Feeding Wild Birds
Birds in your Backyard
Other Helpful Resorces:
- Gardening to Attract Birds ... Gardening in an Environmentally Friendly Way - Chemicals and toxins in our environment hurt wildlife and us. This step is an important in having your garden certified as a Wildlife Habitat ... Hand-taming Wild Birds ... Helping Wild Bird Chicks
Related Products:
- Wild Bird Food ... Wild Bird Feeders ... Hummingbird Food & Feeders ... Bird Baths ... Water Fountains ... Bird Houses
Help prepare birds cold weather, and to draw birds to your feeders:
In fall, as birds prepare for migration, they eat more and look for richer foods so they can store energy for their long journeys. We can all help by supplementing their natural diet by offering nutritionally sound foods in our backyards. Backyard food, water sources and shelter will also encourage winged winter residents to stay nearby and keep your yard lively through the coldest months of the year.
- Rich Food: In the fall many birds are growing their flight feathers and at that time they require rich foods, such as oil-rich sunflower and Niger seeds. Hang fresh suet, as birds are looking to gain some fat to help them through the cold season.
- Feeders: In addition to the standard bird feeders, provide several few low-height feeding trays and fill them with cracked corn for doves and other ground feeding birds. It is IMPORTANT to keep the feeders full since many birds will rely on it as a regular place to eat.
- Don't forget the Hummingbirds! They may visit feeders up to times of hard frosts, so keep their feeders filled.
- Water! Make efforts to ensure fresh water for birds as you move into winter. Heated bird baths are very helpful in areas where temperatures go below freezing.
- Sanitation to protect the birds and yourself:
- Wash your hands before and after servicing bird feeders and baths.
- Birds will get sick from moldy birdseed or pass diseases on from your feeder to other birds.
- Shake your seed feeders before refilling to dislodge compacted seed. Dump out any wet clumps of old seed.
- Don't allow large amounts of seed to become wet on platform feeders. Instead, when it's wet outside, feed from covered feeders that will keep seed dry, or put out only a handful of seed at a time on platforms.
- Clean all hulls off platform feeders and out of seed trays daily.
- At least once a week, scrub feeders down with a bleach / water solution (1 part bleach to 10 parts water). Rinse and allow feeders to dry before refilling with seed.
The following will help you attract the wildlife:
- Food: Many of the birds we see in winter are seed eaters. Some people spend a lot of money on bird feed mixes, which birds don't even like. Most of the bird feed mixes use "junk" seed, which the birds simply toss aside to get to the "good stuff." The junk seed will be thrown to the ground and attract mice and rats. Please click here to find out what bird seed attracts your favorite birds.
- Location of Feeders: Place the feeders where you can enjoy watching them from your window or porch. The simplest feeder is the ground itself. Sparrows, juncos, doves, and bobwhites prefer to feed on the ground, and all you have to do is scatter the seed there. A tree stump or a knee-high table will do as well.
Other birds, such as purple finches and evening grosbeaks, prefer raised feeder. You can sink a pole into the ground topped with a wooden platform, at a height you can comfortably reach. It helps to nail an edge on the platform to help save the seeds from rolling off. Alternatively, you can place the platform on a second story porch, or attach it to a window sill.
You can also purchase enclosed feeders designed to mount on poles. Because such feeders help to keep the feed dry, you can put in a several-days' supply at one time. I don't use this kind of feeder, myself, because I enjoy putting out the seed, and the squirrels have chewed up all the ones I've tried.
Small hanging feeders are attractive to many small birds. You can make a hanging feeder from a coconut shell or purchase one made of transparent plastic.
- Food to Provide: The hands-down favorite bird seed is sunflower. It attracts cardinals, woodpeckers, blue jays, goldfinches, purple finches, chickadees, titmice, and nuthatches. I found that the birds seem to prefer black sunflower to the grey-and-white striped.
They are softer shelled, hence easier to crack open. They're also cheaper than the grey-and-white ones.
Another essential bird seed is Niger Seed. Goldfinches love this seed. You may have dozens of goldfinches visiting your Niger feeder at once, which is quite a cheering sight on a winter day. Niger is a tiny black seed. Niger is also expensive, so you won't want to waste it. Buy a hanging tube with tiny holes, designed especially for Niger, and hang it where you can see it from your best viewing window. Up close to the house, even under the eaves, is fine. Goldfinches will become very tame and won't mind your standing two feet from them, on the other side of the window, while they eat.
