I have recently begun feeding wild birds. So far I have used suet and a bag of mixed seeds. I also plan to install a finch feeder. I've noticed that there are only a few kinds of birds coming to the feeders. All I see are nuthatches, juncos, goldfinches, jays, cardinals, chickadees, and 2 kinds of woodpeckers. I would like to attract as many different kinds of birds as possible. Do you have any suggestions?

Also, One day last week I saw a very tiny bird that looked like it had been spraypainted very bright hot pink. The under feathers appeared white, but the rest was so bright it looked unreal. Got any ideas what that might be?

-- debra in ks (solid-dkn@msn.com), November 28, 2000

Answers

I feed about 80% black oil sunflower seed mixed with a little safflower. Then, if you want quail and birds like that, put some wild bird mix on the ground. Put out some suet in the winter too. You can get it all at feed stores cheaper than at Wally-World or specialty places. You also need fresh water in two or more bird baths nearby as well as cover for protection. The birdbaths should be one shallow and one about four inches deep. Little birds don't like deep baths and big birds splash all the water out of shalow ones, so you need both. That works for me. Cover for protection is important. Also, I have three different feeders of different sizes and shapes. It's just my idea that if birds prefer different baths maybe they prefer different feeders too. But mainly to keep the big birds from chasing the smaller ones away. It sounds like you have a pretty good variety coming to the feeder now. I enjoy watching my feeders this time of year because now and then something unusual stops in for a meal.

-- Joe (jcole@apha.com), November 28, 2000.

Something to do after Christmas, if you have a real tree: If it's a tall tree, cut it in half crossways, prop it so it won't fall, decorate it with strands of pop corn, cranberries, stale bread. Put orange halves on the tree like ornaments-attach with string or wire. Use your imagination.

Roll pine cones in peanut butter then roll in birdseed. Hang where ever.

Lots of birds love sunflower seeds, but you have to be careful where you put them, things don't grow well where the shells fall (that's called allelopathy).

-- Cindy (atilrthehony_1@yahoo.com), November 28, 2000.

Something to do after Christmas if you have a real tree: Cut tree crossways in half, prop it so it won't fall, string strands of pop corn, cranberries, bread cubes, etc. Attach orange halves with wire or string to the tree, fill empty orange rinds with seed or raisins. Use your imagination for the tree.

Roll pine cones in peanut butter, then roll in birdseed. Hang.

Some birds love sunflower seeds, but be careful where you put them. Things won't grow well where the shell fall(this is called allelopathy).

-- Cindy (atilrthehony_1@yahoo.com), November 28, 2000.

Last year, we "decorated" the evergreens by our front walkway with popcorn chains and honey and seed "ornaments" for the birds.

-- Jay Blair in N. AL (jayblair678@yahoo.com), November 28, 2000.

One thing you might try is finding out what the birds eat naturally this time of year in your area and planting some in your yard. Oh a word of caution...birds aren't the only thing that like seeds, black bears are often attracted to bird feeders. I prefer to encourage wildlife naturally on my place by leaving undisturbed wild areas and planting things that attract critters to my place.

-- Amanda in Mo (aseley@townsqr.com), November 28, 2000.

I feed gray stripped sunflower seeds and mixed seed. They also love peanut butter. I just spread it on the tree. My aunt use to feed donuts also. They all fly about over my head as I go to feed them. It's like a Disney film (smile).

-- Pam Creighton (zpjc5_@hotmail.com), November 28, 2000.

Debra - sounds like you are really attracting most of the birds that stick around in the winter. The hot pink bird was probably a purple finch. They tend to look like they have been dipped head first into cranberry juice. I buy black sunflower seed and thistle seed at the mill, and also put out the fat from my meats in the winter. The summer song birds don't seem to come to the feeders to much, but I feed hummingbirds and Baltimore orioles. I also find that the little Blue Indigos come to the feeder in the summer. The will eat cracked corn and chicken scratch. I also put out some wheat.

-- Diane (gardiacaprines@yahoo.com), November 28, 2000.

Black oil sunflower seed attracts the widest variety of birds.Add thistle seed for finches in a seperate feeder and that abt covers it.We put out corn in the evening for deer,turkey finish it off in A.M.If you put corn out during the day, it draws the crows.

-- sharon wt (wildflower@ekyol.com), November 28, 2000.

Sounds like you've already got quite a good number of birds coming. I offer raw beef suet in bags, as well as several varieties of processed suet/raisin/peanut/seed bars, peanut rejects (preferably raw), whole and cracked corn, any nuts I can get cheaply (at feed store), left over bread, black sunflower in hull and hulled, niger seed in special feeder, crushed egg shells, bird grit (supermarket) -- and the real ace up my sleeve in winter -- a water dish that is heated and doesn't freeze over. All birds are looking for water in the winter, whatever you're feeding.

In summer I also had black-masked blue warblers showing up to the same foods, and northern orioles came for the hummingbird feeders (white sugar and water only, no coloured stuff, sodium benzoate,or honey), so I started offering halves of oranges impaled on brush that they loved, and their real passion -- grape jelly. They go ga-ga for that. Put it in a special feeder or offer it in shallow dishes where raccoons can't get it.

Safflower is supposedly good for cardinals -- but we're too far north for them, and it goes uneaten in mixtures. Same for milo, except for a few mourning doves. If you do get doves, they love split peas. Millet is popular for many small finches and sparrows.

