Gardening: Keep the birds well fed and watered this winter

The bird feeder outside my office window has been busy the past few weeks.

We put out straight black oil sunflower seeds and these tasty treats draw in regulars such as gold and house finches, nuthatches, juncos, pine siskins and chickadees along with the occasional enterprising flicker. The chickadees, siskins and nuthatches will pick through the seeds to find just the right one and then fly off to a gnarly barked maple tree to crack open the seed.

For birds to do well at your house, they need a consistent food supply, trees and shrubs close by for shelter, a place to hide from hawks and a clean water supply. Different birds favor different kinds of seed. As mentioned above, chickadees, siskins and nuthatches love the larger sunflower seeds. Birds can tell which seeds have the most nutritional value – probably by their weight – and will pick through multiple seeds until they find just the right one. Unfortunately, this means the seeds that don’t pass judgment end up on the ground and can create a mess that draws in other ground birds or pests like deer, squirrels and skunks.

Tube feeders are best for holding sunflower seed, milo and sunflower mixes, safflower seed and peanut chips. Hopper feeders are best for holding whole peanuts, sunflower and safflower seed and cracked corn which will draw in the regulars mentioned above and larger birds. Quail prefer their seeds on flat trays or platforms. Suet feeders that are filled with cakes of suet mixed with seed as also an important source of protein for many birds. The feeder is usually a mesh basket that is hung nearby out of the reach of raccoons and squirrels. Suet cakes are readily available where you buy your bird supplies.

It’s important to keep the area under the feeder clean to prevent disease. One trick I found to accomplish this is to blow the chaff out of the area with a leaf blower. The residue will quickly decay. Since the birds already took the good seed, I don’t seem to have many problems with leftover seed sprouting in odd places.

A feeder should be placed close to dense shrubs and trees, especially conifers. This makes it easy for the birds to find a place to crack their seeds as well as find cover from the weather and a place to flee when a predator shows up. Hawks are good at picking birds off feeders if given the chance.

Last, birds need an open source of water, especially when there is no snow on the ground. There are lots of heated bird baths on the market that will provide not only drinking water but also a place for them to bathe on warmer days. Keeping their feathers clean in the winter helps them stay warm. Our water source is a large shallow saucer that is heated with a small stock tank heater. It is close to a faucet, which makes it easy to fill in the winter with a bucket.