Safflower is another favorite seed. It is a white seed, slightly smaller than a black sunflower seed. Squirrels, grackles, blue jays or starlings don't like it. Grosbeaks, cardinals, titmice, chickadees and downy woodpeckers love this seed.
Another important seed is white millet, which is even cheaper than sunflower seed. I scatter it on the ground for sparrows, juncos, and mourning doves.
Storing Seed: Store them in the garage in mouse-proof metal trash cans. In humid climates, you may want to store the bags indoor as they may get moldy outside. Moldy seeds cause fatal diseases, such as aspergillosis.
Plants for birds: Seed isn't the only way to feed birds. Many native plants serve the same purpose.
- Location of Feeders: Place the feeders where you can enjoy watching them from your window or porch. The simplest feeder is the ground itself. Sparrows, juncos, doves, and bobwhites prefer to feed on the ground, and all you have to do is scatter the seed there. A tree stump or a knee-high table will do as well.
- Water: Birds need fresh water for drinking as well as bathing. Even the sound of running water will attract birds. Bird baths are fine -- but water fountains are preferable, as birds love the sound of water, and it encourages breeding.
Alternatively, if you want a water source that requires more up front work but less daily upkeep, consider a pond. Start with a simple design and gradually make it complex. Click here for instructions to build one yourself.
- Clean Water Only: The key to having a successful bird bath is to change the water at least every other day. This keeps the water fresh and ensures mosquitoes do not use the water. Every few days you should empty the bath, scrub it with a stiff brush, and rinse it well. Although some people recommend cleaning them with a bleach solution, we have found that isn't necessary (besides being harmful to the environment!). If you must clean it with something, try a water and white vinegar solution or hot soapy water. Please note that the water needs to be kept clean. Dirty water will make the wild birds sick. I found a realy good way to keep water clean is to add a few drops of GSE to the water. It is inexpensive and lasts for a long time. Living in Florida (a humid / hot climate) I had a problem with mold and algea growing in my bird bath. I cleaned it as good as I could, but some of the stains didn't seem to want to come out. I added a few drops of GSE to the clean drinking water and within a few days the bird bath was immaculate. Of course, the water should be changed every day or at least every other day and new GSE needs to be added.
- What kind of Birth Bath is Best: The bird bath should be no deeper than three inches at the center. It should be even shallower at the edge, so that a bird can ease its way in. Many commercial birdbaths are too deep. If you already own a deep birdbath, you can put rocks in it to raise the bottom, though this will make it a little harder to keep clean.
- The Sound of Water is Inviting to our Birds. The sound of falling water is pure invitation to birds, dramatically increasing the number of species that visit a birdbath - whether it is a water fountain or simply dripping water. For example, hummingbirds would never wade into the bath like other birds, because they bathe only in flight. But I have watched hummers zipping back and forth through the drips, timing their flights so that they catch a water drop on their backs on each pass. There are many ways to arrange for a drip. You can run a hose so that it trickles into the water; or install a small spray fountain designed for birdbaths; or suspend above the bath a bucket that has a 1/2-inch hole in the bottom with a bit of cloth stuffed through the hole as a wick. If you like an elegant-looking birdbath, you can even purchase one that has a dripper built in, as shown at right.
- Rough bottomed. Birds don't want to lose their footing, and they will hesitate to use a bath with a glazed, slippery bottom. Cement is good. If you already possess a slick birdbath, you can apply the non-skid stickers that are sold for people-baths.
- Location!
Protect the Visiting Birds! Cats like to lie in wait beneath shrubbery or behind a concealing object and then pounce on the birds when they're wet and can't fly well. So put your birdbath at least five to ten feet from such hiding places. Give the birds a chance to see the cat coming.
With an escape route. The ideal location is under some branches that hang down within two or three feet of the bath. A wet bird can flutter a few feet up to the safety of the leaves.
On a pedestal. It's easy to see from the house, easy to clean, and safer from predators. Alternatively, you can buy a birdbath designed to hang from a tree.
Within reach of a hose. Make your birdbath easy to clean and refill. But locate your birdbath away from your feeding station, because seeds and droppings would soil the water quickly. Change the water every few days, or even every day in hot weather. Dump it out or squirt it out with the hose. I keep a scrub brush outside with my gardening tools, so that I can brush out any algae that begins to form.
In view from a window. Place the birdbath where you can see it from indoors.
