Maid To Garden

In The Garden Of Good Living - February 2010 - Feeding Our Feathered Friends
by Pat Hendrickson

We may not spend much time in our garden during the month of February, but that does not mean that other folks don’t hang out there. Feathered folks - that is. We’ve spoken in this column before about setting up feeders in a way that helps keep birds safe from cats and prevents furry competition like squirrels from stealing all the feed. But there is quite a bit more to learn about feeding birds in our back yard.

The area I am learning that I have neglected most of all is regular cleaning of the feeder. Birding experts at Cornell University say that we should scrub them out regularly and sweep up the rotting seed hulls on the ground as these can spread disease in birds.

Commercial seed mixes usually contain buckwheat seeds, milo, millet, oats, wheat, flax, and sunflower. Songbirds like the sunflower and thistle seeds the best and kick the rest to the ground. I have tended to avoid those mixes myself because the people we bought our house from advised me that the “yellow seed” attracted starlings and crows which scared away the smaller prettier song birds.

Some birds love suet – beef tallo. You can get this from the butcher in your grocery store. As a kid my job was to cut the suet into small cubes and stuff it into the holes of a slender log with branches that birds ate from. Now you can buy metal wire cages for the suet. Not everyone cares to put out suet, though some birds love it. Fresh cut fruit is another popular item for some birds. Traditionally people have put out stale bread and cake for birds also. But this can attract pests like rats and raccoons and should be avoided.

Here is a list of seeds and birds in our area which they attract.
* = Will Eat ** = Preffered

	SUNFLOWER	SAFFLOWER	CORN	MILLET	MILO	NIJER	SUET	CUT FRUIT
Chickadees	**	*					**
Titmice	**	*					**
Nuthatches	**	*					**
Finches	**	*		*		**
Cardinals	**	*
Grosbeaks	**	*
Sparrows	**		*	*
Blackbirds	**		*	*
Jays	*		**		*
Woodpeckers	*						**
Orioles						*		**
Tanagers						*		**
Pigeons	*		**	*	*
Doves	*		**	*	*
Indigo Buntings	*					*
Painted Buntings	**
Robins								**
Thrushes								**
Bluebirds								**
Waxwings								**
Mockingbirds								**
Catbirds								**