B I R D F E E D I N G T I P S F O R

CONTENTSIntroduction, 1Feeders, 2Feeder Placement, 4Food, 5Some Tips on Buying Birdseed, 7Water and Grit, 7Coping with Squirrels, 8Sanitation, 9Pest Birds, 10Some General Tips, 10

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Bird feeding is one of the most popular ways to enjoywildlife. In 1975, researchers estimated that one outof every five American households fed birds. Wesuspect the activity is even more popular today.Americans spent an estimated 170 million dollars onbird seed in 1975. The annual figure is now probablyclose to half a billion dollars.

Bird feeding is the only interaction many people havewith wildlife. Relative to many other forms of recrea-tion, it is an inexpensive activity. Birds are diverse,colorful and entertaining; they add life to a sometimesmonotonous winter landscape. Watching birds at afeeder is excellent therapy for people confined in-doors by illness, accident or winter weather. Feedersbring birds in close where they can be observed,identified, photographed or simply enjoyed.

Most amateur and professional ornithologists feel thatfeeding is mutually beneficial to birds and people, butit may not always be entirely in the bird’s best inter-ests. Feeding reduces natural competition amongbirds and can subject them to diseases and preda-tion. Certain species—the cardinal is a good example—have extended their ranges further and furthernorth in recent years, probably in response to theavailability of feeders. Depending on one’s outlook,such range extension can be viewed as good or bad.

There are certainly right and wrong ways to attractand feed birds. Feeding can be harmful if it is notcontinued through the winter. The severity of theweather and availability of natural foods and otherfeeding stations in the neighborhood determine theactual potential for harm. Before setting up a feedingstation, be sure you are willing to make a commit-ment to maintain a dependable food supply through-out the winter and to keep the health and safety ofthe birds in mind.

This booklet is a basic guide for the beginner justembarking on the hobby of feeding birds, but it shouldalso help veterans improve their feeding stations. Itcontains tips that will help you maximize your feath-ered guests’ benefit and safety, deal with pests andselect equipment and food. If you heed the cautions,both you and the birds should enjoy the experience.

C O M M O N W I N T E R B I R D S

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FEEDERSThere are nearly as many sizes and styles of feedersas there are species of birds to attract to them. Afeeding station may be one simple feeder or a dozenor more different ones scattered around a yard. Letyour interest and financial resources determine yourlevel of involvement.

The SHELF FEEDER consists of a simple platformwhich can be mounted on a post or attached to a win-dow sill. It suits many different species, Can be builteasily and inexpensively at home, and is easy to fillwith seed. On the negative side, it is exposed to snowand rain (unless you put a roof on it), and provideseasy access for squirrels, In addition, large quantitiesof seeds can be scratched from the feeder onto theground.

The TRADITIONAL WOODEN FEEDER is really ashelf with a roof and several modifications for dis-pensing a variety of food items. Typically, it has aglass or plastic hopper that holds and dispensesseeds to the feeding area by gravity. Some modelshave rack-like structures on the ends to hold suetcakes and/or wooden pegs on which to impale bakeryproducts or scraps to prevent them from being car-ried away whole. This type of feeder is usuallymounted on a post or railing and is suitable for mostbirds. If you are considering only one feeder, this isprobably the best style to select.

More sophisticated versions of this type of feedermay be made of metal or plastic and may includemodifications to keep squirrels off, increase seedholding and dispensing capacity, or feed only certainspecies. We will discuss anti-squirrel tactics later.Feeders can be made selective for certain speciesthrough the use of a counter-balanced treadle deviceas a feeding perch. The device can be set to close offaccess to the seed when a heavy bird such as a pig-eon, crow, or grackle lands to feed, while allowingsmaller, more “desirable” species to feed withoutinterference.

Whether you want to select for certain species is, ofcourse, a matter of personal preference. A bird oneperson considers a pest may be another’s favorite.There are other methods to favor certain species;specialized feeders and special food items may bejust as effective.

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Woodpeckers and nuthatches can be attracted tosuet feeders or log feeders. A SUET FEEDER can beas simple as a mesh bag—such as an onion bag—filled with suet and hung from a limb. Or it can be abasket constructed from scrap wood and 1/4-inchmesh hardware cloth. Melted, suet can be mixed witha dry food and packed into virtually any kind of moldor container.

