A cold Sunday morning, fire in the fireplace, relaxing on the sofa with a cup of hot coffee, a pair of binoculars by my side, I am enjoying the parade of songbirds visiting our feeders. Life is good. It was a productive birding morning. My wife and I totaled 17 species between 10 a.m. and noon.
The author’s squirrel-proof feeder set up for winter feeding with white millet on the lower level for White-throated Sparrows and a variety of other seeds in the tube and on the top tray. Note the simple wire suet cage attached to the pole. Photo by Jody Walthall.
It is fascinating to observe the different food preferences, feeding behaviors, and social interactions between the species. Our primary feeder is an easy-to-clean tube feeder on a pole with a squirrel/raccoon baffle below it. We feed a blend of black oil sunflower, hulled sunflower (sometimes called hearts or chips), and safflower seed in the tube feeder. Cardinals, Chickadees, Titmice, White-breasted Nuthatch, and Downy Woodpeckers visit regularly.
On the tray below the tube feeder, we put out small handfuls of peanut halves and hulled sunflower along with crumbled suet cakes. The peanut halves go quickly. They are eaten by Brown Thrashers, Blue Jays, Red-bellied Woodpeckers, Tufted Titmice, Carolina Wrens, and Summer Tanagers. Usually, these birds grab a peanut half and fly off to eat it elsewhere. Blue Jays may stuff down four or more halves in one sitting; they are known stock pilers.
Chipping Sparrows, a common Tallahassee winter migrant, prefer white proso millet. Normally we scatter this seed on a flat stone platform feeder, six inches off the ground. Other ground feeding birds like the Rufous-sided Towhee and Mourning Dove also prefer white millet. That Sunday morning one Slate-colored Junco joined the Chipping Sparrows feeding on white millet.
A Carolina Wren fills the air with its vibrant chirps. Photo by Stephen Gensits.
The problem with feeding on an open rock is that squirrels can easily access the seed. Because we have had problems with squirrels in the attic, we try not to deliberately feed them. Instead, we have added a platform feeder with an easy-to-clean screen floor below the tube feeder tray, but above the squirrel/raccoon baffle. We scatter white proso millet all winter on this tray to the delight of many Chipping Sparrows. After the sparrows leave, we put that feeder away until the following winter. The squirrels can still enjoy anything that drops to the ground.
The suet cakes were eaten by seven species that morning: Downy Woodpecker, Yellow-rumped Warbler, Orange-crowned Warbler, Gray Catbird, Carolina Wren, Summer Tanager, and Baltimore Oriole. The Orioles, about 10 of them, also went to a special feeder that dispensed an orange slice along with grape jelly. We do not put this feeder out until we see Orioles at the suet feeder. Sometimes we attach a wire mesh suet cake cage to the pole between the baffle and the tube feeder. This is another good way to dispense suet.
Goldfinch have not visited our yard yet this year, but their food preferences are black oil sunflower, sunflower chips, and Nyjer seed. The winter plumage of Goldfinch is rather drab, a “dirty” yellow/green with distinctive black and white wings. In Tallahassee, the males will sport brilliant yellow feathers around the first of April and leave Tallahassee by mid-April going to their northern nesting areas, Atlanta to Canada. When purchasing Nyjer seed towards the end of the Goldfinch season, buy smaller quantities. Any leftover seed will not keep until their arrival the following winter.
Chipping Sparrows eating white proso millet. Photo by Sandy Beck.
To lessen your carbon footprint, rather than feeding Goldfinch Nyjer shipped from Africa or India, use American-grown black oil sunflower or sunflower hearts. This hulled seed is also favored by many birds that cannot crack open a sunflower seed such as Bluebirds, Pine Warblers, and Wrens.
Also, in relation to your carbon footprint, if you like to give your birds a special treat of mealworms, consider their source. Read the label. Most dehydrated mealworms are shipped from China. One Chinese insect farm ships 200,000 tons of dehydrated mealworms worldwide a year. They also ship 50 tons a month of live mealworms. Purchase mealworms raised in the United States for a more carbon-friendly source. They are easily raised at home as well.
I recommend feeding mealworms on a limited basis, as a special treat, not as a constant food source. Mealworms do not provide complete nutrition for insect-eating birds, as most are lacking in calcium.
Offer suet this winter to attract birds like this colorful Baltimore Oriole. Photo by Sandy Beck.
A flock of Robins also came by that Sunday morning, but they are not seed eaters and seldom visit feeders. They gorged on holly berries and took advantage of the bird bath. A bird bath with plentiful cover nearby for hiding and staging is needed by every species. Refresh water every three days to prevent mosquitoes and disease.
Some folks use multiple feeders and spend considerable money on bird food. I like to keep it simple. I may use the four feeders mentioned, but when the winter migrants leave in spring, I reduce it to one feeder for the summer and fall. Only put out as many feeders as you can keep clean. They should be washed with hot soapy water and rinsed with a mild bleach or vinegar solution and then rinsed again with fresh water. Allow them to dry before refilling.
Feeding our feathered friends is an enjoyable hobby. For me, it is uplifting and educational. Keep in mind that the birds do not need the seed. You shouldn’t feel obligated to feed them. They do very well on their own in nature if good habitat is provided. And that is a topic for another day!