Focus on the Feeders

This weekend was Mass Audubon's annual backyard bird count, a project called Focus on Feeders. We participate every year, and it's great fun for amateur birders like ourselves! Since I was sick in bed yesterday, we unfortunately lost a day's worth of counting. But happily we've had a steady stream today, and at the bottom of this post (a long ways down, lol) I have our count totals.

Before I get to that though, I'd like to give you a tour of our feeders and to offer some basic bird feeding tips, because I am often asked how it is we get so many birds to come to our feeders ...

I would say, four things make all the difference:

• location
• consistency
• quality
• quantity

So let's discuss. :)

Location, location, location ...

Fortunately, our home is well-situated for attracting wildlife of all kinds. Our yard is not big, but we have many trees and shrubs close to our house, so visiting critters can safely dart back and forth between feeders and cover. Second of all, our property backs up to fairly deep conservation woods and wetlands. I am certain we enjoy such numbers and variety of birds because of this extremely supportive habitat.

If you have no nearby vegetation, don't fret - birds will still come to your feeders! It might take them longer to find you, but they will eventually locate your offerings. In the meantime, consider planting some shrubs or even small trees about your property - as a source of cover and food.

For instance, we are in the process of planting more things that will attract and sustain our feathered friends - native berries, for starters. It is my dream to attact a cedar waxwing someday, and from what I understand it's the berries that will do it. Stop by your local birding store or nursery, and ask what native plants will best attract and benefit your local species. Or, just do a quick google search - look up what birds frequent your area (Audubon chapters are a perfect place to start) and then google some more. Check out books at your library, too. I just received two excellent books on this subject:

• Attracting Birds & Butterflies
• and
• Welcoming Wildlife to the Garden

To this area of thought, I would also add the importance of visibility. We keep all our feeders on one side of our house - where there are lots of windows from where we may enjoy the show at any moment of the day. Keeping in mind proximity to cover, try to station your feeders where it will be easy - effortess even - to watch. In sight in mind as they say, and the more you watch, the more you can't stop watching! It really becomes a habit, in the best sense of the word. But first, you have to remember to look. :)

Patience is a virtue.

Or in other words, don't give up! For the birds' sakes and your own. First of all, the birds will come to rely upon you for food. This is critical in the winter when natural food sources are not readily available.

Second of all, sometimes you do have to wait even to get that first little bird! And then you might have weeks of barely any activity and you just really have to wait. But do hang on!

We've been feeding birds in this house for almost eight years now, and we weren't getting this many birds in the beginning! The people who lived here before us were not bird feeders so it took some time to get started. But every stage has been fun. Every new bird sighted brings a thrill of discovery!

And the more we notice, the more we want to learn! Learning is the best way to pass the time between new sightings.

So while you're waiting for the birds to notice you, drum up some birding fun. Start by informing yourselves; acquaint yourself and your children with the common birds in your area. I am constantly amazed at how few species my neighbors - longtime residents here - can identify. Allow me a brief moment on my soap box would you? ;)

At one time, generations ago, people had a much stronger connection with nature; they were not quite so removed from it as we are today. Correspondingly then, most folks had at least a passing familiarity with their local flora and fauna. Today many people know only one or two birds by sight - for some it's all just "robins and pigeons." (I'm quoting a neighbor here, lol.) Well I say, how much better for our children to grow up raised on fresh air, with a true appreciation for the earth all around them? And how much better for ourselves if we can breathe and appreciate right along with them?

Fostering such appreciation can only begin with familiarity. To know something intimately we must first seek a level of understanding, whatever that level may be. Simply a deeper sense of awe or perhaps a career path previously unconsidered. Fill your children's hearts with a fondness for nature, and when they are grown, they will be at ease in God's beautiful world.

