It’s that time of year again — time to get out the bird feeders, mix up a batch of suet and seeds, and prepare to spend some time watching the hardy winter birds enjoying a feast in your backyard. We may not look forward to the cold weather and snow, but there are some perks of the season, and feeding our overwintering birds is one of them.
First, consider what species you want to attract. The best type of feed to attract a variety of birds is black oil sunflower seeds. These are a favourite of chickadees, nuthatches, blue jays, and purple and house finches, and are available at most pet stores, many department stores, or from a sunflower-growing farmer. Less common species such as crossbills, pine grosbeaks and evening grosbeaks are also sunflower fans. (Don’t buy the large confectionery sunflower seeds; these aren’t good for most birds.)
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Black niger seed is a favourite of goldfinches, common redpolls and pine siskins. (Goldfinches sometimes overwinter in Manitoba, but you may not recognize them in their winter plumage; they are not the bright yellow and black of summer but a nondescript beige or olive green, with black wings and white wing bars.) Niger seed is usually available at pet stores; however, it has become very costly the last few years, causing some stores to stop bringing it in. A cheaper alternative might be crushed-up “sunflower minis.”
Other types of seeds can also be offered, such as safflower and white millet. However, I recommend you avoid buying the cheaper bags labelled “Wild Birdseed” as they often contain a lot of waste seeds of barley, wheat and milo, and will also tend to attract English (house) sparrows in greater numbers. It is better to buy specific kinds of seed, instead of the mixed one.
Suet will attract nuthatches and downy and hairy woodpeckers. My husband and I usually offer a suet mixture (melt suet with a little peanut butter, add sunflower seeds, ground-up peanuts, a little cornmeal and oatmeal). Shape the mixture into blocks and hang in a suet cage (or, let mixture cool and partially harden and spoon onto a log with holes or grooves in it). Commercial suet blocks can also be purchased. For the last two winters, we’ve even had a pair of pileated woodpeckers come to our suet.
If you want a variety of birds, you should consider a variety of feeder types. Platform feeders are good, preferably with a roof to keep off snow. Blocks of suet, suet logs, tube feeders and thistle socks are all useful. Or, for a cheap alternative, recycle a two- or four-litre plastic bottle. Corncobs — attractive to blue jays — and sunflower heads — for many types — can sometimes be gleaned from a harvested field before the snow covers them.
A protective cover over part of your feeding area will also be a welcome addition, especially to ground-feeding birds such as juncos and sparrows. We create a sheltered area with old plywood sheets, which makes it easier to feed these species, especially on snowy days. If your feeders attract squirrels, and you don’t want them, install a baffle on pole feeders to keep them away.
Another attraction for birds is water, and a few years ago we purchased a heated birdbath. It’s not used much for bathing in winter, but the birds appear to welcome the chance to drink water even on the coldest days. This may be partly because their winter diets tend to be drier than in summer.
We like to try at least one new attraction for the birds each winter. This year our new purchase is a whole peanut wreath feeder and the blue jays love it. If you have someone on your Christmas list who is a birder, consider giving them a new feeder, a heated birdbath or even a bag of black oil sunflower seeds!
