Frequently Asked Questions About Birds and Bird Feeding

by Bud Maxwell - Sales Associate The Rock Pile - Avon, Ohio

Is it OK to feed bread or other baked goods to birds? A: It is OK to feed small quantities of bread to the birds occasionally, but most breads or other baked goods do not contain enough nutrients to constitute a balanced diet. If bread is abundant, the birds may eat it to the exclusion of other, more nutritious food and that would be bad for them. So go ahead, but keep it to a minimum and try not to do it on a predictable schedule.

What kind of feeders should I use to discourage starlings? A: Tube feeders seem to work best at making life difficult for starlings. You must realize that this species is incredibly adaptable. You may also want to stop feeding peanuts, mixed seed, bread products, and suet for a few days to discourage starlings. Try limiting your feeding to black-oil sunflower seed.

Is it true that blackbirds, starlings, and grackles do not like safflower seeds? A: Some of the blackbirds will only eat safflower when there’s nothing else to eat. Cardinals seem to love safflower. If you want to feed the smaller birds, get small, roofed feeders that exclude the larger birds.

I recently purchased a bird feeder and have yet to see any birds. What am I doing wrong? A: You’re not doing anything wrong. It takes time for birds to locate a new feeding source. A spell of bad weather always drives birds to concentrate at feeders. Try putting your feeder in a new location far from your house and the portion of your yard where you are active. Put the feeder in or near a tree that the birds regularly use. If there is not a source of cover for birds it will take them longer to find and use your feeders.

If I stop feeding the birds in my backyard, will they starve? A: No. Birds are not totally reliant on the food offered at your feeding station. Birds have evolved over millions of years to be very mobile in their food-finding habits. Because they can fly, birds are very efficient at going to where the food is. Feeding stations have been linked to slightly improved survival rates for birds in very harsh weather conditions. But, overall, bird feeding does not drastically affect the birds’ survival.

Do birds that eat at feeders lose their ability to find food naturally? A: No, the food most birds eat at feeding stations is only a portion of their overall diet. Birds are programmed by instinct to forage for food. And many seed-eating birds at your feeders during the winter switch to an insect-based diet when warm weather returns in the spring.

How do I keep the squirrels off of my bird feeders? A: Baffling your feeders (preventing squirrels from gaining access to the feeders) is the best way. Many varieties of baffles are available and can be tailored to the design of the feeder. Remember that squirrels are excellent climbers and are also able to jump several feet straight up or horizontally. There are many squirrel-proof feeders on the market. These may give the

1 squirrels a small electric shock, may prevent them from reaching the seed, or may rotate or bounce to dump the squirrels off. But be forewarned. Squirrels have been known to outsmart the most ingenious of the squirrel-proof inventions. If you can’t beat ‘em, join ‘em. Feed squirrels ears of dried corn, but place the corn away from your bird feeders. Given the choice, squirrels will always go for the easiest food, and they LOVE corn.

How do I keep house finches/blackbirds/pigeons/house sparrows from hogging all the seed at my feeders? A: Chances are you are feeding some food that that species really loves to eat. Try eliminating mixed seed from your feeding operation. Blackbirds, sparrows, pigeons, and doves all relish mixed seed. Some feeder operators feed only black-oil sunflower to reduce the number of “unwanted” species at their feeders. To discourage house finches, try eliminating platform feeders. Remove or shorten the perches on your tube feeders. House finches like to perch when eating. Goldfinches, nuthatches, chickadees, and other small feeder birds can still get to the seeds at tube feeders that have short perches.

What is the very best seed to offer to birds? A: Black-oil sunflower seed is the most universally eaten seed at bird feeders. But there are many other seeds and foods to offer to birds. What is most popular with your birds depends on where you live and what birds are present.

Recently I purchased a new feeder, which came with a package of inexpensive mixed seed. All I have now at this feeder is sparrows. What can I do to limit the number of sparrows? A: Here are a few tips for reducing house sparrows at your feeders: • Stop feeding mixed seed and cracked corn. • Reduce ground feeding. • Use tube feeders with perches. • Feed only black-oil sunflower seed.

What is the best feeder for bird feeding? A: There is no single best feeder for bird feeding. A well-rounded feeding operation will include a platform feeder, a tube feeder, a hopper feeder, a suet feeder, and a peanut feeder. And don’t forget the bird bath or some source of water in the garden.

