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Winter Bird Feeding BirdNotes 1 Winter Bird Feeding birds at feeders in winter If you feed birds, you’re in good company. Birding is one of North America’s favorite pastimes. A 2006 report from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service estimates that about 55.5 mil- lion Americans provide food for wild birds. Chickadees Titmice Cardinals Sparrows Wood- Orioles Pigeons Nuthatches Finches Grosbeaks Blackbirds Jays peckers Tanagers Doves Sunflower ◆ ◆ ◆ ◆ ◆ ◆ ◆ Safflower ◆ ◆ ◆ Corn ◆ ◆ ◆ Millet ◆ ◆ ◆ Milo ◆ ◆ Nyjer ◆ Suet ◆ ◆ ◆ ◆ ◆ Preferred ◆ Readily Eaten Wintertime—and the Living’s counting birds at their feeders during selecting the best foods daunting. To Not Easy this winterlong survey. Great Back- attract a diversity of birds, provide a yard Bird Count participants provide variety of food types. But that doesn’t n much of North America, winter valuable data with a much shorter mean you need to purchase one of ev- Iis a difficult time for birds. Days time commitment—as little as fifteen erything on the shelf. are often windy and cold; nights are minutes in mid-February! long and even colder. Lush vegeta- Which Seed Types tion has withered or been consumed, Types of Bird Food Should I Provide? and most insects have died or become uring spring and summer, most dormant. Finding food can be espe- lack-oil sunflower seeds attract songbirds eat insects and spi- cially challenging for birds after a D Bthe greatest number of species. ders, which are highly nutritious, heavy snowfall. These seeds have a high meat-to- abundant, and for the most part, eas- shell ratio, they are nutritious and Setting up a backyard feeder makes ily captured. During fall and winter, high in fat, and their small size and their lives easier and ours more enjoy- nonmigratory songbirds shift their di- thin shells make them easy for small able. To observe birds at a feeder, you ets to fruits and seeds to survive. This birds to handle and crack. (Striped don’t need to brave the elements— is the time of year when bird-feeding sunflower seeds are larger and have you can watch from the comfort of enthusiasts roll out the welcome mat a thicker seed coat.) Several studies, your own home. Participants in the and set the table. The question is, including our own Seed Preference Cornell Lab of Ornithology’s Project what to serve? Most supermarkets Test, show that this high-energy food FeederWatch help scientists track and bird-feeding stores are stocked is the favorite of most birds that visit changes in the abundance and distri- with bags, buckets, and cakes of many feeders. In fact, it is often wasteful bution of winter bird populations, by food types. You may find the task of to use a standard mix of sunflower, Sunflower Safflower Corn Millet 2 finches such as goldfinches, siskins, Some people save the seeds from and redpolls. Nyjer seeds are small squash and melons. This is a great and expensive. Offer them in spe- way to put the seeds from Halloween cial nyjer feeders, with small mesh pumpkins to good use. Some birds rel- or tiny ports that prevent the seeds ish these seeds even more than black- from spilling out. Some birds, most oil sunflower. Spread them out on notably cardinals, appreciate saf- trays to air dry before placing them in flower, which has limited appeal for your feeders or on the ground. If the starlings and House Sparrows (non- seeds are sufficiently dry and free of native species), and squirrels. Many mold, you can save them to use when backyard birds (and squirrels) enjoy winter comes. Smaller birds may peanuts. have a tough time breaking open veg- etable seeds, but if you run the seeds Although sunflower seeds are the through a food processor first, little overall favorite of tree-feeding spe- birds will be able to eat them with Tufted Titmouse cies, most ground-feeding bird spe- ease. cies prefer white millet or red milo to milo, millet, oats, wheat, flax, and black-oil sunflower seed. Experiment Some people throw out scraps of stale buckwheat seeds, since birds may eat to see what your birds like best! bread, cake, or doughnuts for their feathered visitors. Be sure the food is the prized sunflower seeds and leave Make it Yourself the rest. Uneaten seeds may foster not moldy or it may harm the birds. growth of mold and bacteria. s an alternative to commercial Another caveat: table scraps may at- mixtures, which may have a high tract less-welcome visitors such as The table shown in this BirdNote is A percentage of “filler seeds,” you can European Starlings, House Sparrows, based on studies conducted by the create a low-cost mixture yourself. rats, or raccoons. Attracting nuisance Cornell Lab of Ornithology and the Pour one 25-pound bag of