ANR-554, Reprinted October 1996.This publication was prepared by Karen Fleming, Wildlife Graduate Assistant. Recommended for Extension use by Lee Stribling, Extension Wildlife Scientist, Associate Professor, Zoology and Wildlife Science, Auburn University.

Feeding Birds

I. When To Feed

Bird feeding is generally believed to be a winter activity, but it really can be a year-round hobby. Fewer birds will use feeders in summer, but those species that do will reward their human hosts by bringing their new off-spring to the feeders, too. The pleasure of seeing a young chickadee begging for food from its parents will make summer feeding well worth the effort.

During the summer in Alabama, you can expect to see chickadees, titmice, cardinals, blue jays, and several other resident seed-eaters at your feeders. In addition to these birds, during the winter you can expect to see goldfinches, house finches (in northern Alabama), purple finches, pine siskins (most winters), nuthatches, towhees, juncos, white-throated sparrows, and ruby-crowned kinglets. Other migrating species may also be seen briefly during the fall and spring as they pass through our state.

Winter feeding is probably more appreciated by the birds than summer feeding. This is especially true of those species that would normally migrate further south but instead stop briefly here in areas with feeding stations. So, in all fairness to the birds, fall and winter feeding, once begun, should not end until well into the spring months when other food sources are plentiful or until the birds have begun to migrate to northern breeding areas.

II. Types of Bird Feeders

Seed Feeders. Many different feeders are available and should be chosen according to the birds you wish to attract. Basic platform feeders are favorites because they generally hold a lot of seeds and provide a perching area for several birds at a time. Covered platform feeders are recommended because they protect the food from rain or snow. Many types of hanging feeders, including tube feeders and bowl feeders, are also available. Hanging feeders, especially those with small perches, attract more of the smaller songbirds and will be used less frequently by larger birds, like cardinals and jays, that rarely feed on swaying feeders. Regardless of the type of seed or mix used, feeders should be cleaned regularly with hot water and detergent. All wet or moldy food should be removed immediately from feeders and from the area near the feeder. Moldy food can poison the birds.

Roofed Platform Feeder

Suet Feeder Pine Cone Feeder

Suet Feeders. Many species of birds not attracted to seed feeders will be drawn to suet feeders. Suet, a hard type of beef fat which can be obtained from your butcher, provides birds with a high-energy winter food. Suet can be dispensed in cages, baskets, bags, logs, pine cones, and other imaginative dispensers and will attract birds that normally eat insects. Thrashers, flickers, woodpeckers, thrushes, kinglets, wrens, catbirds, orioles, juncos, and sparrows are a few of the many birds found locally that will feed regularly at suet feeders. You can make a suet feeder very easily using 1/2-inch hardware cloth or a plastic mesh bag with fairly large mesh. Cage-like feeders constructed with hardware cloth should be attached to trees 5-6 feet above the ground. Leave the top of the cage open so new suet can be added easily. Plastic mesh bags (from oranges, onions, etc.) are excellent suet dispensers and can be attached with strong cords to tree limbs or trunks. You can make a suet log by drilling several holes (1 inch in diameter) into a short branch or log (about 1-1/2 feet long). Then, press suet into the holes, and suspend the log by a hook placed at the top. Another simple and natural way to provide suet is to press it into pine cones and then hang the cones from tree limbs. These cones are very attractive to small songbirds. You can also purchase special feeders to hold cakes of suet, or bird cakes. Bird cakes can be purchased or made at home. Birds also like bird cakes made of suet mixed with seeds. When making bird cakes, ask your butcher to run the suet through a grinder on a coarse setting. Ground suet is easier to melt. Bird cakes are made by melting the ground suet in a pan with a small amount of water and then pouring the suet into muffin pans to cool. Mixed seeds or even nuts can be added to the hot suet to create an appealing mixture for the birds. If acquiring suet is difficult, a substitute food can be mixed from one part vegetable shortening, one part peanut butter, three parts yellow cornmeal, one part cracked corn, and one part flour. This mixture is great for use in log feeders and pine cones.

Hummingbird Feeders. Another bird easily attracted to special feeding stations is the ruby-throated hummingbird. This nectar-eating bird spends summers in Alabama and is a joy to observe. Although the proper flower plantings will attract the most hummingbirds, these birds will readily feed at hummingbird feeders, too. Special feeders can be purchased along with either dry or liquid mixes. Home-made mixes, which are much cheaper than commercially prepared mixes, can be made from one part table sugar to four parts warm water. When the solution has cooled, add a few drops of red food-coloring to make it even more attractive to the birds. Once the birds are accustomed to using the feeder, the coloring is no longer necessary. Honey should never be placed in feeders because hummingbirds are unable to digest honey solutions. The birds that feed at stations with honey solutions will, in fact, starve. Artificial sweeteners should never be used in feeders either.

