Birdfeeders

As I am wishing spring would come, I started looking forward to the return of lots of hummingbirds. I am always curious about the lives of these fascinating little birds, so looked up some interesting facts. I did not know that hummingbirds only exist in the Western Hemisphere - all 338 species of them. In the U.S. there are only 16 kinds, many of which only visit the extreme southwest of the country. Hummers are very loyal to feeding sites, so if you had lots of them visit your hummingbird feeders last year, chances are quite good they will return this year. If last year’s turn out was disappointing, there are things you can do to encourage more visitors. We all know how much they love red, so planting some red nectar rich flowers will certainly help. Male hummers are very territorial, so many people have found that having multiple hummingbird feeders allows more birds to feed in your yard. When we added a second hummingbird feeder to our yard, there was an immediate increase in the number of hummers we saw. The most important thing to remember is to keep all hummingbird feeders clean with fresh nectar. If a hummingbird gets a taste of fermented nectar, it will stay away from the offending feeder for a long time.

If you have squirrels in your area, you know what I mean. Squirrels can be a real pain around our bird feeders. There are many different models and types of squirrel proof bird feeders. Everyone seems to have a different favorite, depending on their yard and the behavior of their squirrels. Without some protection, squirrels will regularly empty bird feeders. After finally accepting that squirrels are not going to go away, I have adopted the idea to accept their presence and see what happens if I actually feed them. We recently nailed to a tree a squirrel box feeder. I have filled it will dried corn, peanuts and assorted other nuts. Guess what? The squirrels have been so busy with the new squirrel box feeder that they haven’t been bothering the birds any where near as much. Now, when the novelty wears off, this may change, but for now, it’s working. The added benefit is that it is fun to watch them competing over this new source of food and running up and down the tree.

As the snow storms roar through the midwest and east, offering a sheltered dining area for ground feeding birds can be very helpful. A feeding shelter can be especially useful to quail and pheasants who don’t like to venture far into the open unless absolutely necessary. The easiest shelter is a picnic table situated at least 10 feet from shrubs, brush or other hiding places. Placing a platform feeder full of seeds under the table will protect it from the snow and allow the birds some shelter while they eat. Of course, you can build a lean-to facing south to make use of any possible winter sun.The roof can be weather proof plywood or to look nice, use a thick hatch of evergreen branches. You can just scatter seed on the ground, but I find it preferable to use a platform feeder to cut down on the mess.

I was just talking to friend who lives in a large city and was commenting that she wished she could feed birds, but didn’t expect any visitors around her condo. This couldn’t be more wrong! Depending on where in the city a person lives, the urban dweller can certainly attract as many as 50 different species of birds. I suggested she put a small hanging platform feeder on her deck and experiment with different offerings. If you live near a park or have large trees nearby, it shouldn’t take long for many birds to discover your offerings. Start with sunflower seeds and add fruit, white bread crumbs and peanuts and see what happens in a few days. I bet you will be surprised to see birds you didn’t even know where in the area. If you want to avoid the mess of broken hulls, use sunflower chips and hulled millet in the platform feeder.

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.