Feeding and Watering

Food and water are essential elements for all living, breathing things. Your backyard bird sanctuary is no exception. Provide some basic food and water sources and you'll be surprised at the results.

Many people feed birds only during the winter months when the birds need it most, but feeding them year-round offers advantages. Feeding in the warm months can induce some birds to nest nearby, and many birds take on their most colorful plumage during the breeding season. Regardless of whether you feed only during the winter or year-round, be consistent with your feeding regimen. It is only fair to those birds who have come to rely on your feeders as a source of food.

Summer feeding requirements are slightly different from those of winter. Suet, for example, is a common winter feed. It is an attractive food for many birds, especially when offered with seeds, but it can quickly melt or go bad in the summer. Shelled nutmeats like sunflower seeds can also spoil and should be used sparingly. Any bird feed should be protected from moisture at all times, since the presence of moisture can contribute to spoilage.

Here are common foods and the birds they may attract:

• Sunflower seed — Chickadee, tufted titmouse, evening grosbeak, white-breasted nuthatch, blue jay, cardinal, purple finch, American goldfinch.



• Thistle — Dark-eyed junco, American goldfinch, purple finch, house finch, pine suskin, house sparrow.



• Cracked corn — Mourning dove, blue jay, house sparrow, tree sparrow, song sparrow, white-throated sparrow, brown-headed cowbird, red-winged blackbird.



• Millet — Mourning dove, house sparrow, tree sparrow, song sparrow, white-throated sparrow, brown-headed cowbird, red-winged blackbird.



• Suet — Downy woodpecker, hairy woodpecker, starling, chickadee, white-breasted nuthatch, red-breasted nuthatch.
  

Commercial mixtures of bird food are readily available. They are formulated to attract certain categories of birds. If you wish, you may also mix your own food based on the types of birds you are trying to attract.