From: jim.speirs@canrem.com (Jim Speirs) To: dannys@iis.ee.ethz.ch (Danny Schwendener) Subject: Feeding Winter Birds: Start Early Summary: All you need to know to build a bird feeder for the winter and maintaining it during the cold season Article #R132. ============== Feeding Winter Birds: Start Early Denyse Rousselet The Leader, August/September 1990 Every fall, many Beavers, Cubs, and Scouts build bird feeders. Often, by the time they've completed construction and set up the feeders, the season is well advanced and their feeding station does not attract as many birds as they expect. Fall migration begins as early as September. For the birds, winter is around the corner in mid-September. The time to build feeders is immediately your programs start. If that's impossible, have members set up old feeders to encourage non-migrating species to stake out their backyards as a source of grub during the chilly months. Feeding the birds easily becomes a family affair. It's enjoyable to watch birds at the feeders and interesting to study their different behaviours and the interrelationships between species. At our feeders, blue jays are definitely the masters. The others simply move out when they arrive. And nothing is lost, because the squirrels eat the leftovers on the ground. If you started feeding birds last winter and the experience whetted your appetite, you may be ready for a larger scale operation this year. The area where you set a feeder is instrumental in its success. You need some basic attractions for birds. Most birds want trees where they can perch and check out the feeder to see if a cat or other enemy is about. The trees need to be close enough that they can make a quick escape to them from the feeder when necessary. Fir trees provide good protection, especially at night. Shrubs such as cedar or deciduous leaf hedges are good but not as useful as trees. Birds will also perch on fences but, if you don't have many trees near your feeder station, you likely will have a small bird population using it. Try anyway, because success is possible, especially if you get an early start. Feeders You can build many kinds of bird feeders, and The Cub Book offers a number of suggestions (Black Star 8). Make sure you have the right size feeder for the kinds of birds in your area. They must be able to perch and feed. Larger birds such as jays and cardinals need more space than finches or chickadees. Hopper feeders come in three basic types: tubes, bowls, and houses. They all work effectively to keep seed dry and dispense it as the birds eat. What you choose depends on what look you prefer --modern plastic or rustic wood. Platform feeders cater to ground feeders such as sparrows, starlings, mourning doves, and cardinals. All you need is a wide platform elevated a metre or so from the ground, preferably with a protective roof and a lip all around to keep seeds from blowing off too easily. Design feeders so that you can clean them easily between seasons. And be sure your design makes them easy to fill. If it becomes a hassle every time the feeder is empty, you are likely to give up feeding--very dangerous for birds that have come to depend on your feeding station during the cold months. To minimize the need for refilling, make feeders large enough to hold a good supply of seed. Keep the seed protected from the elements, particularly from fall and spring rains. In many parts of Canada, outwitting the squirrels is one of the biggest difficulties in feeding birds. Set up your feeders a good distance away from tree branches or other possible perches that may serve as squirrel launch pads. I have seen them leap to a feeder from my TV antenna a good 2.5 m away. For a whole raft of useful suggestions that are also fun to read, look for the book Outwitting Squirrels--101 Cunning Strategies to Reduce Dramatically the Egregious Misappropriation of Seed from Your Birdfeeder by Squirrels, by Bill Adler Jr. If you have cats in the area, it's a good idea to put seed catchers under the feeders to discourage birds from feeding on the ground. To keep the squirrels happy on the ground, spread some inexpensive cracked corn. If you are putting out a feeder for the first time, you might want to place a shiny object such as a metal pie plate on top to start attracting birds to the feeding station. Food for Birds Your feeders will be most successful if you put out the right food for the species found in your area. As a main course, you can't go wrong offering sunflower seeds--either the striped or the black variety. Some people are ready to swear that one is better than the other, but birds like both. Technically speaking, the black variety has a higher fat content and thinner shell, which makes it easier for small birds such as chickadees to handle. Larger birds such as blue jays prefer the larger striped variety. A mixture of sunflower seed, white millet and cracked corn should serve to satisfy just about any backyard bird that comes to your feeder. These mixtures are available commercially and quite inexpensive when you buy them in bulk. You might want to hang out a niger seed dispenser for house finches, purple finches, American goldfinches, and redpolls. The tiny niger seed is expensive because it is imported. Finches are naturally wasteful little creatures, so it's a good idea to put a seed catcher under the feeder. On a platform feeder, use a commercial mix or simply an inexpensive combination of cracked corn and sunflower seed. The larger birds tend to use platform feeders, so give them the larger seeds and save the smaller ones for the other feeders. Cardinals and mourning doves particularly like safflower seed on a platform feeder. It is also imported and, therefore, expensive, so mix it with cracked corn. A suet feeder for the woodpeckers, nut hatches, and chickadees is a must at a feeding station. Your local butcher will provide beef or mutton kidney suet quite inexpensively. You can melt it down and add a number of tasty treats such as seeds, nuts, raisins, currants, cornmeal, peanut butter, and the like. Present it to the birds in a commercially available wire mesh cage, an onion bag, or a berry box. If the consistency is right, you can smear it on tree trunks and branches or stuff it into holes drilled into hanging logs. A tray filled with coarse sand or crushed oyster shell is a big hit with finches, grosbeaks, and doves because it helps them digest hard seeds. And water is important, too. Birds need to drink and also love to bathe on a mild winter day. In most parts of the country, you'll need a heater to keep your offering from freezing. You can buy one designed for this purpose. They are not particularly cheap, but giving the birds access to water and food will make your backyard the most interesting place in the neighbourhood. The word gets around fast, and you'll very soon have many fascinating birds to watch. Scouter Denyse Rousselet works with the Dollard Des Ormeaux Scouts, Quebec.