If you have a passion for birds, you can also offer bugs -- i have known bird lovers to buy worms from bait stores for robins and bluebirds that came back too soon, I've hung out clusters of grapes for the robins when I feel bad for them.

Shallow pans of water for bathing (in summer or milder climates than the frozen north)-- esp. one with a dripper -- will attract birds that don't use feeders. Last summer I had a white-eyed vireo show up for that, as well as some flycatchers, and the local tree swallows.

I've had trouble with squirrels raiding, as well as raccoons and yes, bears. Bears are the most worrisome, but raccoons seem to be the biggest headache. Get some big bottles of cheap cayenne pepper from the grocery store and mix it into your seed liberally. Birds do not have the neural receptors to have it blow their heads off, and actually get benefit from the vit. A content of the pepper. The mammals all have the receptors and keeps them out after a few tastes of that. (deer too)

-- Julie Froelich (firefly1@nnex.net), November 29, 2000.

My warning about feeding the birds and attracting pests: Don't forget that mice (and possibly rats, if they're in your area) will be attracted as well. You won't necessarily see them coming for the food -- but they'll be there. They may decide that moving into your house is a good idea -- I had it happen to me.

My two cats were both excellent mousers, and all they could do was keep the population down a bit. I never did figure out where the mice got in. I lived in that house for nearly 18 years, and didn't have a mouse problem until I started to feed the birds (and squirrels).

I know it is not as easy, nor do you see the birds so well, but I'd recommend moving the feeders farther from the dwellings. Use your binoculars to watch the birds.

-- Joy Froelich (dragnfly@chorus.net), November 29, 2000.

Debra, we feed a good quality mixed seed that has little or no cracked corn in it, prepared suet cakes, thistle seed, and black oil sunflower seeds, we have all the various varieties of wild birds at our feeders. We also use one of those heated water bowls set up on top of the regular bird bath for them to use in cold weather, the warm water really attracts lots of birds, they really appreciate it in frigid temps.

Since we started leaving the German Shepard loose all the time, we do not have ANY problem with rats, mice, raccoons, deer, or squirrels invading the feeders day, or night. He had only to kill one raccoon for them to learn their "lesson", he doesn't bother the birds at all. However, the barn cats keep the dumber birds thinned out, not much I can do to stop that behavior, except to remove excess cover for the cats to hide in near the feeders. Annie in SE OH.

-- Annie Miller (annie@1st.net), November 29, 2000.

We don't feed the wild birds because of the black bears. My husband's parents enjoyed a bear visiting their many feeders for several years, until it (or one of it's many children) got bold enough to start coming up on their deck. Then they got scared and decided my husband could shoot it, if he happened to get the opportunity. (He hasn't so far.) This from people who are vehemently anti-gun. We've had bears in our beehives almost every year (this year Greg finally got the kinks worked out of the electric fence and they left the hives alone), so I figured we didn't want bird feeders on the property. Maybe in the future we will be able to feed birds, though, as we have got a dog now, and another puppy coming in February -- hopefully they will be able to keep the bears off our property.

Debra, I've seen those little pink birds before, but I don't know what it is, and we don't have a bird book (disappeared when oldest daughter got married and moved out!). Try the library.

-- Kathleen Sanderson (stonycft@worldpath.net), November 30, 2000.

Why don't you just invite that bear in for supper? Let him sit at the table with the grownups.

-- Joe (jcole@apha.com), November 30, 2000.

I forgot to mention this before, and I'm surprised Julie didn't: Last year she was getting a lot of sick birds showing up in her yard. She called the wildlife rehab center and was told it was probably botulism (?I think that was it) from dirty feeders. Since she keeps her feeders clean, it was probably from someone else in the area. She was also told that the birds brought in in that condition had all died within a day or so, and the only thing that she could do was try to lure the birds to her clean feeders.

So, keep those feeders clean. The best thing I have found to do is to have two feeders -- one can be down being cleaned and thoroughly dried, which is important to prevent spoilage of the seed.

-- Joy Froelich (dragnfly@chorus.net), December 01, 2000.

Your right Joy, about the clean feeders being so important, a lot of folks don't realize this. I keep a small size spatula with my bird seed refill bucket to quickly clean out any feed that has gotten wet overnight in the bird feeders. Wet seed quickly goes sour and bad, the spatula ( about 4 inches long and very narrow) gets the wet seed out easily and completly before it can go bad. Annie in SE OH.

-- Annie Miller (annie@1st.net), December 01, 2000.

Speaking of clean feeders and such, clean your birdbaths regularly and about once a month, scrub them real good with a stiff brush and a mix of one part bleach to ten parts water. Let the bleach mix sit in the bath a few minutes then scrub it real good and then rinse. This is more important in the warm months when algae forms.

-- Joe (jcole@apha.com), December 01, 2000.

I wash my birdbath with baking soda--smells better than bleach and seems to stay cleaner longer. And you needn't buy an expensive 'bath- -mine is a large plastic bottom from a planter. A few rocks keeps the wind from blowing it away, plus offers various heights for all sized birds to drink. have fun with the birds!

-- bren (mtndragonrider@yahoo.com), December 01, 2000.

Debra, look up vermilion flycatcher. You should use a book to see what comes to your part of the country...what stays and what migrates through...and when.

-- ANB/another novice birdwatcher (zumende@aol.com), December 05, 2000.