And where there's comfort, there will be joy. :)

There are all kinds of little activities to assist this endeavor. All along our birding journey, we've kept up our reading and field-guide checking. Make it a game for your kids! Get them excited! Stock up on bird-themed stickers, rubber stamps and patterned paper. Make up little notebooks or a large wall-sized chart. Keep track of your birding adventures, even if you have to go a bit beyond the backyard to jump-start them. Stop by a nearby pond or field and just observe. Visit a local wildlife sanctuary and participate in guided bird tours. At home, every time a new bird arrives at your feeders, make it a celebration! Find out all you can about the bird. Draw pictures, write down thoughts and questions. Look up bird poems to memorize. And why not bake special bird-shaped cookies for tea? I could go on and on here (and maybe I will at some future point) but in the interest of time (mine and yours), let's move on ...

You get what you pay for.

Quality seed does truly make a difference. Buy the best seed you can afford. Visit a bird store if you have one nearby and compare prices; they might not be that much more than the supermarket brand. Plus, the cheaper brands usually have a lot of twigs and filler stuff in them. I have never had luck with the bags of mixed seed you might pick up at the grocery store ~ the kind with striped seeds and yellow bits.

I buy, almost exclusively, black oil sunflower seed. I prefer to buy it from Wild Birds in the next town, but I admit too often I pick up the 40 lb. bag at Petsmart. If you plan to buy in bulk, ask the bird store owner if there are discounts (and possibly storage) options for such a purchase.

In addition to black oil sunflower seed, we also put out suet cakes and large birdseed cakes. Suet cakes and other feeder treats you can definitely make on your own, and that's something on my learn-to-do list. (An economical and fun project!) The seed cakes are rather expensive, I'll admit. But they really attract the woodpeckers, and oh, do I love woodpeckers. :)

As for other kinds of seed, I'm tempted to try safflower as I hear cardinals love it. I also hear squirrels don't love it, so if those critters are a problem for you, you might try this specialty seed. We recently stopped buying nyjer (or thistle) seed when we noticed the finches regularly ate from the black oil seed and only turned to the thistle feeders when the others ran dry. And I stopped throwing down cracked corn long ago, too.

Truly, I've found most species go for the black oil seed no matter what else is offered. And it does make things simpler to just use one seed type.

And finally ...

Too much is never enough.

Sometimes less is more, but this is not one of those times. ;)

When it comes to birdfeeders, the more the merrier. And admittedly we do have A LOT of feeders and we keep them stocked all the time, even in the summer. But instead of me going on and on about why it's a good idea to have lots of feeders, let me take you on a little tour of our feeding yard:

This feeder is just inside the front gate. It holds a lot of seed so it stays filled for a good long time. Even the bigger birds like cardinals and jays can perch here and eat, but the squirrels pretty much leave it alone.

This is a special birdfeeder I hung on the side of our shed. All kinds of birds like to visit Our Lady of Grace. :)

This feeder attracts squirrels who like to dive in, grab a seed and then sit on top and eat. (We lost the cap to raccoons long ago.) You should see their little feet sticking out - it's hysterical! (I've got pictures somewhere ...) The tiny red squirrel prefers this feeder to all the others, so it's a keeper.

These are the window feeders, each one the same, filled with black oil seed and hanging from an angled pole. These hang in front of windows in the learning room and family room. You can sit and watch the birds very closely with these feeders. These are entirely squirrel proof.

And here we have the window-sill mounted feeder. You are supposed to be able to see through the windows in back, (while the birds cannot) but we could only see shadows. I moved the panels to the middle and we can see the birds that land on either side. They got used to us pretty quickly.

Here is one of the two seed cake feeders:

It has seeds and nuts and dried friuts all caked together. The birds love this.

Case in point: the white-breasted nuthatch. :)

Our two tray feeders attract everyone. Literally, there is not a bird I have not seen in one or both of these trays. What's especially nice is they allow the ground feeders like cardinals, jays, juncos and doves to eat safely, and at eye level.

