Back Yard Bird Feeding

Birds are warm blooded vertebrate animals covered with feathers. Their normal body temperature is 105 degrees. Some times their temperature is a little higher due to a life of intense activity.

Birds find their own food during the spring, summer and fall months. When winter comes some of them need help from bird loving humans, especially during and after snow and ice storms. When snow covers the ground, ice crust will form on top of the snow. This covers their natural food.

Many stylish feeders are in the market today. Some prevent squirrels from invading the food, such as the squirrel buster classic shown below . This type attracts the beautiful yellow or purple finch, nuthatch, titmouse,and others, they love the black oil sunflower seeds. My favorite feeder is the wooden one shown in the picture, it has a small mesh enclosure on the sides, for the suet or other treats for the birds. Attracting birds to your bird feeder is easy. Birds have a keen sense of sight. By setting your feeder out in the early fall with sunflower and wild bird seed, they will become use to finding their food at this spot. Later during the winter months when food is hard to find, many different birds will become your every day winter guests.

Setting up a bird feeder near a window is a good way to watch a variety of birds visit frequently for food you set out for them. If possible you could hang the feeder under the eves or over hang of the roof in front of a window. This will keep the weather off the feeder during the rain and snow. This also provides close up viewing of these fine feathered friends. Notice the picture. This feeder is hung under the over hang of our roof directly out side the kitchen window on the east side of the house.

Foods birds like to eat: Suet (it does not freeze) - a favorite to the jay’s, woodpeckers, and other insect eating birds. Meat scraps, fat, finely chopped hard boiled eggs, boiled potatoes, crumbled dog biscuits, peanut butter, rice, rolled oatmeal, coconut, lettuce and celery leaves, raisins, fruits, wild bird seeds, cracked corn mixed in their seeds and sunflower seeds. Black oil sun flower seeds seem to be favorite to all the birds.

Continue feeding them until spring, when they will find plenty of their natural food. They will keep visiting year round if you choose to keep feeding.

Try this treat for birds: Find a pine cone. Tie a string around the cone leaving a long enough end for tying. Cover the entire cone with peanut butter, then roll it in bird seeds. You can add bits of fruit and other treats birds like to eat. Tie the birdseed covered cone where the birds have easy access to it. I tie it to the feeder. Kids enjoy making this project and watching the birds come up to eat.

Grab a good book on back yard birds so you can keep track of the birds visiting you every season. This is fun and educational for every one that loves birds.