If you provide seeds into spring, you could see the amazingly deep-blue male Indigo Bunting (seen here in the company of a pair of Northern Cardinals). Nature News | Marlene A. Condon
White millet and sunflower seeds are really all you need for a bird-feeding program, but you must offer these two kinds of seeds separately in the proper types of feeders.
Two varieties of millet (also referred to as proso millet) are often put into seed mixtures: white and red. Red millet is not eaten much by birds in the eastern part of the United States (birds in the West do have different preferences), which is why it’s best to purchase white millet individually packaged. Serve it to ground-feeding birds either in a tray feeder or directly on the ground (but not where cats are around, please, and only put out as much as will be taken by birds that day).
There are also two varieties of sunflower seeds: black oil and striped. Black oil is smaller and might be easier for some birds to eat. Its high oil content provides lots of energy. Striped sunflower seed is larger but has less oil content. Birds with beaks capable of cracking the shell will readily eat this seed, but it is not nearly so popular as black oil.
You can offer the striped, especially if it is less expensive and you want to save money, but black oil is the superior seed. You might see what are called “blended” sunflower seed mixtures consisting of both kinds of sunflower seeds, and if the price is right, you could buy such a mix.
Some species of birds (such as Carolina Wrens) do not have beaks capable of breaking open sunflower seed shells. Such birds can only eat sunflower seeds which are already cracked enough for them to be able to pry the shell off or sunflower seeds already hulled (stores that sell these refer to them as sunflower chips, pieces, or hearts).
Hulled sunflower seeds are attractive to virtually all species of birds, even those that eat white millet (although Brown-headed Cowbirds are unusual in that they seem to prefer the millet). These seeds are more expensive per pound, but you are paying only for edible food, and not for inedible shells. I highly recommend them for feeding areas where you do not want shell litter under the feeder or numerous sunflower seedlings when spring arrives.
Other kinds of seeds are attractive to birds, but may be more expensive, such as niger (or nyger, from Nigeria and pronounced NYE-jerr). It’s very enticing to American Goldfinches, Mourning Doves, and Pine Siskins. You might think of niger as a special treat that you do not need to put out all the time.
Most folks buy a nyger feeder with tiny holes that is especially made to dispense these seeds that are very thin. I have found, however, that any tube feeder will work. What looks like fallen seeds below the feeder are, upon close inspection, simply the discarded shells. The birds do not swallow the entire seed but instead crack it open to eat what’s inside.
For a much closer view of birds, try feeding them.
A Northern Cardinal has it all—beauty and brains! (Photo: Marlene A. Condon)
It is almost time for birds from farther north to return to Virginia for the winter. If you are thinking about feeding birds, I want to share the most delightful experience I may have ever had participating in this activity.
Because I have had rheumatoid arthritis for decades, it has finally taken a toll on my hands, making just about anything I do with them terribly painful. As a result, I had to relinquish my role last year as the principal provider of birdseed to my winter visitors. My husband kindly took over for me, although he did alter the protocols.
Whereas I would put some seed on the ground late in the afternoon to make sure all ground-feeding birds were well fed before “going to bed” for the long winter night, he decided that meant too many squirrels were taking the seed. So-o-o, he decided to make the last feeding of the day much later, after the sun had gotten well below the Blue Ridge Mountains just a few miles to our west.
By that time of day, with the light beginning to fade, the only birds usually still active were White-throated Sparrows, Northern Cardinals, and Mourning Doves. Occasionally a lone Dark-eyed Junco would remain, but most of its fellow juncos would have already disappeared for the night.
Often one or more Eastern Cottontail Rabbits would join the birds, and quite surprisingly, a couple of Gray Squirrels would risk staying out much later than their usual bedtime to take advantage of the handouts.
My spouse stuck strictly to his schedule, and after many weeks, the most amazing thing happened. By mid-winter, those birds had learned not only the schedule he kept for feeding them, but also the sound (the unlocking and/or opening of the kitchen door into our carport) that announced he was about to provide them with their food!
