Feeding Winter Birds

Where To Place Bird Feeders

Now, where is the best place for the birds to feed? You can place your feeder, pretty much anywhere and you should get some birds. There are ways however, to optimize the number and variety of birds that visit your feeders. During cold weather, a feeder that is sheltered from the wind and snow works best. There are some feeders that are built with covers overtop, to keep the snow from piling up on the seed. But, taking things a step further, you can shelter the feeder from the wind by placing it near, but not too close to a tree, or close to the side of your house.

Another thoughtful addition that your birds will appreciate is an old Christmas tree, a stack of logs, or a pile of leaves near the feeder. The birds will find shelter from elements with these items, you will give them a place to roost and they may even find an occasional bug under the leaves as treat.

What To Feed Them

OK, we have our bird feeders, and figured out where to place them, now what to put in them? What type of food you buy, depends on what kind’s of birds you would like to attract. Most of the birds that come by in the winter are seed-eaters. If you are only going to put up one feeder to start with, you will attract the widest variety of birds with sunflower seeds. You want to look for the sunflower seeds that are all black, not the black and white ones. Sunflower seeds attract cardinals, woodpeckers, blue jays, goldfinches, purple finches, chickadees, titmice and nuthatches. Another relatively easy feeder is a suet feeder. These can be found at most grocery stores. The most popular commercially available suet feeder is a wire cage that holds one cake of suet. Suet feeders attract a variety of birds including woodpeckers and nuthatches, as well as chickadees, and bluejays. Birds sometimes suffer from lack of water, more than lack of food. There are a variety of birdbath heaters available on the market today. If you don’t want to invest in a heater, put out some warm water, which will take longer to freeze.

Some Do’s And Don’ts

Do sprinkle some seed or cracked corn on the ground for ground feeding birds

Don’t let your cat out

Do wash your feeders, keep an eye out for moldy bird seed

Don’t buy mixed birdseed; they contain fillers that birds won’t eat

Do continue to feed the birds throughout the winter; don’t stop their source of food during the harshest of all seasons.

Don’t get discouraged if birds don’t show up right away, it may take several weeks

DO HAVE FUN!!!

Choosing Bird Food