Birdfeeders

Pretty much all of a bird’s time and attention is spent eating or searching for food. Even during the breeding cycle, feeding is the major activity. For humans, a meal is one of many activities of the day. For birds, the urge to feed is instinctual and pretty much continuous. Birds are born with the knowledge of the specific way of feeding for its species, but are quite capable of learning the location of reliable food sources. This is particularly important to all of us with backyard bird feeders. If we put up tube feeders full of sunflower seeds, it won’t take long for birds to discover this food source and return to it repeatedly. As more birds discover these tube feeders, the information that this is a good food source is passed among other birds. The more birds that are attracted to the tube feeders, the more these tube feeders are noticed by other birds. As more birds become comfortable at our tube feeders, it is a good idea to supplement with other feeders, such as suet feeders, hopper feeders  and platform feeders. This will attract a wider range of birds with less competition at the various bird feeders.