black-oil species can be a real problem in ur- U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. Birds’ sunflower seed, one 10-pound bag of ban and suburban areas, so be consid- feeding habits vary based on weather white proso millet, and one 10-pound erate of your neighbors before feed- patterns, geographic region, season, bag of cracked corn into a clean trash ing leftovers. and individual taste, so you may find barrel. Mix it with a broomstick, and exceptions to these guidelines. High-Energy Foods replace the lid tightly. Always store In the table, “corn” refers to dried, birdseed in tight, waterproof contain- ou can attract insect-eating birds whole-kernel corn, favored by jays, ers. Metal containers prevent rodents Ysuch as chickadees, woodpeck- pigeons, doves, quail, and pheasants. from gnawing their way into your ers, and nuthatches to your yard by Cracked corn, however, is easier to food supply. offering peanut butter or suet (beef eat for blackbirds, finches, and spar- Leftovers: For the Birds? fat). Birds in cold climates especially rows. “Millet” comes in red and appreciate these high-energy foods. white varieties; most birds prefer ou don’t have to limit your of- Some people worry that birds will white proso millet over red. “Nyjer,” Yferings to commercial birdseed. choke on sticky peanut butter. There’s or thistle seed, is a delicacy for small Milo Nyjer House Finch 3 no evidence that they do, but you can Types of Feeders eliminate any risk by mixing peanut butter with corn meal or oatmeal. he ideal bird feeder is sturdy Tenough to withstand winter The plain beef suet available at most weather, tight enough to keep seeds supermarket meat departments is dry, large enough that you don’t have an excellent high-energy food. Suet to refill it constantly, and easy to as- can quickly become rancid in warm semble and keep clean. In general, weather, but some commercial suet seed-feeders fall into three catego- cakes and doughs, available in most ries: tray feeders, hopper feeders, and stores that sell bird-feeding supplies, tube feeders. Tray feeders are typi- can be used year-round. Suet cakes cally placed close to the ground and often contain a mix of birdseeds or attract ground-feeding birds such as other ingredients. They’re useful to juncos, sparrows, and towhees. Tray hopper feeder have on hand when your local super- feeders also work well when mount- they do collide. Window feeders are market is out of suet. Suet is most eas- ed on deck railings, stumps, or posts. often the easiest for us to observe and ily and safely offered in plastic-coated Hopper feeders are often hung from maintain. wire cages. trees or attached to decks or poles. If possible, place your feeder close These feeders are especially good for Fruity Favorites to natural shelters such as trees or larger species such as cardinals, jays, shrubs. Evergreens are ideal, pro- irds such as robins, thrushes, and grosbeaks. Tube feeders are typi- viding maximum cover from win- bluebirds, and waxwings don’t cally suspended from trees and posts. B ter winds and predators. Trees and usually show up at feeders because They are excellent for finches, tit- shrubs can also provide good jump- seeds are not a major component of mice, and chickadees. ing-off places for squirrels that may their diet. But you can sometimes be eyeing the seeds, and hiding places tempt them to dine at your feeder by Feeder Placement for cats that may be eyeing the birds. offering fruit. Soften dried raisins and irds visiting feeders are often A distance of about 10 feet seems to currents by soaking them in water Bkilled in collisions with windows. be a happy compromise. You can first. Mockingbirds, catbirds, tana- Feeders attached to windows or win- provide resting and escape cover for gers, and orioles may also enjoy sliced dow frames, or placed within 3 feet of ground-dwelling birds, such as Song apples, oranges, and other fresh fruit, a window, are safest because birds are Sparrows, by placing a large, loosely or frozen berries. You can offer fruit more likely to notice the glass, and if stacked brush pile near your feeders. from a plate or shallow bowl set on a they don’t, aren’t flying at top speed if platform feeder or on the ground. Feeder Maintenance Water, Water Everywhere lean your feeders about once every two weeks, and more of- nfrozen water can be as hard for C ten during warm weather and times birds to find in winter as food. U of heavy use. Using a sturdy brush A dependable supply of fresh water to scrub them with soap and wa- will attract many birds to your yard, ter is usually enough; you may wish including species that don’t normally to rinse in a weak bleach solution if visit feeders.
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