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Bird Feeding Menu
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Bird feeding can be expensive. Bird seed is often grouped with other "impulse purchase" items in grocery and retail stores. Many pre-packaged mixes may seem inexpensive, until you consider the liberal quantities of millet and cracked corn they contain. These inexpensive seeds will be consumed, but they are not among the preferred foods of desirable feeder visitors. Some mixes include wheat and sorghum, seeds consumed after everything else has been eaten. Compare prices at your local nursery, feed mill, and specialty store. Seed is often cheaper if you purchase it in larger quantities. Store seed in weatherproof, covered containers to reduce problems from mice and insects. Seed should be kept dry to prevent molding. To reduce problems from insect infestations, do not stockpile large quantities of seed for extended periods.
WINTER FEEDING: Seeds and suet are mainstays of the winter feeding station. You have many choices of seeds to offer.
SUNFLOWER: There is no such thing as a simple sunflower seed: you'll have to make a choice between black oil, striped, hulled seeds, and chips. If you were to offer only one type of seed, black oil sunflower would be the pick of birds. While striped sunflower seeds are also popular with larger seed eaters, such as cardinals and blue jays, the smaller, thinner-hulled black oil seed is easier for smaller birds, such as chickadees and tufted titmice, to handle. If you dislike the mess of hull remains, consider feeding seeds which have had the hulls removed. Sunflower seed may be offered in hopper feeders, on shelves, and in tube feeders with appropriate openings. Sunflower seed chips are eaten by smaller birds, such as goldfinches. Chips can absorb moisture and mold in feeders, so check feeders frequently and clean them as needed.
PEANUTS: In the shell, as kernels, hearts, or peanut butter, this is probably the most expensive offering. If price is no object, you'll enjoy watching blue jays, cardinals, nuthatches, and a number of other species consume peanut kernels. Blue jays have no difficulty extracting the seeds from their shells and you can spend hours wondering how, with all the pecking on the shell grasped in their feet, they manage to never hit their toes. Peanut butter, especially the chunky styles, can be smeared on tree bark, where it will be an unexpected find for chickadees, nuthatches, and woodpeckers.
NIGER THISTLE: This seed is imported and it does not become an agricultural nuisance like bull and Canada thistles. The tiny black seeds are relished by goldfinches and other members of the finch clan. Offer it in tube feeders or special feeding socks with enlarged mesh. Seeds that fall to the ground are consumed by sparrows and doves.
MILLET: There is no denying that the small white proso millet seed appeals to many species. It is cheaper than many other seeds and is a major component in many commercial mixes. Cardinals, mourning doves, juncos, tree sparrows and many other species relish it. So, unfortunately, do house sparrows and brown-headed cowbirds. Many birds which eat millet will also eat black oil sunflower seeds. Sparrows do eat sunflower seed but it is not nearly as attractive as millet. Golden and red millet seed are sometimes available but they are not as popular as white millet.
CORN: Corn is one of the most inexpensive options for a feeding station and can be offered in several ways: as meal, cracked, shelled, and on the ear. Unfortunately, cracked corn shares the same dichotomy as white millet, popular with many desirable species and a favorite of house sparrows, brown-headed cowbirds, and starlings. Cornmeal scattered on a low platform feeder will be eaten by native sparrows and doves. Unfortunately, house sparrows also eat it. Be careful of offering large amounts: wet cornmeal quickly sours and becomes moldy. Shelled and ear corn are eaten by larger birds, including visiting red-bellied woodpeckers, crows, and pheasants. It is also a favorite squirrel food. Ear corn can be stuck on a nail spike driven through a board and hung on a tree or suspended on a chain, using a large eye screw threaded into the base of the cob. Real natural entertainment!
SAFFLOWER: Although not commonly available, safflower seed shows some promise for those individuals plagued by squirrels, house sparrows and starlings. None of these "problem" species seem to care for this seed, even though it is quickly accepted by chickadees, nuthatches and cardinals. The seed costs are similar to those of Niger thistle so it's not cheap, but, if you can reduce the amount of seed consumed by undesired species, your expenses may not be increased. It's worth a try for the feeder manager who has an established site.
