Birdfeeders

For almost instant success at attracting birds to your yard, hang a tube bird feeder. This is the perfect starter feeder for most birds are comfortable approaching this bird feeder where they can see the seed through the heavy plastic tube and there are convenient perches to land on. These are easy feeders to fill, clean and maintain. A quality feeder is made of sturdy materials and has a cap designed to keep water away from the seed and easily lifts off for easy filling. If squirrels are a problem in your yard, the tube feeder easily is designed to be a squirrel proof bird feeder. There are many different styles of squirrel proof bird feeders at different prices, so you don’t have to let the squirrels keep you from enjoying feeding birds! For finches, there are tube feeders that have been modified to hold the tiny nyjer seeds that these birds love.

Orioles have a real sweet tooth. Now that they are busy mating and nest building, they are making frequent trips to our Oriole bird feeder. As well as nectar, they love other sweet treats as well. A favorite is grape jelly. Some oriole bird feeders also have a cup for grape jelly. If yours doesn’t, the jelly can easily be put in a small cup or hollowed out orange half, even spread over an orange half, for orioles love oranges as well. Do not use sugar free jelly, for the sugar is what gives the Orioles the energy they need. Ants can certainly be a problem, but hanging an ant moat above the oriole feeder solves that problem.

There are advantages to all the different kinds of bird feeders, but I think hopper bird feeders are the most versitile and easiest to maintain. Basically, a hopper bird feeder is a platform with a seed reservoir and a roof. They can be either hung or mounted on a pole. The seed reservoir is usually big enough that it doesn’t have to be filled as often as other bird feeders, the roof protects the seed from wind, rain and snow, and the platform is large enough to accomodate many birds at the same time. A well built hopper bird feeder has a screened platform or other means of draining water. Many are weighted to keep large birds and squirrels from feeding. There are also many styles of hopper bird feeders made of eco-friendly recycled plastic. These cost more but are very durable so they last a long time. A hopper bird feeder is a wonderful addition to any yard, even though they are often more expensive than other bird feeders.

Now that some birds are busy building nests and others already have eggs, it is normal for you to notice less seed is being taken from all your bird feeders. This always happens during the breeding season for birds need a much higher level of protein to feed their young. Therefore, many birds who are normally seed eaters, begin eating as much insect protein as possible..Adults feed baby birds massive quantities of protein to help them grow and develop rapidly. Happily, this also helps to control the insect population in our yards! The birds you have been feeding will certainly continue to visit your bird feeders, just not as often. Also, they will frequent bird baths for a drink or a quick bath. Even hummingbirds will be busy catching insects to increase the protein in their diet.

It is extremely important for birds to keep their feathers in top shape. Feathers are used for temperature control and for flight. A bird has 2,000-3,000 feathers. A healthy bird cleans, lubricates and returns each feather to its proper position every day. This is why it is such a good idea to have a bird bath in your yard. Birds love to splash around, get completely wet, then fly to a nearby branch to preen. I love watching them joyfully splashing water everywhere as they fling water and get completely wet. Flying is more difficult at this point, so they often stay right on the deck railing to begin preening. They pull feathers through their bills and get them to lie properly. I have noticed that they often make a second trip to the bird bath. It really is good entertainment to watch this activity. Now that it is warmer and the sun is shining, our bird baths are especially busy.

Especially during the spring time, some male birds are much brighter colored than the females of their species. We are watching the beautiful male Orioles come to our Oriole bird feeder and then the much less colorful females. There is a very good reason for these differences. The females need to have a camouflaged appearance in order to sit still and be nearly invisible to predators while incubating eggs. On the other hand, males use their bright colors to attract a mate. Females judge a male based on the quality of his feathers when picking a mate. The males do not develop their bright colors until they are a year old, so when the new fledglings begin coming to your oriole bird feeder, they will all look much like females.

Hummingbirds can be found across the country and are really pretty easy to attract to your yard or balcony. Taking a few easy steps will almost guarantee hummers visiting. They arrive in spring as the come from wintering in Central and South America. This is the best time to attract them. Just like all other birds, hummingbirds require food, water and nesting spots. If you have bright colored nectar rich flowers, they will certainly be drawn, but a habitat that provides good nesting spots and also provides shelter and protection will encourage the females to stay. I find it amazing that researchers have determined that hummers have a remarkable memory and often return to the same place on the same day of each year. If you keep up your hummingbird feeders consistently, you may even find that you see many different types of hummingbirds during the spring and fall migrations. Be sure your hummingbird feeders are clean and filled with clean fresh sugar water (4 parts water to 1 part plain white sugar). If you putting up new hummingbird feeders, increase the visibility by hanging red ribbons nearby to attract attention.

We often talk about birds building nests, but what exactly is nesting material? It’s anything that birds will use to build a nest with and offering this during early spring will certainly encourage birds to stay near your yard. If you are really lucky, you may get several nests built nearby so you can watch the fledglings visit your bird feeders. Just this morning, we had a pair of mockingbirds doing all sorts of flying acrobatics right outside our kitchen window. Since different birds use different materials for nest building, it is good to offer as large a selection as possible. The perfect way to do this is with a suet bird feeder. The wire cage is an excellent container to hold yarn, string, thread, pet hair, human hair, feathers, dental floss, dryer lint, dhredded paper and cloth, cotton balls, small twigs - anything you have available that you think they might use. Just be sure nothing is more than 6-7″ long to avoid having birds get tangled. You can certainly drape these items over branches, etc. but I find they blow away or just make a mess. We have been much more successful using a suet bird feeder and place it out in the open and near the bird feeders that birds are use to visiting regularly.

We spend a lot of time talking about feeding birds in our backyards, but there are many, many people who live in condos, apartments, townhouses, etc. that only have a balcony or even just windowsills. Happily, there are more and more feeders available to these situations. There are many hummingbird feeders and small seed feeders that have suction cups to hold them to a window, I love the new platform bird feeder that I just learned about. It is a good sized platform bird feeder with a screen bottom for easy drainage and will hold a variety of foods and attaches to a window. The key to success in feeding birds in these small areas is to remember the 3 basic needs of a bird. Food is of course one, but nearby cover for protection is also very important. This can be easily accomplished on a balcony by having a couple of potted shrubs that are at least 2 feet tall (3-4 feet tall is even better). With cover nearby, birds will be more comfortable visiting your bird feeder. Of course, if there are nearby trees, this will satifsy them as well. Offering water can be as simple as a small saucer of water, but even better is one of the many bird baths available that easily attach to a railing. It is only necessary to consider the space available and how to best satisfy all 3 needs and birds will most certainly find your offerings.

If you are new to feeding birds, now is a great time to begin for spring is full of activity. On our early morning walks we are now seeing all sorts of mating activity as well as nest building. All of this takes a lot of energy so a tube bird feeder filled with black oil sunflower seeds will be a very popular place. Birds need large amounts of food because they have such a high metabolism. When the chicks are hatched, they eat constantly, for they must grow fast to be able to join the fall migration. Also, birds must replace their feathers every year which requires much more energy than growing hair in mammals. Yes, there is more natural food available, but with demanding chicks in the nest, birds appreciate a tube bird feeder that allows them to make a quick trip for food rather than spending time searching the landscape. This behavior also makes it easier for us to spot a nearby nest!