The LOG FEEDER, a common rustic design, consistsof a 1- or 2-foot section of a log or limb, usually 2-3inches in diameter. Suet or peanut butter mix can bepacked into holes bored into the log. Usually a smallpeg is added just below each hole to serve as aperch.

A THISTLE SOCK is a fine-mesh tubular bagdesigned to dispense thistle seed. Small birds, espe-cially goldfinches, cling to the sock and remove thesmall seeds. It is an inexpensive feeder that quicklypays for itself by conserving the expensive thistleseeds.

The DROLL YANKEE ® is a popular, modern feeder.The Yankee and its imitators consist of a tube of clearplastic with feeding perches and access holes spacedevenly through the tube. It is a modern version of thelog feeder that dispenses seeds rather than suet. It isefficient and durable and comes in a variety of sizes.

Another specialized feeder is the HUMMINGBIRDFEEDER. The most common version is a plastic bottlefitted with one or more tubular funnels to hold anddispense sugar water (illustrated on p. 9). It is meantfor summer use, when hummingbirds are present. Onmany models, the dispensing tubes are decoratedwith colorful plastic flowers, which presumably helphummingbirds find the feeder. “instant nectar”powders are available for feeding hummingbirds.

If you live in a rural area, you can construct largefeeders to attract pheasants, quail, turkeys and otherspecies. A tepee or lean-to made of tree limbs orlumber provides shelter and a place to spread grain.

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FEEDER PLACEMENTYou should consider several things when decidingwhere to place feeders. First, you will want them tobe visible from a favorite kitchen or living room win-dow—after all, seeing and enjoying birds is one of themain reasons for feeding them. Second, feedersshould be sheltered from prevailing winds and snowdrifts that make filling difficult or unpleasant. Third,feeders mounted on poles or suspended from limbsor wires should be 5-6 feet from the ground. Fourth,and perhaps most important from the birds’ stand-point, feeders should be near cover—shrubs, trees orboth—to provide a place of retreat from cats or otherthreats, a gradual approach route for “shy” birds, ora convenient perch for opening a sunflower seed. Werecommend having some cover within 5 feet.

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FOODThe food you provide is more important than feederdesign in determining the success of your feeding sta-tion, both in terms of numbers and species of birdsyou attract. Seeds may be purchased by individualvariety or in mixed form. What and how you buy willdepend on a number of factors such as bird-feedinggoals, cost and availability. The United States Fishand Wildlife Service has determined the food prefer-ence of common bird species:

Goldfinch

Blue Jay

Brown-headedCowbird

Cardinal

Chickadee

Dark-eyed Junco

Grackle

Evening Grosbeak

House Sparrow

Mourning Dove

Purple Finch

Song Sparrow

Starling

Tree Sparrow

Tufted Titmouse

White-crownedSparrow

White-throatedSparrow

thistle seeds*, hulled sunflowerseeds, oil-type sunflower seeds

whole peanut kernels, large stripedsunflower seeds

white proso millet, other millets,canary seeds

oil-type sunflower seeds, large stripedsunflower seeds, safflower seeds

oil-type sunflower seeds, large stripedsunflower seeds, hulled sunflowerseeds

red and white proso millet, canaryseeds, fine cracked corn

hulled sunflower seeds, cracked corn

oil-type sunflower seeds, large stripedsunflower seeds

white proso millet, most small seeds

oil-type sunflower seeds, white andred proso millet

oil-type sunflower seeds, large sun-flower seeds, millets

white proso millet, red proso millet

peanut hearts and hulled oats, tablescraps

red proso millet, white proso millet,fine cracked corn

peanut kernels, all types of sunflower

oil-type sunflower, white prosomillet

same as white-crowned

*Thistle seed IS not related to our native weedy thistles.Imported seed and IS not adapted to northern climates

It is an

Many of the seeds commonly found in inexpensivecommercial mixes—such as wheat, mile, peanuthearts, hulled oats and rice—are relatively unattrac-tive to most birds. These commercial mixes may becheaper, but you will attract as many or more birdswith “preferred” seeds. This does not mean thatunattractive seeds will not be eaten, but preferredseeds will be eaten first and tend to attract birds thatmight not otherwise visit a feeder. Thistle seeds,hulled sunflower seeds and fine-cracked corn arevery useful for attracting particular species.

