Gardening Sweet Spots
By Donna Hessel
During the winter months in our area of the U.S., when the winds are blustery and snow covers the frozen ground, birds rely on feeders full of seeds to survive. If you haven’t installed one yet, now is the time.
Selecting Your Bird Feeder
Platform Feeders. Platform feeders with a built-in tray will attract the widest variety of seed eating birds, including ground feeders such as juncos, towhees and mourning doves. Keeping feeders clean and dry is important to birds’ health, so make sure the tray can be removed for cleaning and has a screen base or drainage holes. It should be placed one to three feet above ground, probably higher if deer visit your yard. Put out only one or two day’s worth of seeds and shake out the tray every time you add new seeds.
House Feeders. House feeders can be mounted on a pole or suspended. They will attract grosbeaks, 
cardinals and jays. House feeders are harder to keep clean, but they will hold more seeds. The house should be tightly sealed so bacteria and fungus cannot develop. A baffle either above or below the feeder is an important addition if you want to keep squirrels out of it.
Tube Feeders. Long, cylindrical feeders suspended in the air will attract small birds such as finches, titmice, sparrows, nuthatches, grosbeaks, siskins, chickadees and woodpeckers. Tube feeders with a sliding outer cylinder will close when a squirrel or heavy bird lands on a perch, preventing them from accessing the seeds. Any remaining seeds in the feeder should be emptied out before refilling it.
Suet Feeders. Suet feeders attract a variety of woodpeckers, nuthatches, chickadees, titmice, jays, blackbirds and starlings. Most suet feeders are made of wire mesh or plastic coated wire mesh, but a simple mesh onion bag can also be used. Feeders can be attached to a tree trunk, suspended, or attached to the side of a house feeder.
Birds find food by sight. So if you are just setting out a feeder now, it may take a few days for birds to recognize your feeder as a food source. You can facilitate this by sprinkling some food on the ground near your feeder where it is easy to find (although the deer may find it, too). Once the birds find your feeder, word seems to get around and the number of birds coming to your feeder will increase. I have a suet feeder hanging on a line stretched across the deck all year around because it keeps the flock of downy woodpeckers that live on my property from chipping away at our cedar sided home.
The huge pileated woodpecker and bluebirds that live in the woods behind the houses across the street have found the feeder and visit it regularly in the winter!
The key to attracting a mix of birds is to fill your feeders with the right type of birdseed. Some pre-mixed birdseeds contain fillers that birds don’t eat and that can sprout on the ground beneath your feeders, too. If you see milo, golden millet, red millet or flax listed on a mixed seed bag, don’t buy it. Making your own seed mixes will help you attract a variety of birds to different feeders.
Creating a Custom Seed Mix
Black-oil sunflower seeds. Many varieties of birds like black-oil sunflower seeds, so if you put out only this type, you will get a lot of different birds coming to feast. This type of seed is messy since birds crack the shells to get at the high-fat meat. The hulls fall to the ground under the feeder. I leave the hulls on the ground to serve as a mulch for the flower bed over which my feeder hangs, but you may want to rake them up and add them to your compost.
- These birds like black-oil sunflower seeds and I’ve seen most of them at my feeder: chickadees, house finches, cardinals, nuthatches, grosbeaks, titmice, blue jays, sparrows, titmice and woodpeckers. I scatter seeds on the deck railings and floor for the juncos, occasional doves and other ground feeders. Many days, the squirrels that live on our property scavenge the railing and deck surface seeds before the birds get to them. Squirrels like the black-oil sunflower seeds, too!
Safflower seed. Safflower seed should be placed in an elevated feeder. Many of the same birds enjoy these seeds, but squirrels and sparrows avoid them.
- Birds that like safflower seed include chickadees, mourning doves, grosbeaks, cardinals and house finches.
Corn. Birds that eat corn, either cracked or shelled, are mostly ground feeders. If you add corn to an elevated feeder, it may be kicked to the ground. Corn is susceptible to spoiling in humid conditions, so if you plan to offer it, make sure to store it in a closed bag in a dry location.
- Birds that like corn include mourning doves, cardinals, grosbeaks, quail and blue jays. If you live near a wooded area, you may also attract wild turkeys. A special treat for squirrels is dried corn cobs propped up, but don’t place these near your feeders. Be aware that dried corn is also a favorite of deer, so if you are trying to attract just squirrels, adding a wire cage with large holes around the corn cob is a good idea.
White millet. Included in a mix, white millet is a nice complement to black-oil sunflower seeds. Some of the seeds may be kicked to the ground, where they will be found by the ground feeders. Interestingly, the more trees you have in your yard, the fewer ground feeders you are likely to have and the less white millet you will need.
- Birds that like white millet include juncos, buntings, mourning doves and towhees.
Nyjer seed. You may know nyjer seed as thistle seed. It’s a favorite of both gold and house finches and is often fed in a special finch feeder with small holes. It is amazing to me how the birds crack the shells on these tiny seeds to get at the kernels! What you may see on the ground below the feeder are the empty hulls.
- Birds that like nyjer seed include all types of finches, redpolls, pine siskins and mourning doves.
Peanuts. Peanuts are a high-fat, high-energy food that is especially helpful to birds in winter. Like corn, peanuts need to be stored in a dry location so they don’t spoil. Buy unsalted peanuts for the birds.
- Birds that like peanuts include blue jays, titmice and woodpeckers.
Bird seed has a limited shelf life. Stored too long in warm temperatures, it can dry out and lose the oil content that makes it a great energy source. So only buy a couple months’ supply of seed at one time and store it in a cool location. Another tip, based on my own experience: store seed in a covered container, preferably a small metal garbage can, especially if you will keep it in your garage. Both mice and chipmunks chewed through the plastic bag and also a covered plastic bin to get at my seeds! If seeds are kept in the house in a warm room, you may see small moths flying out of the container when you open it. The eggs were likely in the mix before you brought it home, but you definitely don’t want these moths to get into your flour, cereals or other dry goods stored in your cupboards! So if you can’t resist the 50-pound bag sale price, plan to separate the seeds into smaller containers with lids, and store them outside or in your garage.
Birds aren’t the only creatures that need gardeners’ help to survive the winter in our urban and suburban communities. Check “Gardening Sweet Spots” next month to learn what you can plant to assure that wildlife have food and protection from predators when the weather turns cold and snowy.
Sources:
Garden Gate online newsletter, November, 2022: “How to Attract More Birds to Your Garden” by Kristin Beane Sullivan, Jan. 15, 2019; Updated Jan. 12, 2021
“Four Types of Bird Feeders” by Catherine Boeckmann, May 4, 2022, almanac.com/bird-feeders-whats-best-type-feeder
Photo by Donna Hessel: Hairy woodpecker and blue jay on suet feeder. Remainder of photos courtesy pexels.com.
