Birdfeeders

For many of us, getting bluebirds to visit our bird feeders is a real prize! They are strikingly blue and will spend time around a feeder that offers soft foods. Platform feeders are the easiest to use for serving peanut butter, which they adore. I mix peanut butter with coarse cornmeal, put it on a clean styrofoam meat tray and place it on a platform feeder. This method keeps the feeder relatively clean and I can then put pieces of bread, peanut pieces and seed on the same platform feeder to attract as many birds as possible. If you have bluebirds in your area, this should attract them pretty quickly.

If you want to keep the jays away, there are a few tricks to use. First, don’t use platform feeders or hopper feeders that are completely open. These will draw lots of jays to the party. The most effective feeder to use is one with a cage around it. These are called squirrel proof bird feeders, but are very effective in keeping out large birds. The smaller sparrows, chickadees, juncos and other small birds soon figure out how to get inside the cage to feed. These squirrel proof bird feeders are more expensive than uncaged models, but are well worth the extra money if jays have become a nuisance in the yard. Another option is hanging bird feeders with an adjustable dome. If the dome is hung low over the feeder, it will accommodate only small birds. If you are currently using tube feeders, take off the plastic tray. It is hard for jays to land on the small plastic perches so are less likely to frequent a plastic tube feeder

I love to frequently stand quietly by the window and watch all the bird activity in our yard, but until recently, I didn’t know that this activity is actually good for me! Spending some time watching birds, noting the different species, watching what they eat and figuring out their habits distracts us from our busy lives for a little while and gives us a chance to relax and actually calm our minds. According to the scientists who study these things, bird watching calms the heart rate and blood pressure just as much as meditation does. Both of these activities shift our mind’s focus off of ourselves.

Window bird feeders bring the action up close and personal for even greater viewing pleasure. They are available as seed feeders to draw many different species of small birds and also as nectar feeders made exclusively for hummingbirds. Whichever type window bird feeders are chosen, they will furnish much entertainment and also make species identification a little easier.

Using either low to the ground platform bird feeders or  hanging platform feeders, there are many common and inexpensive foods to feed birds. Experiment with which are preferred by your visitors. It’s easy to crumble up pieces of white bread, soda crackers and doughnuts (plain cake with no glaze or sugar coating).  Inexpensive dry dog food is good to try, especially any that is corn based. Simply pour some into platform bird feeders and moisten until soft but not soggy. Any left at the end of the day will most likely be appreciated by night time visitors such as raccoons and opossums. Grapes are another favorite but birds don’t seem to really like cranberries. Cardinals and woodpeckers adore kernel corn, either on or off the cob. Of course, squirrels and chipmunks love this as well. Don’t bother with stringing popcorn. It always seems like a wonderful winter idea, but birds won’t eat it.

Cornmeal is the perfect base for mixing in recipes. It is loved by most ground feeding birds so it is perfect to include in offerings in platform feeders. Mix it with bacon grease (cool but still liquid), canola oil, peanut butter, peanut oil or melted suet. Experiment with adding treats to see what your birds prefer. Try chopped apples, chopped nuts, raisins, pieces of suet, etc. An easy and wonderful treat to try: spread peanut butter on a slice of bread, spread grape jelly on another slice and add cornmeal on top of both slices. Put together for a bird peanut butter and jelly sandwich. Cut in small squares (about 1/2″ each) and either scatter on the ground or add to your platform feeders.

Be sure to clean feeders regularly that are used for these fresh foods because uneaten foods will quickly go bad, especially during the summer months.

Leftover cereal is a wonderful food for many birds. Offered on a platform feeder, cereal can be served plain or mixed with peanut butter and will draw doves, juncos, quail, sparrows, blackbirds, jays, chickadees, mockingbirds, titmice, woodpeckers and many more. Bran flakes, corn flakes, shredded wheat and fruit cereals should be lightly crushed with a rolling pin before mixing with peanut butter. Instead of peanut butter, the cereal can also be mixed with melted suet, bacon drippings or peanut oil. Cheerios and rice krispies can be served whole on the platform feeder. Dry cereal mixes such as oatmeal, grits and cream of wheat can also be mixed with peanut butter. Of course, it is never a good idea to feed birds any kind of sugar coated cereal.

Keeping birdfeeders filled constantly can be accomplished reasonably inexpensively if we plan ahead. Just buying small bags of seed at the grocery store is easy, but can be quite expensive. If seed is purchased in bulk, the price per pound will come way down. If a 50 pound bag of sunflower seeds is too much, maybe sharing with a friend would be possible. We find that buying seed in large quantities and storing it in airtight containers is not only inexpensive, but much more convenient than buying it all the time. If you have a local feed store, they offer bulk products including chick scratch (ask for only the coarse blend), which is just cracked corn. This is cheap and loved by doves, quail, cardinals, jays and many others. Our local feed store also carries millet and mixed seed which is all cheaper than prepackaged seed. When buying mixed seed, be sure to check the ingredients. If the mix includes wheat, barley, milo, etc., it’s no bargain and you shouldn’t buy it. Peanut butter is another loved food. It isn’t necessary to offer the high priced brands. Find a large jar of the local store brand for a much lower price. You can also mix into the peanut butter a little corn meal to make it go further.

