Birdfeeders

All it takes is a few beautiful days and I start thinking about spring! In just a few weeks it will be time to put out the oriole bird feeders and lots of useful nesting materials. Last year, the first oriole that I spotted at our oriole bird feeder arrived on March 19. Therefore, our oriole feeder will be up this year by the first week in March, just in case they arrive earlier or before I spot them. If you live in the Southwest, you will have them arrive way before we see them in northern California. All of your backyard birds will appreciate nest building supplies such as short pieces of natural colored string and yarn, dryer lint, pieces of straw, short pieces of white or off-white cloth, even hair from combing your dog or cat. I don’t put these things out until the mating season is obviously in full swing because I put them in a couple of suet feeders. Until then, I keep offering suet. But for now, the sun is shining and I am happily anticipating spring!

We all want to make it easier for our local birds to survive the cold winter months. First we need to remember that birds need extra energy to make it through the long, cold winter nights. Then they need to replenish first thing in the morning. Therefore, it is important to make sure all of our bird feeders are full a couple of hours before sunset. That way, there will be plenty of food for them to fill up before dark and food still available at daybreak. In our yard, by 7:00am all our bird feeders are very busy. So what is the ideal diet to feed birds? The simple answer is one that is high in fats and proteins. Sunflower, safflower, peanuts and nyjer are 20-25% protein and 30-40% fat. Therefore, these are favorite foods. We buy them all in bulk and make up our own mix. If you buy a blend, be sure to check the ingredients for most of these mixes include wheat, milo, oats, etc which birds don’t like. These contain much less protein and fat so birds will ignore these seeds and pick out the favorite seeds. Usually, these unwanted seeds end up on the ground under the bird feeder, making a mess and wasting much of your mix.

During these cold winter days, we are filling our hanging bird feeders twice a day to keep up with the demand. At this rate, we are spending much more than normal on bird seed, so now is a good time to add an assortment of leftovers to the offerings. Our hanging platform bird feeder is the perfect place to add these treats for many birds will be willing to visit it and the creatures of the night cannot reach it. Our platform feeder now is regularly stocked with the end scraps of bread, any leftover cake, bisquits and pancakes, as well as cooked oatmeal, farina, or other cereals. Left over mild cheeses, fruit, crackers, cornmeal and bacon drippings are all attractive foods to birds. Nuts, cooked meat fat, popcorn - lots of choices. Don’t throw those scraps and little pieces of leftovers away. That fruit that is a little too ripe to eat. All things the birds love. And don’t forget peanut butter - they love it! If you don’t have a hanging platform feeder, it is fine to scatter these offerings on the ground, but know they will most likely disappear over night to the local 4 legged night creatures.

Many people think you should only feed suet to birds during the cold winter months when they need the most energy. Actually, this isn’t true. Suet cakes offer basically the same energy as insects in a bird’s diet, so will be appreciated all year long. During the summer months, our suet bird feeder is often visited by birds who immediately take the suet back to nearby nests to feed to their fledglings. Also, we notice woodpeckers at the suet bird feeder on a year around basis. The only consideration for summer suet feeding is the heat. It is a good idea to place suet feeders in the shade to avoid melting. Most suet cakes will melt at around 100 degrees, but there are some called No Melt Suet Cakes that will withstand higher temperatures. If using homemade suet treats, these shouldn’t be left out for more than a couple of days during warm spells for they are more likely to go bad.

As far as birds are concerned, the only difference between a hanging bird feeder and a post mounted bird feeder is stability. Some birds are bothered by the swaying in the wind of a hanging bird feeder. I don’t think this is really an issue for in my experience, it doesn’t take long for even the most timid to figure out how to feed from the hanging bird feeder. Both of these systems have advantages so it really is matter of choice. Of course, you must take into account the style of bird feeder you want. Many of the large hopper feeders are designed to be pole mounted and most tube bird feeders and hummingbird feeders are meant to be hung. Post feeders are mounted on either a metal pole or 4″ x 4″ wooden post that is set permanently in the ground. Some of these are quite fancy set-ups with multiple arms for several different feeders. Hanging feeders are much easier to set up. They can be hung from a hook on a fence, from a deck railing, from a tree branch, from a hook under the house eves - anywhere that seems right for your yard. If any of these backyard bird feeders are filled with black oil sunflower seeds or a wild bird seed mix, expect a wide variety of feathered visitors!