A few favorite resources. The bottom two I've already mentioned. My other favorite sources for bird information are:

• The Backyard Bird Feeder's Bible
• Handbook of Nature Study
• A Blessing of Toads: A Gardener's Guide to Living with Nature
• Birds of New England

A final word about record keeping. While I LOVE the idea of keeping a hand-drawn journal (in the manner of Edith Holden, for example), it is impractical for me to do so at this time. Instead, I have found it convenient to jot down my random little nature notes here at my blog. (You can read them daily beneath my picture up on the top left.) Every week or so, I cut and paste the notes into a post for my other blog, The Nature Corner. I've been keeping it - I just realized now - for over a year! And so, if I go back and look over all those notes from the past year, they will make up an almanac of sorts - a very personalized account of a New England Year. :)

Blogging is so very easy - you might consider keeping a family blog (private or password protected if you like) exclusively for your birding adventures! You could post photos, along with any notes or observations. A scrapbook of course is ideal, but how often do you envision yourselves sitting down to cut, paste and journal?

OK, I'd better wrap up this post! If you've read this far, I thank you for your very kind attention! :) Now, before I sign off, here is our bird tally from today. The sun is going down so there won't be too many more (though the cardinals do love this dusky time of day) ...

• American Crow (4)
• American Goldfinch (2)
• American Robin (60+) (A flock passed through.)
• Black-capped Chickadee (2)
• Blue Jay (4)
• Dark-eyed Junco (8)
• Downy Woodpecker (1)
• European Starling (1) (I spied it tucked in w/the robins.)
• House Finch (1)
• House Sparrow (12)
• Northern Cardinal (1)
• Tufted Titmouse (2)
• White-breasted Nuthatch (2)
• Cooper's Hawk (1)

So who was at your feeders today?

Comments

[Ruth Tucker]

Excellent, excellent post, Dawn! I have been wanting to read something like this for a while. I'm looking forward to our Spring visitors. Thank you very much.

[Jennifer]

OK, you've inspired me (again!). We have one lone feeder on our front porch and we scare away the birds when we rush to the window to look at them. Surely I can do better than that! I went to the Wild Birds Unlimited website and they have a store in Fort Collins!
Jennifer

[Charlotte]

Hi Dawn-
Wonderful post! I have a question though. We too back up to wetlands/woods. We have many a racoon raid our feeders and such. My biggest concern?? Mice!!! I have had to move the feeders waaaaaaay back almost outside the back gate in fear that if I put them too close to the house...well...you know where I'm going with this....
Any tips on enjoying the birds but making it so that other critters don't get too comfy..ahem...in OUR abode??
Thanks!
Charlotte

[Elizabeth]

I just want to say that I really, really look forward to new posts from you, you are one of the first blogs I check in bloglines for updates! :)

And thank you for your timely post... we have lots of bushes in our yard, and we do have birds in them, but sadly I'm lacking in my bird knowledge. I love watching them though and do want to get to "know" them better. Today we picked up our first bird guide for the area. Oh, and our garage doors tend to stay open and now we have birds nesting in there, though I'm not quite sure where! We have to let them out in the morning, though I think I will get dh to open the window so they don't have to wait until 8 a.m. when we open the door usually.

This post was so helpful, I'm sure I'll refer to it as I'm hoping to start setting up bird feeders myself.

Oh, and your love of squirrels... we have so many squirrels around here. At our old house in Michigan the deck railing butted up to a window, and a big pine tree was next to the house so that made for great squirrel watching.

I do have a question, though... do you have birdbaths as well?

(And go Patriots! :))

[Caroline]

Oh Dawn, another wonderful, inspiring post! I love the feeders on your windows! If I ever have a proper house, I will be getting those. I'm also curious about avoiding other critters. In our case we get rats. As soon as they arrived dh put his foot down on our feeder. :(

[joann10]

Thanks for another wonderful post! I will have to get outside and fill up my feeders!