Your local supermarket can be a source of free goods. Ask the butcher for excess fat trimmings to put in your suet bird feeders and ask the produce manager for fruit they are throwing away.

Of course, the best way to conserve seed is to keep large birds, squirrels, raccoons, etc. out of our birdfeeders! We had our tube feeders hung too low and when the wild turkeys came into the yard, they emptied the feeders in a matter of minutes. All we had to do was raise them a few inches and the turkeys could not reach the birdfeeders, but could still clean up the ground underneath the feeders. A squirrel proof feeder is really necessary if you have a large population of squirrels.

If there are many visitors to your bird feeders, it won’t take long to realize that you need a large supply of seed. If your offerings include sunflower seeds, millet, cracked corn, nuts, fruits, suet and other treats, this can start becoming expensive!

My suggestion is to limit what you offer in your bird feeders to an assortment that is the most inexpensive but will attract the greatest variety of birds. Black oil sunflower seeds attract a large number of species and are relatively inexpensive, especially if bought in large quantities. The birds who prefer smaller seeds, such as finches and sparrows, will happily feed on millet. Jays, starlings, blackbirds, etc. love cracked corn. Suet feeders can certainly be easily maintained by using the convenient suet blocks or by asking your local butcher for free (or very cheap) fat trimmings. Treats such as nuts and fruits can be given only in small quantities and when there are leftovers from your pantry.

Even though it is more expensive, I always have thistle feeders in our yard. Using this specialized feeder for the small nyjer seed limits the waste and is certainly appreciated by the finches.

Nyjer, often called thistle, is a very small seed originally from Africa. Although it is not a thistle at all, it will spread quite quickly if allowed to grow. Fortunately, all the Nyjer available for sale in the U.S. is heat-treated to prevent germination. Of course there is the occasional seed that will grow under your feeder. You will identify it by it’s pretty yellow daisy type flowers.

The seeds are quite small and more expensive per pound than other seeds. Therefore, to avoid wasting any, it is a good idea to offer it in sturdy, specially designed thistle feeders. These thistle bird feeders are usually made of a screening material that birds can cling to and pull out the seeds. Nyjer is adored by Gold finches. If they are in your area when you hang thistle feeders, the Gold finches will find these bird feeders very quickly. Also attracted will be house finches, pine siskins and purple finches. If you offer nyjer in platform feeders, many more birds can feed at a time which may be necessary during migration time. The problem with this method is seed will be lost when the wind blows for it is very lightweight. It will also be scattered all over the ground. If you have 100 or more Gold finches, which can happen during the spring, using platform bird feeders for a thin layer of nyjer may be necessary, but also very entertaining. If the Gold finches suddenly move on, the other small birds will be happy to clean up any spilled nyjer seed.

The most common feeder in use is the hummingbird feeder. They are easily filled with 4 parts water to one part white sugar. I use a 2 cup measuring cup which I fill with clean water and add 1/2 cup of sugar, mix until dissolved and put in the hummingbird feeder. There is no need to add red food coloring, for the colors on the feeder will attract the hummers.  There are also prepackaged nectar mixes which are fine, but they are more expensive than mixing your own. Once hummingbirds have found the feeder, they will visit it regularly, but many other birds also visit this type of  feeders.

Orioles are also nectar feeders, but since they are much larger birds than hummingbirds, they can’t feed at most hummingbird feeders. Therefore, there are many styles of oriole feeders available that have bigger perches and are usually orange, the oriole’s favorite color. As time goes on, more and more species of birds are discovering nectar feeders. Watch your nectar feeders and you many find other visitors, such as woodpeckers, goldfinches, house finches, grosbeaks, and chickadees.

Many foods that we routinely throw away could become welcome snacks for your backyard visitors.  Putting these leftovers in platform bird feeders will draw mockingbirds, jays, chickadees, wrens, robins, blackbirds and many others. Often, the more aggressive jays, crows and mockingbirds will be the first to try a new food which draws them away from the tube feeders temporarily at least.  Any corn, fresh, canned, frozen or on the cob, well drained, is always a hit. Drained fruit salad, canned fruit or fresh fruit (bruised or too old for human taste) is also a good choice. After that, experiment! Try pasta with sauce, any meat scraps, any egg dishes like scrambled eggs or quiche, left over pieces of sandwich, etc. If things like pasta are too runny to put on platform bird feeders, either put them directly on the ground or on a piece of large flat wood or plastic. Of course, white bread crumbs, plain cake donuts and bagels are always appreciated. Empty suet feeders can also be used to hold meat scraps or fruit pastries. Especially during the winter when other foods are scarce, these choices will attract many birds. Small pieces of clean, broken up egg shells are always popular as well.