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Feeding The Birds

When a bird’s natural plant food has waned or withered away, a few well-placed feeders can entice it to stay. There are four basic types of feeders, but the type of feeder and food it’s filled with will determine which birds will visit.

  • A tray or platform feeder placed one to three feet above the ground will lure ground-feeding birds like Juncos, Towhees, and Morning Doves.
  • Hung from a tree or mounted on a pole, “house” style feeders with seed hoppers and perches on the side will usually entice Grosbeaks, Cardinals, and Jays.
  • Long, cylindrical tube feeders suspended in air will bring in an array of small birds, including Grosbeaks, Finches, Titmice, Nuthatches, Siskins, and Chickadees.
  • A fruit feeder stocked with fresh fruit will tempt colorful birds like Tanagers, Orioles, Bluebirds, and Waxwings.

Birds will seldom drop or pick out unwanted seeds if you fill your feeder with only one type of seed rather than a generic mix. Black-oil sunflower seeds are the most widely preferred, though while millet is popular among ground-feeding birds. A tube feeder containing thistle seeds will whet the appetite of Buntings, Goldfinches, Siskins, or Redpolls, Jays, Chickadees, and Juncos love shelled peanuts or cracked corn as a treat in a tray feeder.

Bird Feeding 101:
Low Maintenance
Suet Feeding

Suet is a high energy formulation of animal fat and other ingredients to attract insect-eating birds. Suet is a quick source of heat and energy for birds and has been used as a good substitute for the insects that birds usually feed upon, but are not plentiful in cold weather. Suet can be offered all year long but is especially important in winter.

Providing suet in a wire basket or mesh bag is an easy, low-maintenance bird feeder. You refill only once every week or so, you never need to scrub the feeder, and you can leave it in your yard year round. Presenting suet in your backyard will also attract a greater variety of birds for your enjoyment. Some of the backyard birds that enjoy suet include:

Woodpeckers, Chickadees, Bluebirds, Mockingbirds, Warblers, Kinglets, Titmice, Nuthatches, Jays, Robins, Starlings and Wrens.

Be sure to suspend your suet feeder close to the trunk of the tree approximately 5 to 6 feet from the ground.




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