- Cover and Places to Raise Young. Wildlife need a place to hide in order to feel safe in your yard. They also need a more long-term shelter to raise their young. The easiest ways to provide cover is to use existing vegetation, dead and alive. Many shrubs provide great hiding places within their bushy leaves, and dead trees are home to lots of different wildlife. You can also construct hiding places using logs, brush or rocks. Another popular way to provide cover is to put up a nesting box for birds to raise their young. Depending on what types of birds come to your area, you would provide the right kind of nesting box.
- Kids enjoy making something called a “toad abode.” To make one, get a medium-size clay pot and saucer. Put the saucer on the ground and keep it filled with water. Nearby, put the pot upside-down with an edge resting on a rock. That makes room for a toad to fit through and hide inside. (If you have a broken pot with a chunk missing at the rim, you have an abode with an instant doorway - no need to prop it up.)
- Finally, ponds also provide cover for water-based wildlife so if you have a pond, you are already providing cover and places to raise young.
- Nest Boxes / Houses -- This website will provide you with information on nesting habits and nest box options, including what nest box will attract what species of birds, and even provide instructions for building nesting boxes / bird houses -- if you are handy in woodworking. If you are not (like myself), there are beautiful, ready-to-inhabit nest boxes available for purchase.
- Gardening in an Environmentally Friendly Way ... Chemicals and toxins in our environment hurt wildlife and us. This step is an important in having your garden certified as a Wildlife Habitat.
Gardening to Attract Wildlife
Feeding Birds
Bird feeders create a pleasant atmosphere full of foraging and singing birds. Constant feeding is their sole source of energy and warmth. In Winter, shortages of seeds, berries, and insects, particularly during severe weather, make foraging especially difficult.
Sunflower seeds are a premium feed (especially black oil sunflower seed). They are a high energy and nutritious food source and leave less waste than some other seeds. House Finches, Purple Finches, Chickadees, Titmice, Nuthatches, Woodpeckers, Doves, Goldfinches, Grosbeaks, Cardinals, Buntings, and Blue Jays eat sunflower seeds.
Suet (animal fat) is another nutritious food, which attracts Chickadees, Woodpeckers, Titmice and Nuthatches. Most birds will eat some suet.
Bird feeders create a pleasant atmosphere full of foraging and singing birds. Feeding helps attract birds common to an area and also rarer birds which maps show should be present, but which are seldom or never seen and even birds which are outside of their normal or documented ranges.
It's true constant feeding is their sole source of energy and warmth and a little help may be crucial to the survival of a few during extremely cold weather. However, birds have overcome shortages and severe weather for eons and most times it may not be necessary at all.
Tips
- Large birds eat dog food, a cheaper alternative to seed.
- Birds use grits to help them digest seed. Mix crumbled eggshells in your seed as a grit-alternative and an added calcium source.
- If there are too many birds coming to eat and making a mess, put less seed in the feeder or use a specific kind of feed to attract only the birds you want to see.
- For less mess, use a feeder with a tray under it to catch leftover seeds or seed shells.
- Some birds follow strict feeding regimes and some birds will feed on almost anything. Knowing their preferences will help if you want to attract specific birds.
Sunflower Seeds: Black Oil Sunflower Seeds are a premium feed. Most birds prefer them to the striped sunflower variety. Sunflower seeds a high energy and nutritious food source packed with protein and fat and leave less waste than some other seeds.
- This seed is liked by the following birds: Gold Finches, House Finches, Purple Finches, Cardinals, Bluejays, Scrub Jays, Chickadees, Nuthatches, Titmice, Mourning Doves, Buntings, Grosbeaks, Juncos and Sparrows eat sunflower seeds.
Thistle Seeds, Niger: Another highly nutritious seed rich in protein and fat. Thistle feeders with tiny openings limit attracted birds and squirrels do not like Thistle (it's debated).
- This seed is liked by the following birds: Goldfinches, House Finches, Purple Finches, Redpolls, Siskins, Juncos, and even Mourning Doves eat thistle seeds.
Safflower Seed: High in protein and fat.
- This seed is liked by the following birds: Cardinals, Mourning Doves, Finches, Grosbeaks, Jays, Chickadees, Nuthatches, Titmice, Song Sparrows, and White-throated Sparrows like Safflower.
Milo, Sorghum: Often used as filler in mixed blends. This is not a preferred seed and attracts unpopular birds.