SUET: The solid white fat found in the kidney area of cattle is called suet but solid fat trimmings from any domestic livestock as well as deer can also be included in this term. Fats may have a bad reputation when included in the human diet but this high calorie item attracts many species of birds, especially those which feed extensively on insects. Downy and hairy woodpeckers, chickadees, nuthatches, and blue jays are common visitors at a suet feeder. Suet is generally available in the meat section of grocery stores and from meat markets. If you hunt deer, trim off the fat and offer it at your feeding station. If you don't hunt deer, ask a friend who does to save you the fat if he or she is successful. Suet may be offered in wire mesh feeders or hung in plastic or string mesh bags. Suet left hanging during warm weather may turn rancid. Suet cakes are made by melting suet down in a double boiler and then pouring the liquid fat into small aluminum foil containers or muffin tins lined with papers. Making suet cakes can be a creative experience! You can also add seeds, peanut butter, cornmeal, or dried fruits produced by dogwoods and hawthorns. By increasing the amount of peanut butter or bacon fat drippings, you can create a spreadable mixture which can be smeared on tree trunks, packed into holes drilled in a section of a branch.
BAKERY PRODUCTS: Although an occasional piece of stale bread or pie shell may not do any harm, there is little to recommend processed flour products as regular feeder offerings. Once they become wet, baked goods lose their structure and quickly become contaminated with bird droppings and molds. Worst of all, bakery products are favorites of house sparrows and starlings.
SUMMER FEEDING: Although many who feed birds do so only during the winter months, maintaining a feeding station throughout the year provides twelve months of enjoyment. Seeds offered in December will also be accepted in July. Store seed in tightly covered containers and do not stockpile large quantities during the summer. Insect infestations in bird seed can be a nuisance during the warmer months. Raw suet will become rancid during warm weather. Melt suet into blocks and put out small quantities in shaded locations or offer commercial products prepared for use in warm weather.
Summer feeder offerings can be expanded with the use of fruits, sugar water, and mealworms, attracting new species that prefer these foods.
SUGAR WATER: Hummingbirds are the best known of the sugar water consumers. Mix one part sugar water with four parts of boiling water to make a nectar substitute. Cool the mixture and refrigerate the unused portion. Discard the excess after one week. Although hummingbirds are attracted to the color red, it is not necessary add food coloring to this mix. Hummingbird feeders have enough red to catch the attention of passing hummers. One exception: if your feeder is some distance from the house, tinting the water slightly will make it easier to check the level of fluid remaining in the feeder. DO NOT USE HONEY OR ARTIFICIAL SWEETENERS TO MAKE SUGAR WATER SOLUTIONS. Clean feeders and replace sugar solutions frequently, at least every 2-3 days during the summer.
Ruby-throated hummingbirds are the most common visitor to nectar feeders in Ohio's neighborhoods. You may be fortunate enough to host a rufous hummingbird, a very uncommon visitor to the state. Be prepared for surprises, however. Downy woodpeckers, chickadees, tufted titmice , and northern orioles often visit nectar feeders, especially those where no bee guards restrict access to the feeding port.
Sugar water feeders intended for hummingbirds can be put out as early as mid-April in southern Ohio so that they are available for the first migrants. Most hummingbirds have left Ohio by early September, although migrating birds continue to pass through the state as late as mid-October. Hummingbird feeders do not keep hummingbirds from migrating in the fall; many people take feeders down after mid-September because it becomes burdensome to replace the sugar water at frequent intervals when so few birds are visiting.
FRUITS: Oranges, bananas, and watermelon slices are among the most frequently recommended offerings. Their effectiveness varies. Those who have reported success suggest offering them during the spring migration (mid-April through mid-May) of neotropical migrants: the warblers, orioles, and tanagers that winter in Central and South America. Anchor the halved fruits on a flat board, impaled on a nail. Try offering apples in a similar manner; they may attract American robins, gray catbirds, and blue jays.
MEALWORMS: How much do you want to spend on your bird feeding effort? Mealworms are undoubtedly the most expensive offering, it terms of both cost and labor, but they can attract species that would not otherwise visit your feeding station. Bluebirds, catbirds, brown thrashers, vireos, and warblers as well as familiar seed and suet eaters such as cardinals, woodpeckers, and blue jays will all eat this larval form of a grain-infesting beetle. Mealworms can be purchased at many pet stores or through the mail. You can even raise your own! Birds are attracted by their movement so offer them in a shallow dish, such as a clay plant saucer near a branch where birds can perch.
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