The best thing for birds in your Mendocino yard isn’t a plant

MENDOCINO CO., 5/12/26 — Clean, moving water may be the fastest single addition you can make to attract birds to your yard. A shallow basin works. A small fountain works. Even a slow drip onto a saucer will do it. Keep it shallow, change the water often, and scrub the basin; a dirty bird bath can spread disease or turn into a mosquito nursery.

On my deck I keep a small fountain. After the western bluebirds fledge from a nearby box, the whole family comes to bathe. Yellow-rumped warblers crowd in and let the spray hit them. Pine siskins arrive as a flock and take over the rim.