Hummingbird feeders should be filled beginning in April or May and may remain in place until the last hummingbird has migrated in the fall. Leaving the feeders up in the fall does not prevent hummingbirds from migrating. Place feeders at sites that are not visible from other hummingbird feeders. Hummingbirds are highly territorial and will fiercely guard a station, or several stations, if the feeders are within sight of one another. Clean the feeders regularly, and replace any solution left in the feeder after a week. You should place bee guards on the feeders if bees become numerous. Hummingbirds will desert the feeders if they must compete with bees.

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III. Types Of Feed

Sunflower seeds will attract the widest variety of birds and are the recommended choice for hanging and pole-mounted feeders. The smaller, black, oil-type sunflower seeds are preferred by most songbirds.

When using mixed seeds, avoid mixes containing milo, wheat, oats, rye, or rice. These types of seeds do not appeal to most songbirds and will attract nuisance birds like pigeons and starlings. Mixes containing sunflower seeds, white prose millet, peanut hearts, cracked corn, and safflower are preferable, but they are generally more expensive. Cracked corn and mixed seeds make excellent feeds to spread on the ground. Ground feeding will attract a larger number of birds at one time than hanging or even platform feeders.

Thistle seeds, placed in special tube feeders with tiny openings, are relished by goldfinches, a favorite wintering bird species for many Alabamians.

IV. Bird Feeder Pests In most areas it is essential that seed feeders be squirrel-proof. Squirrels will not only eat the bird seed but will also chew on the feeder. They can also cut the strings suspending it from its limb. Nothing is guaranteed to work in all cases, but these suggestions might be helpful. Suspend the feeder at least 5 feet above the ground and at least 8 feet from the nearest tree trunk or limb. Baffles (cone-shaped sheet metal barriers that prevent the squirrels from approaching the feeder) are helpful and, in many cases, essential. Squirrels can also be drawn away from the feeder by dangling a dried, shucked ear of corn from a string attached to a sturdy limb. If these measures are not enough, specially-designed squirrel proof feeders can be purchased. Other feeding station pests include birds such as pigeons, starlings, and English sparrows. Using small, tube-type feeders with sunflower seeds will generally discourage these birds. Pigeons and grackles (which tend to flock) can be discouraged by placing small dowels about 1 inch apart around seed feeders in a way that will allow smaller birds to continue feeding. When attracting birds into your yard, you should also take steps to protect the birds from neighborhood cats. Placing the feeders at appropriate heights (5 to 6 feet above the ground) and in areas away from thick shrubbery and underbrush will help the birds. Safety stretch collars with small freely dangling bells can be put on cats to warn the birds of their approach. These collars can be purchased in most pet stores. A fence made of large-mesh chicken wire erected around feeding stations also helps prevent cats from sneaking up on birds and gives the birds time to escape.

Doweled Feeder With Baffle

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V. Home Plantings For Birds

In addition to feeders, you may wish to use plantings to attract a variety of summer and winter birds into the yard. Crabapples, pokeberry, hawthorn, holly, elderberry, beautyberry, flowering dogwood, and eastern red cedar are only a few of the many native plants that will attract songbirds year round. Wildflower mixes that contain thistles will also entice small songbirds into an area. Red or orange flowered plants such as trumpet creeper, salvia, and coral honeysuckle can be used to attract hummingbirds.

VI. Water

Finally, if you wish to attract birds into your yard, make sure that plenty of fresh water is available. Water is especially important in Alabama during the summer when rainfall is reduced. Bird baths provide excellent sources of water year round and are even available with heaters for colder climates.

VII. The Automatic Platform Feeder

If you would like to build your own feeder, an automatic platform feeder like the one shown here offers many advantages. Its hopper-like construction allows for continuous feeding, and the sloped roof prevents contamination of the seed by standing rainwater. A sketch and a cut-away drawing of this feeder are shown here.  Note that the sloped roof is really a door, attached by small hinges, which allows you to easily refill the feeder. Inside, a central panel creates two separate compartments which can hold two different types of feed. Curved pieces of metal are nailed to the central panel to guide the seed to the openings, or feeding slots, at the bottom.