[Mamalion]

We too have many feeders and feed lots of feathered friends. And I have also found that anyone loves the black oilers, and our finches did the same thing- would only eat the thistle if there was nothing else. We are even blessed to have a Pileated Woodpecker pair frequenting our woods. Boy, let me tell you, if you've never seen one of these Bad Boys, you're in for a treat! And their calls are soooo cool!

We spent a lot of time birdwatching when I was pregnant with #5, and couldn't move from the couch without throwing up. I could lay there, and we'd birdwatch. We learned so much that winter.

We finally had to put a couple of our feeders on a long wire line, due to our raccoons. It also solved the squirrel problem, since they can't reach the feeders now. It's really funny to watch them try though. Our cure for the raccoon and rodent problem is a large black Lab who hates raccoons. Now if I can just get the deer to stop knocking the feeders down, life would be good!

[Cheryl]

This is a very inspiring post. We've had no birds over here. My dh just bought me some sunflower and safflower seeds because no birds were coming for our wild birdseed mix. I just pulled out Pocketful of Pinecones this morning because I've been thinking about how much I love the simplicity of it and the slow moving lifestyle. I've been thinking about how I want to start making nature study a priority. It always seems to get pushed out until after I get everything else done, so that it rarely happens. I loved your post.

[PaulaB52]

You know, we have Cedar Waxwings come through mid-Feb going North and they eat the seed pods on my crepe myrtles. I leave them on the tree till early march when the CW are gone.

We switch to safflower when the blackbirds and grackles begin to invade our feeders. They hate the stuff!

Our bird count was much less than yours, but we did have about 40 goldfinches this morning when I did our count. They are so darn greedy, they are keeping our regular visitors away.

[mel]

We just started our birdfeeding this winter, inspired largely by you!, and we have lots of starlings here, a blue jay, a few we haven't identified just yet, but our favorites by far are a male and female cardinal that come, always together. :)

[Candace]

Dawn, this post is very timely for me too! We did a lot of birdwatching this past spring and summer (which was new for us!) and just recently have been figuring out the best things to put out for winter. We have had a LOT of cardinals and a LOT of black-capped chickadees down at our East TN home!! We get so excited when we see them! But we still have so much to learn, so thank you for sharing!

Candace

[deezie]

I am glad you are feeling well enough to post. I love all the feeders, My neighbors get so upset with me and my feeders they say it attracts rats and mice. Oh well. I adore all of yours
Can you tell me how you get your pictures to go with your talking? when I post on my new blog all the pictures go on top?
thanks
deezie

[Kristen]

What a wonderful post, Dawn. I just had to comment on the squirrel proof feeder. When we lived in Virginia we had a similar feeder. It did keep the squirrels out, but one day we watch the black bear come, take it off the pole, lay down and pour all the seed into his mouth! What a neat memory that feeder of yours brings to mind.

God bless,
Kristen

[Gill]

I thought I was doing well with 6 different stations! We get mostly bluetits and great tits, nuthatches and sparrows during the winter...they are our hardy residents who don't migrate to southern Europe or Africa. We try to fend off the magpies who love to steal the whole birdseed cake and fly off with it! Sadly we don't get squirrels- I think there are just too many miles of forest in Norway for them to come near houses. I found a lovely squirrel book recently which my children aged 4,7 & 8 enjoyed... The Squirrel Wife by Phillipa Pearce. I think you might enjoy it too. Gill.

[Terrell]

Just wanted to let you know we linked to this article in the March issue of Learning in the Great Outdoors. Thanks!

http://aloneonalimb.blogspot.com/2008/03/learning-in-great-outdoors-10.html

[Dana]

What a great post! And, I thought I was getting "too many" feeders and I think I have only 5 bird feeders and 1 squirrel feeder. It's hard to believe, but 3 of my feeders broke within the past week! Ugh! So, I need to repair them. Anyway, thanks for the tour!