My "other" winter garden hobby

Feeding the birds is a winter only hobby for me.  I wait until the end of November before putting out the feeders and take them down when I start cleaning out the gardens in spring (or when my seed on hand runs out).  The birds have other sources of natural seed to turn to and I prefer to not feed the chipmunks which are capable of climbing the pole and light enough to not trip the squirrel-proof gate closed.  The chipmunks eat a lot of seed very quickly and bury mouthfuls of seeds in my pots so that I have clumps of sunflowers germinating everywhere I don't want them.  Mice also become an issue and I really don't like feeding those.

My favorite feeders are the suet cage and peanut feeder right outside my kitchen window.  The rule of thumb for feeders and windows is put them closer than 3' or more than 10' from the window.  This will keep the birds from hitting the glass and possible death.  At 3' they are slowing down to land on the feeder and at 10' they are not close enough to mistake the window for a second feeder in the reflection.

At one time I used to HATE sparrows at the feeder.  They were too common, too numerous, and not very interesting to me.  They also seemed to dominate the food source.  Once I stopped hating them and started watching them the other birds seemed to magically appear.  The chickadees, nuthatches, and cardinals rewarded my change in attitude towards the lesser feathered friends by appearing next to them.

Contrary to what the books say about cardinals, they often come to feast on my peanut feeder which has no perches.  The shelled peanuts must be too much to resist, as I even had a robin cling for dear life while flapping away until it got one of the peanuts in its beak before flying off.  It just goes to show you that the birds do not read the books and are willing to adapt to whatever conditions humans put out there to obtain food.  I can not fault Canada geese and the poop they deposit over parks and other open areas as we put plenty of man-made water sources out there for them to use.  Hey, we invited them with this wonderful habitat.

The suet attracts the nut, seed, and fruit eaters to my window.  Sometimes I melt and mix my own combinations in the feeder of seeds and fruits but the store bought cakes have more variety and attract so many great birds.  I have woodpeckers, chickadees, and nuthatches that are regular visitors.

My favorite bird of all my visiting feathered friends is the chickadee.  They will come in close and wait while I fill the feeders just a few feet away. They have a pleasing song and such friendly ways.  They always take a seed and fly back to the tree to perch and eat.  I have always wanted to take the time to train them to eat right out of my hand.  Chickadees are well known for their lack of timid character and will do this if they become accustomed to your presence near the feeder.  Some winter I will take the time to sit out and the cold and do this.

My third feeder is a squirrel-proof that I fill with oil sunflower.  The front perch is spring loaded so the birds can eat freely.  The upper plate closes down on the seed tray if too much weight pushes down on the perch.  It has successfully kept the squirrels at bay.  One winter the squirrels had eaten over 200 pounds of seeds before February.  My husband felt it was a ridiculous amount of money to spend on seed, and I had to agree.  I had tried using hot pepper additives to the seed.  Hot pepper is not sensed by birds, but is by squirrels.  We have squirrels which must come from south of the border as this was not a deterant to them at all.  I think they liked it and ate even more.

The other standard bird accessory is the heated birdbath I received from my girls several Christmases ago.  Birds need an open source of drinking water during the winter.  This picture was taken when it was down to single digits last week.  The ice ring does stay at the edge when it is so cold, but the water does stay open.  During times when we get up into the 20 degree area or higher, the sparrows come in groups and take turns bathing even in the winter.  I have to refill the water after all the communal splashing is done.  It is a very low draw of energy to keep this plugged in for so much enjoyment.

For very little effort I can enjoy my backyard in winter.  There is a bit of clean up in spring but I usually rake the shells right into the flower beds as mulch.

The only sunflowers that I can successfully grow in my yard are the ones that blow out of the feeder and into the surrounding areas.  They are always beautiful specimens.  This particular  came out of the second floor tube feeder I had the previous winter and produced blooms all summer.  It ended up with a 2" stalk that took 3 years to decompose.  It produced so much seed that the finches came all summer long.  The sunflowers God plants for me are the only ones that stand a chance with the chipmunks in my yard.
I encourage you to try bird feeding yourself.  You can feed birds even if all you have is an apartment balcony.  I recommend purchasing seed and suet from a store that specializes in wild bird feeding as their turn over is better and there is less chance that it will be contaminated by other things such as chemicals and fertilizers that are common in other stores.  I bought a 50# bag of sunflower from a farm supply store once that wasn't attracting birds.  When I looked closely at the seed, each one had a tiny hole in it where a small weevil had gone in and ate out the meat.  So much for saving money there.  Wild Birds Unlimited* is my local source for seed.  If there is a problem with their seed they will take care of me without spending more.  I am able to purchase a year's worth of seed and "store" my extra there until I need to pick up more.  Many people take advantage of the early fall sales to save on their seed.  It is fun to be able to walk and and get more without any more money exchanging hands.  The staff in the store loves to talk birds and wildlife so there is an added bonus.  Sure, I end of getting other things sometimes but I am sure I needed it any way (wink, wink).  Have fun feeding the birds.  I can't wait to show you the photos of me feeding the chickadees...next year!

*Wild Birds unlimited is available on-line at
http://shop.wbu.com/home/index/567.0?gclid=CK3-49Gi560CFYvRKgod3WTXXA