Is it okay to feed in the summer? A: Yes! Many birding organizations endorse all year round feeding. In time of shortage the provision of supplementary food can reduce competition between adults and young for natural food as the adults will quickly “top-up” at the bird feeders and use all the caterpillars etc. that they find to feed their young.

How is a quality bird feed different from that in my local pet shop? A: Quality food is prepared using top quality ingredients, mostly supplied to a human consumption standard. In harsh weather a small bird may consume up to 30% of its body mass per day! This sort of metabolic rate greatly increases the bird’s susceptibility to any impurities in the food. Additionally, many cheaper mixes will be found to contain high proportions of cereal,

2 grass seed, lentils, split peas and broken dog biscuit, most of which will be ignored by practically every thing except hungry pigeons.

Where is the best place to site a feeder? A: As close to cover as possible. Most common garden birds are fundamentally woodland species, and they do not like straying too far from cover. If the birds feel that they can quickly escape into surrounding vegetation in the event of a predator appearing they are much more likely to use the feeder. Where cats are a problem, the ideal location will avoid low-lying cover below the feeder where ground feeding birds may well forage on spilt seed, as this reduces the chances of an ambush. There are people who successfully use window feeders on the upper stories of apartments in urban areas, but as a general rule, mature gardens with lots of cover will attract more birds than gardens on new developments with minimal cover.

How long can I keep food for, and how long can I leave uneaten food in the garden? A: If kept cool and dry, we would recommend keeping food for up to three months, but in practice it may well last longer. Food that has been kept for much more than six months may well have gone bad. As a general rule, any food that has been outside and is uneaten, for more than ten days should be disposed of, and in mild, damp weather peanuts should really not be out for more than a week.

What about hygiene? A: This is vitally important. Feeders and feeding areas should be cleaned with a mild (10%) bleach solution on a regular basis, and certainly before fouling becomes obvious. Water containers should be emptied and replenished regularly in warm weather, and must be rinsed several times after using any sort of cleaning agent. A really good scrub with warm water and a tiny amount of dish washing liquid works well. Don’t forget that birds depend on water in the winter as well, especially during prolonged chilly spells, as their plumage needs to be clean to provide maximum protection from the cold, and seed eaters get very little moisture from their food. Birds can carry a variety of infections that are potentially dangerous to humans and domestic animals (such as campylobacter, e-coli and salmonella), so good hygiene really is crucial. Hands should always be washed thoroughly after cleaning or refilling feeders.

How do I prevent seeds from sprouting under my feeder? A: You will need to sterilize your seed to prevent it from germinating. This will not alter the attractiveness or the nutritional value of the seed in any way. In a conventional oven, place the seed on a baking sheet and cook for 30 minutes at 300°. In a microwave oven, place seed in a paper bag. Cook on high power for 5 minutes. Also, by using only black oil sunflower seed, the favorite of most seed-eating birds, what lands on the ground is just the hulls. Nothing to sprout. Or we recommend blends which contain sunflower chips, which are more expensive, but there’s absolutely no waste.

How can I stop birds from flying into my window? A: The key is to make your windows less transparent. A few ideas would be to shut the blinds, pull the shade down, hanging a mobile or colored ribbon outside the window, place stickers on

3 the window. If the previous suggestions do not work, you may want to relocate the feeder to another place in your yard.

What should I do with baby birds that I find on the ground? A: Most of the young birds discovered out of the nest are not orphans. Songbird fledglings leave the nest before they are capable of extended flight and may be flightless for ten days or more. During this time food is gathered by their parents, who spend much of their time away from the young. Young birds deserted by their parents are most probably sick or abnormal. In fact, the weakest of a brood may be pushed from the nest by the parents or siblings. Autopsies of baby birds that are deserted and die show malfunctions of the digestive tract and internal and external parasites to be among the causes of mortality.

How do I attract (insert your favorite bird) to my yard? A: Think habitat. Learn about the habitat requirements of the birds you wish to attract and supply them. That can be as simple as putting out a feeder or some water, or you can go all the way and change your landscaping entirely. Birds, like any animal, need food, water and shelter. Providing feeders full of food is certainly the simplest way to attract birds to your yard and is usually very effective.

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