My husband had been throwing seeds into the shrubs by the north side of our driveway that offered a measure of protection from predators, such as owls just becoming active at this time of day. He would also throw some seeds into the driveway.
I would watch from my office window from just before he opened the kitchen door to the time he returned to the carport. I was the lucky recipient of a perfectly endearing show.
The minute the door opened, every bird poking around in the plants in the front yard would fly to the shrubs. Many even came out of the brush piles I keep around the yard for them to sleep in or to escape predators or bad weather. It was just an amazing thing to see dozens of sparrows and a cardinal here and there quickly crossing the yard to enter the shrub area where they could await the “birdseed man.”
If the squirrels and bunnies were already in the driveway, they too would take their places inside the shrubbery, albeit on the ground. Remarkably, however, with each passing day, the rabbits got bolder and instead began to just wait for my husband in the driveway!
Just as Pavlov’s dogs learned to associate the sound of a bell with food and thus salivated more in anticipation of eating, our wild critters had learned to associate the sound of our kitchen door with the arrival of food and reacted accordingly.
Some birds, usually a male cardinal and several White-throats, would already be perched in the shrubs, facing the carport, when I first looked out. Mourning Doves would also be waiting patiently, either milling around in the driveway or lying down on their bellies there.
The fact that birds would be facing the carport only in the evening demonstrated that they could tell what time of day they could expect my husband to come out of the house. And, of course, the birds poking around in my gardens and perching in the brush piles probably knew approximately when supper was to be served and were simply killing time in the locations that suited them.
The birds grew ever bolder. At first, those in the bushes would perch close to the driveway and then get scared as my husband threw seeds into the shrubbery. Many of them would originally fly far off and quite possibly did not return.
But, after a while, the birds would simply move up higher into the trees as soon as they heard the kitchen door, where they could wait and watch as my husband approached. They had realized that they would not have seeds bouncing off them if they were higher off the ground, so eventually, many birds would simply wait high up in the first place for his evening appearance.
As he walked back to the carport, the avian creatures would all fly down into the shrubs, and after several moments, a jumble of birds would pour out of the shrubbery as they literally ran out into the driveway. There were always at least five dozen White-throats, five male and four female cardinals, and usually a minimum of six doves. It was the most incredible sight to behold. I couldn’t help but giggle to myself as I watched.
My husband would usually watch the boisterous gathering from the carport. He especially marveled at the White-throated Sparrow chatter that seemed loud enough to get the attention of the whole neighborhood.
The term “birdbrain” refers to a person who is stupid or scatterbrained, yet these birds had shown themselves to be every bit as capable of learning as any mammal—the animals with the largest brains and thus for years thought to be more intelligent than birds, reptiles, amphibians, or fish. Perhaps we need to redefine the word “birdbrained.”
The “Raccoon Guard” baffle is excellent for keeping mammals from getting into bird feeders. (Photo: Marlene A. Condon)
Many folks are putting out seeds for birds at this time of year. However, birds may not be the only wildlife wanting to partake of your offerings.
Gray squirrels, southern flying squirrels, white-footed and deer mice, eastern chipmunks, common raccoons, gray and red foxes, Virginia opossums, and even white-tailed deer enjoy eating birdseed too, especially sunflower seeds. Although there’s no problem with these mammals scavenging seeds that the birds have dropped (someone has to eat them!), you would go broke if you allowed all of these larger critters to get food directly from your feeders.
The most sensible way to keep mammals from raiding your seed supply is to place your feeders on poles. Poles must be placed away from plants and buildings so that agile animals, such as squirrels, will not be able to jump directly onto the feeder.
Gray squirrels, the most common birdfeeder visitors, can jump almost eight feet horizontally. Therefore you should not place your pole within eight feet of trees, bushes, or any structures from which a squirrel can launch itself.
When you employ a pole to hold your feeder, you need to place a baffle on it to keep mammals from just climbing right up the pole to the feeder. The baffle should be placed at least five feet above the ground on the pole; otherwise a squirrel may be able to jump over it.
