Keep birds coming back for refills

Know eating habits to attract favorites

November 18, 2005|By Mary Beth Breckenridge, Knight Ridder/Tribune

Birds remind us that nature goes on, even on those winter days when we less hardy humans are stuck indoors.

Making your yard hospitable to birds increases the chances they'll make regular stops at your house. That can be as simple as keeping a feeder filled or as involved as landscaping to improve the habitat.

But it's best to start small, seasoned bird-watchers say.

- Choose a feeder that will attract the kind of birds that interest you. Common types include thistle feeders, which attracts finches, pine siskins, song sparrows and other small birds; tray, platform or hopper feeders, which can hold a seed mix that attracts bigger birds; and suet feeders, which attract woodpeckers, nuthatches, chickadees, titmice, jays and starlings. Then choose a type of food that fits your feeder and appeals to the birds you like most.

- Place the feeder where it's easy to see and refill. Make sure it's close to natural shelter, such as trees or shrubs.

As you get more interested in birding, you can attract more birds by offering a wider variety of food, such as peanuts, oranges, raisins and cranberries. Or plant fruit-bearing trees and shrubs that birds like, such as crab apples and bayberry bushes.

Offering food at different levels accommodates the various birds' eating habits. Some, like dark-eyed juncos and mourning doves, like to pick things up off the ground; others, such as chickadees and tufted titmice, eschew ground feeding. To accommodate them all, provide food at ground level, at knee level, at a higher level from a hanging or pole-mounted feeder, and from a tree trunk.

- Don't forget water, which can come from a natural source, such as a pond, or from a birdbath. To keep the water open in freezing weather, dump out the ice regularly and refill with hot water, or use an electric birdbath heater.

Providing birds with cover gives them a place to hide and makes them feel more comfortable in your yard. Shrubs and trees, particularly evergreens, make good cover, as long as they're not so close to a feeder that a cat or other predator can use them to sneak up undetected.

Keep bird feeders clean, so they don't contribute to the spread of disease. Clean them about every two weeks, or more often during times of heavy use. Use hot, soapy water, then soak or rinse the feeder in a solution of one part bleach to nine parts water. Dry the feeder thoroughly before refilling.

Clean the ground below the feeder too, to prevent old birdseed hulls and other waste from molding and to deter rodents and other pests.

Sources: Cornell Lab of Ornithology; Mike Greene, naturalist with the Metro Parks, Serving Summit County (Ohio)

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What seeds to buy

Here are the types of seeds that birds prefer, according to the Humane Society of the United States:

- Black oil sunflower seed attracts the greatest variety of birds and is especially well-liked by birds that perch while they're feeding, such as chickadees, cardinals, nuthatches, titmice, finches, redpolls, blue jays, grosbeaks and woodpeckers.

- White proso millet appeals to ground-feeding birds such as doves, juncos, sparrows and towhees.

- Niger seed, also called thistle, attracts a wide variety of finches.

- Suet is favored by woodpeckers, nuthatches, wrens and chickadees.

- Peanuts are popular with blue jays, nuthatches and woodpeckers.

- Dried fruits such as raisins, prunes and currants appeal to cedar waxwings, mockingbirds and Eastern bluebirds. The fruit should be soaked in warm water first and cut into small pieces.

- Bargain seed blends sold in many grocery and hardware stores often contain filler seed, the society says. It recommends buying seed in bulk from feed stores instead.

-- Knight Ridder/Tribune