It is perfectly fine to offer food directly on the ground for lots of birds are ground feeders including jays, doves, cardinals, many sparrows, towhees, juncos, quail, thrushers and many more. However, we have found that we need to spend too much time cleaning up the debris. It is necessary to regularly rake up the old hulls and uneaten seed. Not only is this mess ugly to have in the yard, it isn’t healthy for your visiting birds. Instead of throwing seed directly on the ground, I much prefer using a platform feeder on short legs. The ground feeders quickly learn to eat from it and the seed stays cleaner and drier if you use a platform feeder that has a screen bottom. One word of caution - be sure to place a platform feeder on the ground at least 10 feet from any shrubs or other protective plants that could hide an approaching cat.

You bet! First you have to decide how many bird feeders you are comfortable having in a small space. The easiest bird feeders to have in a small space are hummingbird feeders, hung near the house and window bird feeders that attach right to windows and bring birds up close for easy viewing. Since all birds appreciate water, a small bird bath is always a good idea. The next feeder I would have is a hanging tube feeder filled with black oil sunflower seeds. It takes up very little space and many species of birds love sunflower seeds. If you have a space for a ground platform feeder, that’s great, but my first choice would be a tube feeder for it’s versatility.

We have friends who thought they couldn’t attract birds because they live in a condo complex and only have a large balcony. It took a little experimenting to see what would work for them. Since they use their balcony often for outdoor activities, they didn’t want the mess of seed shells all over the deck. The obvious first choice was a hummingbird feeder that they hung just outside the kitchen window. Then we considered the space available and decided that a large hopper feeder would be too much, but a hanging tube feeder would be perfect on a hook hanging from the railing. Instead of filling it with whole sunflower seeds, we filled it with sunflower hearts and chips. With no shells to deal with, this is a very clean feeder. Soon, they were thrilled at the number of visitors to the hanging tube feeder! Birds don’t miss a good opportunity and a feeder that offers seed without having to work to get it out of the shell will be a very popular place indeed.

Yes, we are still in the throws of winter, but I am already thinking about spring! One of the great joys of spring is to have birds build their nests nearby and then later bring their offspring to our bird feeders and bird baths. One of the best ways to get the attention of nest builders is to supply nest building materials and now is a good time to start collecting assorted bits and pieces for this. Our suet feeders are now in demand to supply suet for winter feeding, but during the warm days of spring, these suet feeders can become containers for nest building supplies. For now, start collecting the lint removed from the dryer trap, the softener sheets used in the dryer, odd pieces of white string and yarn, pieces of soft cloth (like worn out pillow cases), dog and cat hair, feathers from an old pillow, anything that would make good nest building supplies. Just be sure that cloth is cut into narrow strips and no piece of cloth or string is longer than about 6 inches. When the spring courtship rituals begin, get out your collection of nest building supplies and loosely fill suet feeders with these items, or simply display them in a box or basket or hanging over branches - anything to get the attention of courting birds. Offering a mud puddle will also draw robins, phoebes and other birds who use it in nest construction.

For any of us who enjoy feeding birds, squirrels are a constant challenge. We should know something about them since they are often “visitors” in our yards. Worldwide there are over 365 species of squirrels, but I think the gray and fox squirrels are the most common in the U.S. Generally, an adult squirrel lives alone, although there are 2 that normally visit our yard together. During very cold weather, they will huddle together in a nest to keep warm. In the winter months you will usually see squirrels being quite active during the morning hours, then spend much of the day in their nests. Since mating season begins in the late winter, acrobatic chase scenes are common at this time. The typical litter size is 3-4 and squirrels can eat their weight in seed in a week so squirrel proof bird feeders suddenly seem like a great investment! Their exceptional jumping ability makes it quite challenging to keep squirrel proof bird feeders out of their reach. Squirrels can jump about 6 feet vertically and 8 feet on the horizontal, so it is important to carefully plan the best place for a squirrel proof bird feeder. A little bribery has been pretty successful at our home. In an area apart from the bird feeders, I scatter peanuts, dried corn and other leftover nuts. This keeps them busy for a while, but nothing beats a good squirrel proof bird feeder for keeping them out!