Occasionally you may get a squirrel that can jump higher and farther than most, or a raccoon that is bigger than most and can access the feeder. If this happens, you may have to make adjustments in the width of the baffle you’re using or in how far away you place the pole from other objects.
Baffles are usually round or hemispherical and made of plastic. I’ve found that the minimum size that works is one with an eighteen-inch diameter. A gray squirrel is usually able to get around one smaller than that.
Baffles that are constructed of thicker plastic are more durable and less easily broken than those made of thin plastic, so it’s worth the extra cost to buy the better baffle. Or you may want to construct your own cylindrical stove-pipe baffle out of thin sheet metal that can work well.
My plastic baffles worked well for a decade. But then a raccoon started visiting that was able to get around them. Luckily, I found a “Raccoon Guard” for sale in a catalog.
It was expensive, but it worked so well that I eventually ended up buying a few more. It not only keeps raccoons from the feeders but also squirrels and even bears! (My poles are extra tall to keep American Black Bears—which can reach 6 feet tall on their hind legs—from just reaching up to grab the feeders.) Thus this type of baffle is the most effective one that I have found.
The Raccoon Guard is a tube 28 inches long and 7½ inches wide. It’s made of galvanized steel with a weather resistant finish so it lasts much longer than plastic baffles. I’ve had mine for over 15 years now and they are still in great shape.
I’ve only seen these baffles in two bird catalogs: Duncraft (1-888-879-5095 or www.duncraft.com/Raccoon-Guard) and Audubon Workshop (www.audubonworkshop.com/).
Some people try to deter squirrels by using seeds that are less attractive to them, such as safflower. However, that stategy will also limit the number of bird species that visit. Animals have food preferences just as humans do!
Other folks attempt to repel squirrels by adding red pepper to the seeds in the feeder. Birds do not seem to be sensitive to capsaicin, the ingredient in hot peppers that causes us mammals to suffer intense burning in our mouths when our tissues come into contact with it. Red pepper is actually packaged for this use, but I would ask that you not buy it.
Some folks think that causing squirrels or other animals to suffer is humorous and justified. It isn’t. It’s never kind to deliberately inflict pain upon our wildlife, especially as it’s not necessary.
Additionally, if the pepper gets into the eyes of birds or squirrels, it would cause quite an irritation. As they struggle to relieve the burning in their eyes, they could be killed by predators.
Lastly, do not EVER use sticky substances on the poles. If mammals get it on their paws, they will have trouble functioning which means they will have trouble surviving. Grease or other such gooey substances also kills numerous kinds of wildlife, such as insects that can’t possibly free themselves from it.
Insects play extremely important roles in the environment as pollinators, recyclers, aerators of the soil, and as food for numerous other species. So please be conscious of the unintended consequences of your actions.
Brightly colored American Goldfinches will visit feeders as well as plants to obtain the seeds they need throughout the year. (Photo credit: Marlene A. Condon)
At my last talk of the season in Shenandoah National Park, an audience member asked me about bird feeding. He’d heard that this activity was linked to the increase in Lyme disease because it increased the number of mice around people’s homes.
White-footed Mice serve as the main reservoir for Lyme bacteria. These microorganisms are transferred to people when larval ticks that have fed upon infected mice reach the nymph or adult stage of their life cycle and feed upon humans. (Ticks prefer deer, but people make an acceptable substitute.)
The man was quite concerned about the possibility of contracting this illness, and he was rather upset that I didn’t agree that people should stop feeding birds. He felt that if people maintained the nature-friendly garden that I was advocating, they wouldn’t need to feed birds anyway.
While it’s true that people could—and should—supply food to wildlife by properly landscaping their property, the reality is that very few people understand the value of replicating the natural world around their homes. Thus very few yards are truly capable of supplying food to birds and other wildlife.