Overall, small black oil-type sunflower seeds andwhite proso millet give the most for your bird-feedingdollar. The larger, more familiar gray- or black-stripedsunflower seeds are also excellent food, but given achoice, most birds take the small black ones. All sun-flower seeds have high caloric value. About 70 per-cent of the weight of an oil-type seed is kernel, com-pared to 57 percent for the traditional types. Althoughnot as well known as the striped sunflower seeds, theblack seeds are as readily available and sell for aboutthe same price or less.

CANARY SEED

CRACKED CORN

NIGER THISTLE SEED

WHITE PROSO MILLET

RED PROSO MILLET

STRIPED SUNFLOWERSEED

BLACK OIL-TYPESUNFLOWER SEED

HULLED SUNFLOWERPIECES

Seeds are drawn two-thirds actual size.

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Suet is very attractive to a number of species, espe-cially woodpeckers and chickadees. Most people usebeef suet, but hunters will find that suet from a deeris also quite attractive. Beef suet used to be free forthe asking at the local butcher shop or grocery store.But you will probably have to pay for it now—its popu-larity as a bird food has created a market for it. Suetcan be fed “as is” or melted and mixed with dryfoods to attract a variety of species. We recommendcombining suet with oatmeal, hulled sunflower ker-nels, peanut hearts, or cracked corn to obtain a mixthat is entirely edible. Whole seeds can be providedmore efficiently in other feeders. Bacon fat can beused, but tends to be soft and messy. Peanut buttercan be used in the same way and is very attractivebut also quite expensive. Mix peanut butter with dryfoods, suet or both because birds can choke onstraight peanut butter.

Seed supplies can be supplemented with stale bakeryproducts, table scraps and fruit, but these foods havesome disadvantages. Fruit is attractive to robins, star-lings, mockingbirds, catbirds and orioles, and so it isbetter as summer food than as winter food. (But dicedapples and raisins are good for helping robins throughlate spring storms). Table scraps and bread oftenattract less desirable species, such as house spar-rows, starlings, grackles and pigeons.

Most attempts to grow bird food in a backyard gardenmeet with failure, Birds usually harvest sunflowerseeds themselves long before you get the chance,and the yield of other seeds does not justify the effortrequired. But you may want to plant bird food-producing shrubs and trees as part of your landscap-ing. Consult University of Wisconsin–Extension publi-cation G1609, Landscape Plants that Attract Birds.

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SOME TIPS ONBUYING BIRDSEEDBUY IN BULK. Buying seeds in quantity is substan-tially cheaper. Buying in 50-pound bags will not onlysave money, but you can get the seeds you want andmake your own mixes. Do not underestimate thequantity of seed you may use. While 50 pounds ofseeds may last all season at an urban feeder, anactive, rural feeding station may use 500 pounds ormore in a single winter.

BE PREPARED � at least mentally—for the costs atthe start of the season so that you will not have toclose down your feeder in mid-January for financialreasons. Thistle seed at up to $2 a pound can add upvery quickly if you are fortunate enough to have aflock of hungry goldfinches in the neighborhood. It isbetter to put out less-expensive (and less-preferred)commercial mixes for the entire feeding season thanto stop feeding in mid-season.

BEFORE BUYING SEEDS for the winter, check withlocal Audubon Society chapters, nature centers orsportsmen’s clubs. Many of these organizations sellseed as a fund-raising activity. The seed is usually ofgood quality and reasonably priced, and your moneywill help the birds through the organizations’ conser-vation activities.

STORE YOUR SEED IN A DRY PLACE. Plastic ormetal trash cans with tight-fitting lids make excellentstorage containers. For smaller quantities, you maybe able to get 5-gallon plastic buckets at cheese fac-tories, ice cream parlors or other food-handling estab-lishments.

WATER AND GRITThese materials are not foods, but they can make afeeding station more attractive. By providing water,which birds use for both drinking and bathing, youmay save your birds a long flight to a natural sourcein very cold weather. Several commercial wateringtrays are available, but you can use almost any shal-low container (the container must be shallow if thebirds are to bathe in it). A wooden frame makesperching for a drink easier. Small heating elements,available from bird-feeding equipment suppliers, farm-ers’ co-ops and some hardware stores, will keep thewater from freezing. If birds do not seem to notice thewater you provide, create a slight drip with a hose orfaucet to disturb the surface; this should attract them.

