STARTING OUT

You can start feeding birds anytime, and feed throughout the year if you want! Birds can use supplemental help in the early spring when seed is scarce, and whenever the weather is severe. Feeders won’t make birds ‘dependent’ on you, because their diets are varied and they always seek out natural sources of food, too.

Spring brings a number of migratory birds that are not seed-eaters. Add fruit feeders and nectar feeders in late April and early May to satisfy the energy needs of these early arrivals.The nesting period creates different nutritional requirements. You may want to add a bowl of mealworms to your feeder menu during this time, or as a special treat anytime. Yes, Bird-Song carries mealworms!

FEEDER LOCATION

Where should your feeders be placed? Well, first consider from which window you want to watch the birds! Then, help shelter the feeders from the wind by locating them near trees or the east or south side of the house. Be easy on yourself, too, because you need access year-round. Filling the feeders is vital to the birds when the weather is poor, so make it convenient for you to fill them.

Don’t forget the mess of bird droppings and discarded hulls! In fact, you may want to move the feeders a foot or two each season to give the ground a chance to recover. (A tip: switching to a no-shell blend means less clean-up under the feeders!) Also, put feeders where squirrels can’t reach– those critters can jump 6' straight up, and 10' horizontally from a garage roof or tree trunk!

Make sure to advertise your feeder to the birds: scatter a little seed on the ground below it, or attach a piece of tinfoil or a colorful ribbon to the top to attract attention.

USING FEEDERS TO BE SELECTIVE

Too many birds? You can restrict the number and type of birds you draw by putting out smaller amounts of seed or selecting seeds that appeal to specific birds. Or put a cage around the feeder to screen out larger birds.

Birds tend to kick out the seed they don’t like to get at their favorites. To cut down on wasted seed, instead of a mixed blend in every feeder, put different seed types (like straight black oil sunflower) in some separate feeders.

Tube feeders– add a tray to get more birds, or remove a tray to narrow the types of birds that will visit. Shortening the perches on a tube feeder limits it to smaller birds if you have a blackbird problem.

Suet feeders– an upside-down suet feeder discourages any birds other than woodpeckers, nuthatches and chickadees, because they can cling to it. Or, if you want more variety of birds, add perches or a platform under the suet feeder.

Nectar feeders– since the average hummingbird drinks less than one ounce of nectar a day, keep nectar feeders small unless you have a lot of hummingbirds. Too much left over nectar will ferment, making it toxic for these tiny birds.

Orioles like the same nectar, but with larger beaks, they need a bigger port to drink from. Some nectar feeders are designed to accommodate both bird types, but you'll have the best luck with separate feeders to avoid competition.

WEATHER PROTECTION

Water can get into almost any feeder through the feeding ports and spoil the seed. Sheltered feeding ports or a weather dome over the feeder will help keep seed dry. Make sure trays have drainage holes, or are made of a screen mesh for ventilation.
A hummingbird feeder brush, a weather baffle, bird feeder cleaner and nectar port brushes

If birds abandon your feeder, it may need cleaning. Ideally, clean feeders regularly once a month with warm sudsy water. There are commercial bird feeder cleaners available, or disinfect by adding a bit of bleach to the rinse (one capful bleach to a gallon of water, a one to ten ratio). Do a final rinse with clean plain water, and let it dry completely. Nyjer and feeders with hulled seed may need cleaning more often if the seed gets wet.

Rinse nectar feeders two or three times a week when you change the nectar. Use only hot water to clean, NO soap or bleach. Bird-Song carries a variety of brushes designed to make cleaning tube and nectar feeders a breeze.

PESTS

In a nutshell, there are two main categories of pests– ones who want the food (squirrels, chipmunks, mice, starlings and house sparrows), and those who want the birds (hawks and cats).

Here are some ideas to help discourage squirrels:

• invest in a squirrel-proof feeder
• make the pole slippery with vaseline or vegetable oil
• add a baffle above or below the feeder
• Sometimes success is just keeping the squirrels busy: feed them their favorites away from other feeders, or get a playful squirrel feeder like a Squngee or Cobs-a-Twirl.
• To keep them from the area completely, look into a "predator" product like Squirrel Go Way that makes them think there's a fox in the area.

Ants: an ant moat hanging above your fruit and nectar feeder helps to trap these pests before they get to the sweet stuff. Or try vegetable oil or a sticky product on the base of the feeder pole to keep them from crawling up in the first place.

Bees: lure them away from nectar feeders with an open saucer of Mountain Dew or other super-sugared liquid. A variation from an inventive birder is to put tin foil over the saucer and cut a hole in the middle– bees are lured into the cup and can't get out.