Tips for Feeding Birds This Winter
Feeding birds that brave our long, cold winters is an enjoyable experience. But with so many different types of birdseed available, what should we serve them?
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Most tree-feeding birds, including chickadees, nuthatches, finches, cardinals, and sparrows, prefer sunflower seeds. Choose black-oil sunflower seeds over the larger more common striped seed. Black-oil sunflower seeds are nutritious and high in fat, and their small size and thin shell make them easier to open.
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Attract ground-feeding birds like mourning doves and juncos with white proso millet and milo (sorghum). Goldfinches and redpolls prefer nyjer seed, but note it requires a special feeder to prevent the tiny seeds from spilling out.
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Winter is an ideal time to offer high-fat, high-energy suet (beef fat) or peanut butter mixed with seeds or corn meal to insect-eating birds such as woodpeckers, chickadees and nuthatches.
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Avoid seed mixes that have a high percentage of red millet and oats. Most birds will turn their beaks up at these fillers leading to a lot of waste. Buy small quantities of seeds or seed mixes to start to see what your backyard birds like best.
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To prevent mold, bacteria growth and hungry rodents from getting to the seed before the birds, store birdseed in an airtight, waterproof, metal container. And don’t forget to keep your feeders clean!