Bird Feeding: Tips for Beginners and Veterans (G3176) R-1/2008
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G3176 Brd Feedng— Tps for begnners & veterans Contents Enjoyng brds close to home 1 Feeders 2 Feeder placement 4 Food 5 Some tps on buyng brdseed 7 Water and grt 7 Copng wth squrrels 8 Santaton 9 Pest brds 9 Some general tps 10 For more nformaton 11 Enjoyng brds close to home ird feeding is one of the most There are certainly right and wrong This publication is a basic guide for popular ways to enjoy wildlife. ways to attract and feed birds. Feeding the beginner embarking on the hobby In 2006, researchers estimated can be harmful if it is not continued of feeding birds, but it should also that 55 million adult Americans through the winter. The severity of help veterans improve their feeding Bfed wild birds and other wildlife. the weather and availability of natural stations. It contains tips that will help We suspect the activity is at least as foods and other feeding stations in you maximize your feathered guests’ popular today. Americans spent an the neighborhood determine the benefit and safety, deal with pests estimated 3.3 billion dollars on wild actual potential for harm. Feeders and select equipment and food. If you bird food in 2006. The annual figure contaminated with bird droppings heed the cautions, both you and the has continued on a steady upward and moldy seed can facilitate disease birds should enjoy the experience. trend. transmission. Before setting up a Bird feeding is the only interaction feeding station, be sure you are willing many people have with wildlife. to make a commitment to maintain a Compared to many other forms of dependable food supply throughout recreation, it can be an inexpensive the winter and to keep the health and activity. Birds are diverse, colorful safety of the birds in mind. and entertaining; they add life to a sometimes monotonous winter Black-capped chickadee landscape. Watching birds at a feeder is excellent therapy for people confined indoors by illness, accident or winter weather. Feeders bring birds in close where they can be observed, identified, photographed or simply enjoyed. Most amateur and professional ornithologists feel that feeding is Dark-eyed junco mutually beneficial to birds and people, but it may not always be entirely in the birds’ best interests. Tufted titmouse Feeding reduces natural competition among birds and can subject them to diseases and predation. Certain species—the cardinal is a good example—have extended their ranges farther and farther north, probably in response to the availability of feeders. Depending on one’s outlook, such range extension can be viewed as Redpoll good or bad. White-breasted nuthatch 1 Feeders here are nearly as many sizes More sophisticated versions of this and styles of feeders as there type of feeder may be made of are species of birds to attract to metal or plastic and may include them. A feeding station may be modifications to keep squirrels off, Tone simple feeder or a dozen or more increase seed holding and dispensing different ones scattered around a yard. capacity, or feed only certain species. The type and number of feeders you We will discuss anti-squirrel tactics Shelf feeder set out will affect the diversity and later. Feeders can be made selective abundance of birds you will attract for certain species through the use of to your yard. Let your interest and a counter-balanced treadle device as financial resources determine your a feeding perch. The device can be set level of involvement. to close off access to the seed when a The shelf or platform feeder consists heavy bird such as a pigeon, crow or of a simple platform that should grackle lands to feed, while allowing be elevated from the ground by smaller, more “desirable” species to mounting it on a post or window sill. feed without interference. It suits many different species and Whether you want to select for types of food, can be built easily and certain species is, of course, a matter Wooden feeder inexpensively at home, and is easy to of personal preference. A bird one fill. On the negative side, it is exposed person considers a pest may be to snow and rain (unless you put a another’s favorite. There are other roof on it), provides easy access for methods to favor certain species; squirrels and facilitates accumulation specialized feeders and special food of bird droppings. Be sure there are items may be just as effective. drainage holes in the bottom of a tray Woodpeckers and nuthatches can feeder. In addition, birds can scratch be attracted to suet feeders or log large quantities of seeds onto the feeders. A suet feeder can be as ground. This may mean a loss