Millet: Another popular mixed blend filler. The white variety is preferred
- This seed is liked by the following birds: House Finches, Mourning Doves, Cardinals, Buntings, Juncos, Towhees, Blackbirds, Pigeons, Song Sparrows, White-crowned and White-throated Sparrows, and English Sparrows like Millet.
Corn:
- Corn is liked by the following birds: Bluejays, Mourning Doves, Juncos, Blackbirds and Sparrows eat corn. Upland game birds like Pheasants, Turkeys, Partridge and Grouse love corn. Pigeons, Starlings, cowbirds and squirrels like corn.
Mixed Seed: Good mixed seed will contain some of most of the above quality seeds. Quality of mixed seed can vary. If birds select only some seeds in a blend and waste the rest, try another mix.
Peanuts: Feeding shelled unsalted peanuts isn't messy and they are highly nutritious for the birds that can eat them. Most birds can shell whole (unshelled) peanuts, with varying degrees of effort. Squirrels love peanuts.
- Peanuts are liked by the following birds: Bluejays, Scrub Jays, House Finches, Cardinals, Woodpeckers, Magpies, Chickadees, Nuthatches, Titmice, White-crowned and White-throated Sparrows eat peanuts.
Fruit: Migrating birds and early arrivals regularly encounter shortages of their usual feeding sources and readily substitute fruit made available for them. Try halving oranges and apples and fixing on a nail or spike. Feed grapes, berries, bananas, melons, and raisins. (*Note: Raisins have the potential of toxicity if fed in too high a quantity. Take it easy with the grapes as well.)
- Fruits are liked by the following birds: Robins, Thrushes, Catbirds, Mockingbirds, Orioles, Tanagers, Waxwings, Bluebirds, Kingbirds, Woodpeckers, Crows, Blackbirds, Sparrows, some Warblers and more birds than can be listed will eat fruit.
Suet Bird Feed: Suet (animal fat) and peanutbutter, rich in proteins and fat, provide needed energy for wintering birds. It is best to feed it in winter, as the fat tends to become rancid in warm weather, or skip the fat and oil and just use peanut butter in warm weather. Suet is sold in cakes and bars. Alternatively, you can ask for some animal fat to feed the birds at your meat market. Most likely they are already familiar with that request; or you can make your own by mixing animal fat or vegetable oil with bird feed, peanut butter and fruit.
- Suet Recipes: 2 cups ground suet, 1 cup bird seed, sunflower seeds or cracked corn Melt suet in a double boiler. Set aside to cool and thicken slightly.
- To make bird trees, use a Wilton mini tree pan. With hands, form cooled melted suet into tree shapes the approximate size of cavities in tree pan. Press suet into birdseed, then into mini tree pan. Refrigerate until hardened. Unmold. Place in mesh bags or wrap in nylon net and hang on tree branches for the birds. Makes 45 trees.
- To make a bird pie: Double the above recipe. When hardened slightly, reheat. Add 1 cup of seed and pour into a pie pan. Sprinkle remaining seed on top Refrigerate until firm. Be sure to set pie off the ground where birds are safe eating.
- Suet is liked by the following birds: ike Woodpeckers, Nuthatches, Chickadees and Titmice; but most birds will eat some suet.
Peanut Butter: Protein, Fat and Oil.
- Peanut Butter is liked by the following birds: Mourning Doves, Song Sparrows, White-crowned Sparrows, White-throated Sparrows and House Finches will eat peanut butter.
Mealworms: If you can face the idea of raise mealworms (Tenebrio molitor), you can do so as follows: In a plastic bucket or pan with a screen mesh cover for plenty of air, place oat bran a few inches deep. Place mealworms in the pan. Partially bury a halved apple, cut side down in the oat bran for moisture and replace weekly. Rip paper grocery bags into pieces and place several layers over the oat bran. Keep at about 60-65 degrees. The mealworms will grow into adult beetles, lay eggs, and the eggs will turn into yummy little mealworms which grow to the size you purchased.
- Mealworms are liked by the following birds: Bluebirds, Wrens, Robins, Cardinals, Woodpeckers, Chickadees, Nuthatches and Titmice eat mealworms. Offer in a dry cup in the shade.
Birds Eating From Your Hand
Chickadees and Red-breasted Nuthatches will likely eat from your hand. Other birds documented to have eaten from people's hands include White-breasted Nuthatches, Tufted Titmice, Bluebirds, Evening Grosbeaks, Redpolls, Jays, and Chipping Sparrows. Place feed in a cup formed by your palm upturned and fingers pointing up for a perch. Birds see well from a distance easily notice you are holding feed.