Birds need grit to digest their food. They use it liketeeth to grind the food, although they may obtain min-erals from some of it. Roadsides and sanded side-walks are common winter sources of grit, but manybirds will accept it readily if it is offered in addition tofoods. Do not mix grit with seeds. Coarse sand oroyster shell grit are both suitable; others are availablefrom poultry suppliers or game bird breeders. Smallspecies such as goldfinches, siskins and redpolls usecanary grit.

WATERING TRAY WITH WOODEN FRAMEAND HEATING ELEMENT

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COPING WITH SQUIRRELSPeople’s attitudes toward squirrels vary tremendously.If you enjoy squirrels, feeding them is easy and theyneed little encouragement. However, most bird-feedingenthusiasts view them as pests. The most seriousoffenders are common gray squirrels and sometimestheir smaller cousins, red squirrels. Nocturnal visitsby a family of flying squirrels are usually viewed muchmore favorably.

The case against gray squirrels centers on their glut-tonous appetites, their interference with birds’ feed-ing, and the damage their gnawing does to wooden orplastic feeders. Squirrels are persistent and acrobaticin their efforts to obtain food intended for featheredguests. There are several approaches to problemsquirrels:

REMOVE THEM. Squirrels can be captured in com-mercial or homemade live traps and removed to arural area or park at least 5 or 6 miles from home. InWisconsin, a landowner may hunt squirrels all year onhis or her property (except for a brief period justbefore the gun-deer season).

PREVENT THEIR ACCESS TO FEEDERS. This maynot be as easy as it sounds. The acrobatic abilities ofa squirrel trying to get into a suspended feeder almostdefy imagination. Some techniques that help keepsquirrels away from feeders include placing sheetmetal sheathing or cones on feeder poles, hangingfeeders from thin support cables or from horizontallines threaded through a 6-foot length of garden hoseor tubing, or using “squirrel-proof” feeders. Remem-ber, in your anti-squirrel scheming, that in wintersquirrels may be able to jump from snowbanks.

LEARN TO LIVE WITH THEM. If all else fails, pro-vide a feeder for the squirrels away from the birdfeeders. Stock it with corn or nuts and hope that thisdistraction will keep them away from the bird seed.An ear of dried corn attached to a cable and hungfrom a limb will also keep the squirrels busy. Onefrustrated person we know drilled holes throughseveral nuts and nailed them to a tree to keep thesquirrels busy!

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S A N I T A T I O N

It is very important for the health of your featheredguests to keep your feeders clean. If you find deadbirds around a feeder, poor sanitation is probably acontributing factor. High concentrations of birds atfeeders facilitate the spread of disease, and feedersthemselves may become contaminated. An intestinalinfection called salmonellosis is spread through fecaldroppings. As droppings accumulate, the problemgets worse. Finches and sparrows are especially sus-ceptible to this disease.

It is a good idea to clean out your feeder once aweek. Remove moldy seed and fecal droppings.Painted, varnished or metal feeders are easy to clean.To disinfect feeders, dunk them in a weak bleachsolution and let them dry before refilling with freshseed. Remove accumulations of spilled seeds andseed coats from the ground because this materialcan be the source of fungal diseases.

Disease problems are especially likely to occur if youcontinue to feed into the summer. Warm weather pro-motes the survival and growth of many diseaseorganisms. Especially if mourning doves are frequentvisitors to your feeders, clean the feeders and do notbegin feeding again until fall. Mourning doves are sus-ceptible to a parasitic disease called trichomoniasis,which is easily spread at feeders when contaminatedfood drops from the mouth of an infected bird.There’s really no reason to feed during the summer.Natural foods are abundant then, and the birds canforage for themselves. However, if you wish to con-tinue to attract birds, practice good sanitation, Nest-ing material such as string can make a feeder doublyattractive in spring or early summer. In Wisconsin,late April, when buds begin to open, is a safe time todiscontinue feeding for the summer. Hummingbirdsare in a special category, of course. They are presentonly in summer, and hummingbird feeders are intend-ed for summertime use.

