An overview of what, where, when and how to feed backyard birds
Peterborough Examiner – September 27, 2024 – by Drew Monkman
When I was 12 years old, my father and I built a bird feeder. Even though my interest in birds was only modest at the time, it was a great project to do together. But, when house sparrows and evening grosbeaks flocked to the new feeder within days, I was captivated.
One morning I noticed that one of the “sparrows” looked slightly different. It had a tinge of yellow on the sides and fine streaks. When I consulted the Peterson bird guide my grandmother had just given me, I cautiously identified the visitor as a dickcissel.
My father mentioned my sighting to an acquaintance, Doug Sadler, a well-known local naturalist and author. But, little did I know that the dickcissel is a very rare bird in this area. Despite being skeptical of my identification, he agreed to come over to see the bird. Well, with great excitement and heaps of praise, he confirmed I was right! My pride swelled even more when at least a dozen other birders dropped by to see this nomad from the American mid-west. This experience with a backyard feeder was the spark to my life-long interest in birds.
Inviting birds to your yard is a wonderful way to enrich fall days – and those of every other season. Well-maintained feeders offering an assortment of foods can attract a wide variety of resident birds as well as species that only show up periodically or during migration. And, you never know what rarity might just pop in.
Your feeder set up
Much of the enjoyment of bird feeders is getting good views of the birds that come to dine. Ideally, feeders should be placed not far from a window where you spend a lot of time. You should also try to find a location near natural shelter like evergreen trees or shrubs. Many birds shy away from eating in exposed areas with nowhere to take refuge.
The easiest way to hang your feeders is by purchasing a feeder pole system. It consists of a pole with a squirrel baffle and hanger arms. As long as squirrels can’t jump from a nearby branch or roof, the guard will keep them off the feeders.
Don’t make the mistake of limiting feeding to the winter months. I have all of my feeders out from late September through late May. In this way I’m able to attract migrants that are only passing through. These include different sparrows in the fall and spring and rose-breasted grosbeaks in May. During migration, even hummingbirds and orioles show up in urban areas, if only for a few days. Both species come to nectar feeders. Orioles also love cut oranges.
The seed of choice
Black oil sunflower seed is popular with nearly all feeder birds. It’s a favourite of jays, cardinals, chickadees, nuthatches and will even bring in woodpeckers. Although more expensive, you might also consider hulled sunflower seeds which are the seeds without the shell. Goldfinches love these. They are also mess-free.
If squirrels present a challenge, look for a feeder model with a weighted squirrel guard. The weight of the squirrel forces the perches to drop down and close the feeding holes. As long as you can keep squirrels away, there’s also the option of buying a hopper feeder which can often hold a lot more seed than tubes.
Consider purchasing a window feeder, as well. I have a clear, plastic hopper model with suction cups on my office window. The chickadees and cardinals keep me company and it’s wonderful to get such up-close views. Counterintuitively, window feeders actually keep the birds safer from window collisions. In decades-long research done by Daniel Klem Jr. of Muhlenberg College in Pennsylvania, he discovered that window collisions drop to virtually zero when feeders are less than 3 feet away from the glass. If the birds do take off in a hurry, they won’t be going fast enough to injure themselves seriously if they hit the glass.
If window collisions become a problem in your yard, start by closing your curtains or blinds, if only partially. This will reduce window reflection. Do-it-yourself “Zen” curtains made from parachute cord is also an effective option. The best deterrent, however, is to apply dot-pattern window markers. They are made by Feather Friendly and sold as easy-to-apply, long-lasting tape. You’ll find them at the Avant-Garden Shop in Peterborough. As an aside, decals are mostly ineffective.
Other menu items
Nyjer seeds are also a popular choice. Nyjer is a tiny black seed that’s a favourite of birds like goldfinches, siskins and redpolls. You’ll need either a plastic tube with small holes and perches or a tube made from a fine metal mesh.
Many birds also love shelled peanuts. They are high in protein and will attract nuthatches, woodpeckers, and chickadees. Most peanut feeders consist of a wire mesh tube that the birds can cling to. I leave my nyjer and peanut feeders up all year-round.
Beef fat, usually referred to as “suet”, is yet another high-energy food that attracts birds, especially woodpeckers and nuthatches. Commercial suet often contains seeds, peanuts and dried fruit and is usually sold in square cakes which are placed in a metal cage. Look for a model that forces birds to hang upside-down while feeding. This will keep starlings from devouring everything.
Some birds, like dark-eyed juncos, towhees, fox sparrows, and both white-crowned and white-throated sparrows, feed primarily on the ground. They love the white millet seed I spread on the grass or on packed-down snow under the feeder. Just scatter it thinly enough so the squirrels and chipmunks don’t take too much. Ground-feeding sparrows are already starting to pass through, and juncos will arrive soon.
Finally, if starlings and grackles are consuming all of your sunflower seed or seed mix – a favourite of “problem” birds – you might try offering safflower seed. Although most of your favourite birds like cardinals will enjoy it, blackbirds aren’t big fans.
Feeders should be cleaned at least once a month to remove wet, moldy bird seed and bird droppings. Use a three-to-one water-vinegar solution or a nine-to-one water-bleach solution. This will help prevent the spread of bird diseases.
And, please don’t worry. Feeding birds won’t prevent or delay their migration, and the birds won’t become dependent on you for food. An excellent resource bird-feeding resource can be found at allaboutbirds.org.
Climate chaos update
Climate politics: It’s distressing that at the tail end of the hottest summer in recorded history, neither Vice President Kamala Harris nor former President Donald Trump explained in their recent debate how they would fight climate change. Things aren’t much better in Canadian politics. Pierre Poilievre’s only stated climate policy is to get rid of the carbon tax. At a time when we should be doubling down on decreasing greenhouse gas emissions (GHGs), it seems like aggressive climate action is no longer a main concern of most people and definitely not a vote getter. Despite all the reasons why this might be the case, the fact remains that we’re barreling towards even worse climate catastrophe and putting complex human civilization at risk.
As the Globe and Mail editorial of September 17 points out, it’s a fantasy to believe there’s a painless way for Canada to meet its commitment of net-zero emissions by 2050. Both the Conservatives and now maybe even the NDP seem to think there exists some magical, effective policy that doesn’t hit us in the pocketbook. They need to be honest with Canadians and stop playing politics. Every other possible climate action will cost consumers more than the Liberal carbon-pricing policy of levying an escalating fee on fossil fuels, while returning 90 per cent of the proceeds to households. This is true no matter what you might think of Justin Trudeau.
CO2 levels: The atmospheric CO2 reading for the week ending September 21 was 421.98 parts per million (ppm), compared to 418.33 ppm a year ago. This represents a huge increase.