Over-feeding
Too many birds together is unnatural, unsanitary, wasteful and dangerous to birds, some species more than others. Viewing only a few birds is more appealing than a bunch of noisy fighting birds.
Cut them off occasionally. They will find feed elsewhere and come back when you feed again. It will make them less dependent, more resourceful, smarter, and healthier.
Keep It Clean
The same nutritious ingredients necessary for life - carbs, fats, proteins, vitamins, minerals, and water - are the same ingredients that promote bacteria, mold, mildew, intestinal illness, disease and death. One who attracts flocks to unkempt, unsanitary feeders is not a friend of birds.
Share a treat with the birds in your back yard
It is easy to help your feathered friends in winter. Eat an orange or grapefruit, and use the rind to make a bird feeder.
First, ask an adult to cut the fruit in half. Eat the pulpy, sweet inside and save the rind, which is the fruit's tough outer cover. Don't let the rind break when you are eating the inside.
The hollow rind of the fruit becomes a cup to hold bird food. Attached to a hanger made from string, the feeder can be suspended from a tree branch outdoors, so birds can easily find the food.
MATERIALS:- Orange or grapefruit
- Three pieces of heavy thread or string, all the same length, 12 to 20 inches
- Skewer or needle to punch holes
- Have an adult use a needle, skewer or other pointed object to poke three evenly spaced holes in the upper edge of the hollow rind.
- Insert a piece of string or heavy thread into one of the holes. Pull it through far enough so the middle of the string is where it meets the orange rind.
- Repeat the process with the other two strings, again pulling them partway through the fruit.
- Gather together all six ends of string and tie them in a knot near the tips. This forms the hanger. Ask an adult to hang the feeder from a branch where you can see it from inside the house.
- Keep the fruit feeder filled with bird treats such as birdseed or peanuts. Birds also like crumbs from stale cake, cookies and doughnuts, as well as tiny bits of old cheese, raisins and apples. (*Note: Raisins have the potential of toxicity if fed in too high a quantity )
* Keep in mind that it is not healthy for birds to eat moldy food.
Feeders & Food Selection Designed to Attract Birds (recommendations from Fish and Wildlife Service)
A Tube Feeder with Black Oil Sunflower will attract:
chickadees ... goldfinches ... nuthatches ... pine siskins ... redpollstitmice ... woodpeckers
Adding a Tray to the Tube Feeder will also attract:
cardinals ... crossbills ... house finches ... jays ... purple finches ... white-crowned sparrows ... white-throated sparrows
Nectar Feeder attract:
cardinals ... finches... hummingbirds ... orioles ... tanagers ... thrushes ... woodpeckers
Fruit will attract:
bluebirds ... cardinals ... cedar waxwings ... jays ... mockingbirds ... orioles ... starlings ... tanagers ... thrashers ... thrushes ... woodpeckers ... yellow-breasted chats
Hanging Suet Feeder will attract:
cardinals ... chickadees ... creepers ... kinglets ... nuthatches ... starlings ... thrashers ... woodpeckers ... wrens
Peanut Butter Suet will attract:
bluebirds ... cardinals ... goldfinches ... kinglets ... jays ... juncos ... starlings ... thrushes ... woodpeckers ... wrens
Hanging Peanut Feeder will attract:
Tray or Platform Feeder with Millet will attract:
blackbirds ... chipping sparrows ... cowbirds ... doves ... house sparrows ... juncos ... towhees ... tree sparrows ... white-crowned sparrows ... white-throated sparrows
Tray or Platform Feeder with Corn will attract:
bobwhite quail ... doves ... grackles ... house sparrows ... jays ... juncos ... ring-necked pheasants ... starlings ... white-throated sparrows
Platform Feeder or Tube Feeder and Tray with Peanuts will attract:
Tray or Platform Feeder with Corn will attract:
bobwhite quail ... doves ... grackles ... house sparrowsjays ... juncos ... ring-necked pheasants ... starlings ... white-throated sparrows
Niger Thistle Feeder with Tray will attract:
chickadees ... dark-eyed juncos ... doves ... goldfinches ... house finches ... pine siskins ... purple finches ... redpolls ... song sparrows ... white-throated sparrows
If you would like to add to or correct any of the above information, or would like to share with web visitors your own experiences, please e-mail the webmaster.
Photo contributions are welcome!
