Feeding the Birds

My backyard is like a nature preserve most days. Deer stroll in and out of it at their own will, not at all bothered by the people or large dog who live here.  Squirrels and chipmunks have endless entertainment running around the big boulders and rocks hunting for food.  A family of fox call our side yard their home. And a ground hog has even been spotted a few times.  But by far my favorite guests are the birds.  They don't dig up my flowers or eat my bulbs, but rather eat the bad bugs and add a little color to the sky. 

I kind of spoil our birds, I keep their feeders filled from about November to April thinking that between April and October there should be plenty of natural food for them to eat.  The only problem with feeding the birds is the squirrels.

I have had several bird feeders, always trying to outsmart the squirrels and have found that the Droll brand feeders seem to do the best job at this.  They are a little more expensive but they are really durable and are something you will have for years.  My favorite feeder of theirs is the Yankee Flipper.

You need to watch the product video on this one - it is hysterical.  When a squirrel tries to eat the seed and leans on the birds' resting bar, the whole bar jerks and "flips" the squirrel off.  Its great.  I have seen this live and am always amazed by it. After awhile, the squirrels do catch on to this trick and figure out other ways to get the seed, but at least for a little while I have a bit of entertainment.

I also keep a suet feeder filled all winter.  Wood peckers really like suet and my yard this fall has been filled with them.  My first suet feeder was a cheapy from the grocery store ---- it lasted one night.  I hung it from a normal shepherds hook and didn't even think of wiring it onto the pole, which is why it lasted only one night.  The squirrels must have dragged it into the woods that night to have the delicious suet all to themselves, selfish little buggers!  After this experience, I invested in a double suet feeder and some wire.  The double feeder has a cage around it so the squirrels can't get to it and the wire is my extra insurance.

I have also found that different seeds bring different birds.  Your run of the mill grocery store blend is junk, just don't buy it.  It has so much waste in it and will just give you weeds on the ground below the feeder.  Find a feed store and see if they have their own mix, these are usually made special for your area and will have less waste.  I also sometimes mix a few different seeds on my own to make a blend.  I try to pick seeds that don't have a shell so it isn't so messy.  Right now I have shelled sunflower seeds and thistle.  Best part of this mix is that the squirrels don't seem to like it, they aren't even bothering with it which is amazing to me!  Just be sure to store the seed in a steel container.  I was optimistic last year and thought the mice in my garage couldn't eat through a big rubbermaid container.....so wrong and disgusted on the day I opened up the container to find a mouse inside!

While you are at it, might as well pick up a bird book too.  As kids, my mom always had bird books in the kitchen on the window sill so that we could identify all the birds in our yard.  Kids are fascinated by this; it is especially fun on a snowy morning when the birds are all out looking for food.

Happy Birding!