Backyard Bird ID Checklist

Get our one-page checklist of 30 common North American backyard birds, plus new guides in your inbox. Unsubscribe anytime.

Preview it: printable checklist · PDF