Weekly Express-News Article

“San Antonio Life”

By Calvin R. Finch, PhD, SAWS Water Resources Director, and Horticulturist

Saturday, November 10, 2007

“Winter Bird Feeding”

 

            The hummingbirds have headed south from most neighborhoods so it is not unreasonable to take down and clean up the sugar water feeder for the season.

 

            To replace the sugar water feeders, consider feeding seeds and suet for the winter.  Bird feeding is easy, but there are a few things to consider to keep the seed bill reasonable and your success level high. 

 

            Sunflower seed is the most popular seed for area bird feeders because it is a relished by so many of our favorite birds such as cardinals, chickadees, titmice, Inca doves, goldfinches, woodpeckers, and blue jays. 

 

            The usual way to feed sunflower seed is with a hopper-type feeder with a perch for the birds at the opening where the seed leaves the hopper.  To reduce feed consumption by squirrels, white-winged and grackles, purchase a steel feeder with a weight-sensitive perch. The steel construction prevents the squirrels from chewing in to the feeder.  The weight-sensitive perch can be set to shut out heavier feeders such as white-winged doves, grackles, and squirrels. 

 

            Safflower seed is a white seed with a shell like a sunflower.  Cardinals, chickadees, and titmice like safflower seed almost as much as they do sunflower seed.  Squirrels and other birds are not very fond of it.  Using safflower seed is a good option to attract cardinals without encouraging squirrels and other birds. 

 

            Thistle seed is the favorite food of lesser and American goldfinches.  House finches also like it.  Thistle is usually fed from a tubular feeder with the seed access under the perch to encourage the goldfinches to show off their acrobatic abilities.

 

            Most insect eaters will pass up seed feeders, but they will often accept beef fats and/or a dough mixture from a suet feeder. 

 

            If you are blessed with squirrels in your neighborhood, use the pepper flavored suet.  The birds readily eat it and the squirrels pass it up.

 

            Birds that are readily attracted to suet are kinglets, woodpeckers, mockingbirds, some warblers, and starlings. 

 

            American sparrows such as chipping sparrows, song sparrows, Lincoln’s sparrows, and white-crowned sparrows will usually not eat from a hopper or tube feeder hanging in the air.  They would rather feed on the ground or on a platform close to the ground.  Doves, thrashers, and towhees also prefer to feed on the ground. Provide them a mixed seed mix that includes sunflower seed, millet, and even cracked corn. 

 

            Select a location for each feeder where you can observe the action from a window or seat on the patio.  Feeders that hang from a branch and are more open attract more birds than a feeder in the middle of the crown or near the trunk.