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PEST BIRDSThe best way to deal with pigeons, house sparrows,starlings and crows is to avoid feeding the foods theyprefer. You can also trap pigeons and sparrows incommercial traps and remove them. Sparrows avoidunstable feeders, so any suspended feeder will dis-courage them. Crows are frightened by the slightesthuman activity. Cold weather and snow really bring inthe starlings, so during such periods, remove scraps,bread and larger food items from your feeder. Youcan discourage all these less-desirable species byfeeding mainly sunflower seeds. Remember to checkstate and municipal laws before you consider trappingor using a pellet or BB gun to control pest birds. InWisconsin, only the pigeon, starling and house spar-rows are not protected. All other species are pro-tected by state or federal law or both.

SOME GENERAL TIPS—A discarded Christmas tree provides shelter andcover near a feeder if natural cover is in short supply.

—A clasp from a dog leash makes a handy attach-ment for a hanging feeder—it makes the feeder easyto remove for filling or repair.

—A good field guide or several hours with a “pro”makes bird identification simple and fun.

—You can mark the passing of the seasons by keep-ing track of the comings and goings of differentspecies.

—A tray or pan mounted beneath the feeder reduceswaste by catching a lot of spilled seeds. But alwaysprovide some seeds on the ground for doves, pheas-ants, juncos, towhees, sparrows, blackbirds and otherground-feeding species.

—A poor winter at the feeder—low numbers, fewspecies—is usually a sign of a mild winter or abun-dant natural food rather than some sort of catas-trophe.

—Cardinals, blue jays and house sparrows are oftenthe first visitors to a new feeder. When titmice, wood-peckers and nuthatches begin coming in, you knowyou have established an effective feeding station.

—Do not be discouraged if it takes time for birds torespond to a new feeder, It makes a big differencewhether you live in a new subdivision, barren of trees,or in a heavily wooded acre on the edge of town andwhether your neighbors have feeders.

—Suet-seed mixes can be purchased in cakes,blocks, chunks and other forms. They are moreexpensive than homemade and not completely edible,but convenient.

—If you attract a rare bird to your feeder, be discreetabout publicizing it. You can easily be overrun witheager birdwatchers.

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—If you happen to see a banded bird, try to read theband number and report it to a known bander, a Wis-consin Department of Natural Resources employee orthe Bird Banding Laboratory in Washington, D. C.,20811. Banders work hard for the recovery informa-tion they get. Banded birds are likely to return to aparticular feeder year after year, so you can renewold friendships.

—If you wish to try your hand at homemade feedersor birdhouses, consult University of Wisconsin–Exten-sion publication G2091, Shelves, Houses and Feedersfor Birds and Squirrels.

We urge you to try bird feeding. If you do, consider itmore as a recreational activity or hobby than as away to manipulate bird populations. If you are mindfulof the potential problems discussed in this booklet,both you and the birds will benefit from the activity.

Reference to products in this publication is notintended to be an endorsement to the exclusion ofothers which may be similar. Persons using suchproducts assume responsibility for their use inaccordance with current label directions of the manu-facturer.

B I R D F E E D I N G T I P S F O R

Authors: Scott Craven is associate professor of wildllfe ecology and Robert L. Ruff is professor of wildlife ecology, College of Agricultural andLife Sciences, University of Wisconsin-Madison, and University of Wisconsin-Extension, Cooperative Extension. Produced by the Department ofAgricultural Journalism, University of Wisconsin-Madison.

This publication is available from your Wisconsin county Extension office or from: Agricultural Bulletin, Rm. 245, 30 N. Murray St., Madison,Wisconsin 53715, Phone 608-262-3346. Contact Agricultural Bulletin to determine availability before publicizing.

University of Wisconsin-Extension, Cooperative Extension, in cooperation with the U.S. Department of Agriculture and Wisconsin counties,publishes this information to further the purpose of the May 8 and June 30, 1914 Acts of Congress; and provides equal opportunities in employ-ment and programming including Title IX requirements.

G3176 Bird Feeding: Tips for Beginners and VeteransR P - 0 8 - 9 0 - 5 M - 1 8 5 - S

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