How to Stretch Your Feed Dollars

To the birds, all seed is free, whether it's from a flower stalk or a feeder. We humans know better, especially with the price of birdseed climbing the past few years.

The food industry is using sunflower oil for more healthful frying, leaving less seed for birds. Croplands once devoted to seed crops are increasingly being planted in corn for ethanol production. Add the higher costs of shipping heavy birdseed, and you'll understand why bird feeding is taking a bigger bite out of your budget. But you still want to feed the birds in your neighborhood, so here are some ways to stretch your bird-feeding dollar:

• Choose a single variety of seed over a mix.

• If you have a single feeder, fill it with black oil sunflower seed, which is attractive to the widest variety of birds.

• Cut down on seed waste by attaching a saucer beneath the feeder to catch what birds toss around, or use a platform feeder.

• Keep squirrels out of your feeders. They consume huge quantities of seed. Invest in squirrel-proof feeders, place your feeders at least 15 feet from trees, shrubs and structures that squirrels can use as jumping platforms or try feeding the squirrels. Give them whole corn kernels in a bucket at least 30 feet from bird feeders.

Read more: How to stretch your feed dollars

By VAL CUNNINGHAM, Contributing Writer
StarTribune.com

The Effects of Supplemental Feeding

Given the difficulty of finding food for many birds, it is not surprising that supplemental feeding can alter the behavior of birds. Varied Tits (a chickadee relative) reduced their participation in winter mixed-species flocks when given extra food. Mixed-species flocks form when food is scarce and patchy.

Supplementary feeding may affect bird reproductive behavior. When House Sparrows were provided with extra food, the males stayed closer to their nests. Females cheating on their mates by mating with other males decreased because of the increased presence of the male.

Providing food to birds can alter the distribution of birds over large geographic areas. The northward expansion of Northern Cardinals may have resulted, at least in part, from backyard bird feeding. In Finland, ornithologists strongly suggest that backyard feeding explains a tendency of birds to overwinter in Finland rather than migrate south.

Read more: Supplemental Feeding

The Cardinal

Cardinals, also called "redbirds," do not migrate and have traditionally been more common in warmer climes such as the U.S. southeast. However, in recent decades they have expanded their common range north through the United States and even into Canada. This population growth may be due to an increase in winter birdfeeders and to the bird's ability to adapt to parks and suburban human habitats.

Only males sport the brilliant red plumage for which their species is known. The color is a key to mating success—the brighter the better. Females are an attractive tan/gray.

Read more: National Geographic - Cardinal

Preparing for Winter

There’s a huge variety of food that can be used to feed wild birds, and putting out a good mixture of different kinds will encourage a wide range of species into the garden. Sunflower seeds, pinhead oatmeal, raisins, mealworms, raw suet, bacon rind, melon seeds, stale cake and bread (moistened with a little water if it’s very dry) are all good sources of food. Peanuts (not salted ones) are good, too, but because birds can choke on whole nuts they are best provided in a small wire mesh feeder: this means the bird has to peck away at the nuts rather than grabbing them whole. A fresh coconut, halved across its equator and with a hole drilled in each end, can be hung up in the garden, but avoid desiccated coconut: it swells up in the bird’s stomach, which can be dangerous. You can also buy bags of mixed bird feed from garden centres.

It’s also a good idea to provide water, which birds use not only to drink but also to bathe in. While there should be more than enough water around in birds’ natural habitats at the moment, if we get freezing weather much of this water becomes unavailable to them, so a bird bath or shallow dish of water will be welcome. If the water in a bird bath freezes, remember to break the ice or pour in some hot water to melt it.

Read more: Wild and Wonderful

Attracting Birds with Nest Material

Most birds build some kind of structure to contain their eggs and, in many cases, their growing youngsters. A bird's nest may be as simple as a depression on the ground such as made by a nighthawk, it may be a hole in a tree excavated by a woodpecker, or it may be as elaborate as the pouch-like nest woven by an oriole. The most familar type of nest, though, is a cup-shaped structure made of vegetation. Often, the outer layers are of coarse material, and there is a lining of softer or finer material. Depending on the species, cup-nesters may hide their nests in trees or shrubs, build them on the ground, or, like the familiar Eastern Bluebird, place them in nestboxes or tree holes.

If your yard has safe nest sites and adequate construction material, it will be more attractive to birds—even those that normally don't visit feeders.

Read more: Attracting Birds with Nest Material

Attracting More Birds to Your Feeder

HUNTINGTON, W.Va. (WSAZ) -- If you are a first time bird feeder or even a seasoned person who loves to feed birds, this year it is essential to keep the feeders full.
The drought has left its mark on plants that provide food for birds. Remember, however, once you start feeding the birds, you need to keep it going all winter long because your feathered friends will depend on you for a full dinner table.

Before birds take advantage of your feeders, they need to feel secure in the area, which can be provided by the twigs and branches of trees and shrubs.

If you find that your feeder is not being visited as frequently as you would like, consider planting a variety of shrubs on your property. Plants close to your feeder will also help reduce the time birds need to move from their cover to the food.

read more at: Attracting More Birds to Your Feeder