of seed simple as a mesh bag—such as an but it will also help some ground onion bag—filled with suet and hung feeding birds and small mammals. from a limb. Or it can be a basket The traditional wooden feeder is constructed from scrap wood and really a shelf with a roof and several 1/4-inch mesh hardware cloth. Melted, modifications for dispensing a variety suet can be mixed with a dry food of food items. Typically, it has a glass and packed into virtually any kind of or plastic hopper that holds and mold or container. Feeders designed dispenses seeds to the feeding area to hold commercial suet cakes are also by gravity. Some models have rack-like available. structures on the ends to hold suet The log feeder, a common rustic cakes and/or wooden pegs on which design, consists of a 1- or 2-foot to impale bakery products or scraps section of a log or limb, usually 2–3 to prevent them from being carried inches in diameter. Suet or peanut Feeder with counter- away whole. This type of feeder is butter mix can be packed into holes balanced treadle usually mounted on a post or railing bored into the log. Usually a small peg and is suitable for most birds. If you is added just below each hole to serve are considering only one feeder, this is as a perch. probably the best style to select. 2 A thistle (niger) sock is a fine-mesh impaled is also very attractive. Such tubular bag designed to dispense features can be added to existing thistle seed. Small birds, especially feeders or commercial oriole feeders Mscellaneous goldfinches, cling to the sock and are available. remove the small seeds. It is an All of these basic feeder designs feedng statons inexpensive feeder that quickly pays can be modified to meet your If you live in a rural area, you can for itself by conserving the expensive needs. “Designer” feeders shaped construct large feeders to attract thistle seeds. like football helmets, train cars, or pheasants, quail, turkeys and other Tube feeders are very popular and miniature Victorian mansions are species. A tepee or lean-to made of easy to use. They consist of a tube more popular with feeder purchasers tree limbs or lumber provides shelter of clear plastic or glass with feeding than with the birds. In fact, very and a place to spread grain. Because perches and access holes spaced effective, inexpensive feeders can be of legal bans on feeding deer where evenly through the tube. It is a created from recycled materials like disease control is an issue, you must modern version of the log feeder that 2-liter soda bottles and milk jugs. be sure your bird feeders are not also dispenses seeds rather than suet. It is serving as “deer feeders.” efficient and durable and comes in a variety of sizes. Hummingbird feeders are popular in the summertime when hummingbirds are present. The most common version is a plastic bottle fitted with one or more tubular funnels to hold Droll Yankee® and dispense sugar water. On many tube feeder models, the dispensing tubes are decorated with colorful (usually red) plastic flowers, which presumably help hummingbirds find the feeder. “Instant nectar” powders are available for feeding hummingbirds, but a simple mix of one part sugar to four parts water, boiled, then cooled, is easy to make and inexpensive. Do not use honey as it tends to get moldy. Also, red coloring in the sugar water is not necessary. When the sugar water gets cloudy or goes unused for a week or so, replace it with fresh solution. Thistle sock Ant traps can be used with Log suet feeder hummingbird feeders to keep ants out of the sugar water solution. Sticky compounds are not recommended to keep bees and ants out because of the risk of fouling the birds’ feathers. Tepee shelter Orioles respond to a simple feeder with a small dish or container to hold grape jelly— a favorite food. A peg or nail on which half an orange is 3 Feeder placement ou should consider several things Millions of birds are killed by window when deciding where to place collisions annually. Recent research feeders. First, you will want them has found that placing feeders closer to be visible from a favorite to windows results in fewer window Ykitchen or living room window—after strikes and dead birds. When feeders all, seeing and enjoying birds is one are placed close to windows, startled of the main reasons for feeding them. birds are less likely to impact the glass Second, feeders should be sheltered with enough force to cause injury. from prevailing winds and snow Researchers recommend placing drifts that make filling difficult or feeders within three feet of windows. unpleasant. Third, feeders mounted on poles or suspended from limbs or wires should be 5 to 6 feet from the ground.