Bird feeding can help animals survive, especially during harsh weather when it’s absolutely crucial for them to have easy access to food. However, people should feed responsibly, which means understanding the consequences of their actions and addressing potential problems.
You can avoid increasing mouse populations by simply putting out only the amount of seed that birds will consume in a day. An organism’s population can grow only if there is plenty of food to sustain its expansion.
You can figure out how much to feed by checking the ground at the end of the day to assess how many seeds remain. It’s not a problem for some seeds to be on the ground; after all, the mice have to eat too! But there shouldn’t be an abundance of them. If necessary, cut back on how much you dispense in the morning.
Some years ago, many ornithologists were also quite concerned about bird feeding and wanted people to stop. They worried about the spread of disease among birds in close contact day after day, and they also felt it made birds more vulnerable to predation by hawks. Again, such situations can be easily addressed.
First of all, no feeder should be much more than 9-12 feet from shrubs and/or small trees, or at least a brush pile, where birds can have a chance to escape a hawk attack. That distance provides a barrier to prevent Gray Squirrels from jumping from the plants or brush pile to the feeder (a squirrel can jump about 8 feet horizontally), but it’s close enough for a bird to make a prompt dash to safety.
If there aren’t woody plants near your feeder pole, you should consider placing a fast-growing evergreen (such as Photinia serrulata) close by. Evergreen shrubs and trees are better than deciduous woody plants as they provide cover all the year around.
However, the best cover for birds is provided by a nearby brush pile. Small birds can navigate through the interlocking branches and twigs to reach the safety of the interior of the pile, while the larger hawk is unable to get through the small openings.
[For a free brochure on brush piles that I wrote several years ago for the Virginia Department of Forestry, please contact me at marlenecondon@aol.com]
To avoid the spread of disease among birds at feeders, you should watch for sick animals. They can be recognized by their sluggishness and hesitation to fly away from food.
If you notice a bird behaving this way, you should take down all of your feeders, empty them completely, and then wash them well with plenty of soap and water to wash away microorganisms. Rinse the feeders well and let them air dry completely, preferably in sunlight, before refilling them.
Healthy birds will move off during this time to find food elsewhere (in your natural landscaping, I hope), and the sick bird will die more quickly, relieving it of its misery.
In addition to believing that bird feeding can be quite helpful to birds, I also believe that birds—via bird feeders—can be quite helpful to us.
More than 20 years ago now, I took care of my mother in my home for the last 11 months of her life. She had cancer and became bedridden about two months after I brought her to live with me.
I had placed her bed where she could watch the bird feeder on the deck. I knew she needed something to entertain her and watching birds was just the ticket!
Not only did my mom get to see birds she had never seen before, which she found interesting, but she also felt useful by filling the role of research assistant. Because I couldn’t stay right with my mother all day (there was plenty that needed to be done elsewhere in the house), she would give me a report about what I’d missed when I had been out of the room.
I was thrilled to get her observations as they added to my knowledge, and they provided us with wonderful conversations that could relieve us both of thoughts about her impending death.
One of the most meaningful things my mother did for me under these heartbreaking circumstances was to call me whenever there was a photo opportunity. One photo, of a male Northern Cardinal bathing in my deck water pan, will always bring back that day so long ago when my mom helped me to get that bird’s picture.
For some people, bird feeding has played a lasting role in family relationships under happier circumstances. Nancy, a birder I know by way of the Virginia bird list-serve, shared with me her experience as a very young child.
Her grandmother would feed Blue Jays. She’d hold up Nancy, who wasn’t even three years old yet, to see the birds eating. To this day, Nancy loves Blue Jays. They are the first kind of bird she can remember being aware of and, of course, they will always make her think of her loving grandmother who introduced Nancy to a lifelong hobby.
My only concern with this activity is when people start to believe that birds are somehow more precious than other kinds of wildlife, and then proceed to try to banish some species from around their homes.
Your environment can only support birds if it contains a tapestry of organisms living and working together to fulfill their natural roles. If you want your feathered friends to live well, don’t try to make them live in a vacuum.
