Feeding the Birds
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| Backyard bird feeding is a convenient way to enjoy wildlife. According to a recent report over 65 million Americans, young and old, have given it a try. No
matter where you live you can put food outside your door and some creature will show its appreciation and make an appearance. Once you get started it's hard to stop.
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One of our favorite birds to feed
is the hummingbird. They are very dependable once they find your feeders, and given time they will get used to you being nearby when they come to eat. In the piedmont section of North Carolina we leave the feeders
out from the first of April until about the middle of September. If you don't get the feeders back out soon enough in the spring you may notice hummingbirds that will fly up to the spot the feeder was hanging the year
before an d hover while he looks for the feeder. In my book that is proof positive
that the same birds come back to the same area each year. How else would he know that there is supposed to be a feeder hanging on my porch in that exact spot? This year, 2001,
the first hummer came to our feeders on April 8, which was a little later than I wanted to have the feeders up. The males always show up first. The first female didn't show up until
about April 26, and as of April 30 I have only seen one. You can order a feeder from Amazon.com at Hummingbird Feeders, there are several to choose from. This is a direct
link to one that is similiar to the ones we use - Opus Hummingbird Feeder
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| Feeder Selection
When the ground is covered with snow and ice it's hard to resist just tossing seed out the door. But it's healthier for the birds to get their "hand outs" at a
feeding station off the ground. Regardless of the season, food that sits on the ground for even a short time is exposed to potential contamination by dampness, mold, bacteria, animal droppings, lawn fertilizers and
pesticides. It's best, for the birds' sake, to use a feeder.
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Consider Placement Where do you want to watch your birds? From a kitchen window, a sliding glass door, a second story window? Pick a spot that has easy access so you can get to it to fill it during cold winter weather. If you don't think ahead, when it is snowing and sleeting you may want to skip filling the feeder just when the birds need it most. Also consider the mess that comes with a feeder. You will want to place it somewhere that seed shells and bird droppings won't be a problem to clean up. You probably don't want to hang the feeder in the tree that you park your car under.
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If there are squirrels in your area they will surely visit your feeders if they can get
to them. Just take a look at the guy on the left. He was determined that he was going to get to the feed. Actually in this case the food is cracked corn that I put in
the feeder for the squirrels. They tend to go to the more accessible feeders so I started putting cracked corn out for them in the "easy" feeders, and put the bird
food in feeders that are more difficult to get to. They are kind of cute and a lot of
fun to watch when they are playing so I don't mind feeding them also. But remember, if you don't feed the squirrels separately they will attack your bird feeders. Don't hang
feeders from tree limbs unless it is designed to be squirrel proof to access from above. Of course if you mount the feeder on a pole it will need to be squirrel proof to access
from below. Squirrels will also chew plastic and wooden feeders trying to get to the food. This will happen most often, in my experience,
when the feeder becomes empty. I guess the squirrel is trying to get inside to see if there is any more food there.
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Durability and Seed Protection
How long your feeder will last depends in part on how much effort you put into maintaining it, the effects of weather, and whether squirrels can get to it.
 Plastic feeders seem to deteriorate
if they hang in the sun for a few seasons. At least all the ones I've used did. The sun will bleach the colors out
and the plastic becomes brittle and eventually breaks. Wooden feeders don't have those problems, but most of them will rot eventually. Some types of wood take longer than other. Cedar is a good choice for a wooden
feeder. But squirrels can chew wood as easy as plastic.
Water can get into any feeder and seed will spoil when it gets wet or damp. You can improve some feeders by adding a plastic dome to them, especially those made from cloth, vinyl or metal netting. Most wood, plastic or metal feeders will keep seed dry, but water can get into the feeding portals. Look for feeders with drainage holes in the bottom of both the feed hopper and the seed tray. Keep a check on the drainage holes to insure that they don't become clogged with seed or droppings. Look for shallow seed trays. The purpose of a tray is to catch dropped seed while allowing empty shells to blow away.
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Cleaning When you feed birds you will have bird droppings, feathers, possible insects and left over food mess to contend with. You don't have to wash the feeder every day, but you should clean it regularly. Diseases like salmonella can grow in moldy, wet seed and bird droppings in the feeder tray and on the ground below. It is a good idea to move your feeders a foot or so each season to give the ground underneath time to assimilate the seed debris and bird droppings. Keeping your feeders clean should not be a major undertaking. The amount of maintenance is related to the types of birds you want to attract and the types of feeders you have. A thistle feeder for goldfinches should be cleaned about once a month, depending on how much it rains. Hummingbird feeders require cleaning at the very least once a week, preferably more often - two or three times a week. Sunflower and suet feeders may need to be cleaned only once a month. Feeders made of plastic or glass are easy to clean. Wash them in a bucket of hot soapy water that has a capful or two of chlorine bleach in it and then rinse them well. For wood use the same method, but substitute another disinfectant for the bleach so the wood won't fade.
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| How Many Birds
If too many birds at your feeder becomes a problem you can control their numbers by putting out smaller amounts of seed, by using specialty seed or by using restrictive feeders. You can virtually
eliminate visits by birds you'd rather not see by offering seeds they won't eat. If you want only cardinals, doves
and white throated sparrows switch from black oil sunflower to safflower. If you want only finches and an occasional dove and white throated sparrow try niger thistle. If you want only jays, titmice and white throated
sparrows try peanuts.
You can encourage small birds with feeders that restrict access. Wood feeders with vertical bars and feeders covered with wire mesh frustrate the larger birds. Tube feeders without trays also restrict access to small birds. Remove the perches and you've further selected only those birds capable of clinging - finches, chickadees, titmice and woodpeckers.
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| Species Variety The species you attract is determined primarily by the seeds you offer. Black oil sunflower is the hands down favorite of all the birds that visit tube and house type feeders. White proso millet is favored by birds who visit platform feeders (doves and sparrows). Ducks, geese and quail will eat corn. Many of the cereal grains (corn, milo, oats, wheat, rape, flax and buckwheat) in mixed bird seeds are NOT favorites of birds that visit tube feeders. Watch a feeder filled with a seed mix and you'll see the birds methodically drop or kick out most of the seeds to get to their favorite - sunflower.
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