A earlier post
brought in a lot of emails on how to feed the birds in Summer. I do appreciate the input and the help.
To return the favor, I will share some of what I have
learned over the past 100 years I have been doing this. I have learned a lot by reading, but most by
doing. It is amazing all the good ideas
I have gotten from other people over the years that I might not have thought
of, even though I am the most intelligent person ever to point binoculars at a
bird.
Right away, let me disclaim even this post as I tell you the
first rule – “Every thing you read is crap”.
I have found that one person writes something, then a few lazy people
use that info as a reference and it snowballs into ‘truth’. All the ‘old wives’ who ever lived in all of
history can’t touch the myths put up in one day on the web, but you can find
them all there posted as truth by a ‘credible’ source.
To feed birds in the back yard – just throw out anything edible
on the ground, or if you have money, throw it into an artsy bird feeder thing.
Most people feed the birds from time to time. Most get their money’s worth because they end
up feeling good about themselves, and get a few nice yard ornaments in the
process. There is surely nothing wrong with that. Very few will actually keep food in their
nice yard ornament feeders, but occasionally they will put in something.
Actually, the birds, especially in the South don’t need any
help from you or me. Still, when I
visit you and see an empty feeder, I think of you as some empty headed asshole
who threw money at yet another project you failed to follow through with.
If you are not an empty headed asshole, and really want to
get into bird feeding, read on and I will tell you a few things I have
discovered, then you can add your experiences.
Birds are not the same.
Most can fly, but after that everything clouds up, especially diet. Bird features have evolved to the type of
food they eat. Eagles don’t eat bird
seed, and most birds actually don’t prefer it.
The only real reason to feed the birds is to draw them
closer where you can observe them as they decorate your yard.
Either watching birds appeals to you or it does not. It might be the biggest hobby in the world,
and is surely one of the oldest, but either you get it or you don’t. I suppose at the end of the day it is kinda
silly. Yea, it is silly, but for some of
us less silly than another hour of TV.
I am not trying to offend the many who consider themselves
“expert bird watchers”. Those people
will drive all day to get a glimpse of a new bird to write in their book. I do that, but not as a rule. This post is about attracting birds to your
yard and then enjoying the same birds day after day. They become pets, and much easier to care for
than most any other critter.
The diet of Birds is the key to bird feeding. Different birds eat different things. Throwing out birdseed is Ok, but limits what
you will attract.
Different birds prefer to eat in different settings. In Maine
,
I guess they would be happy to get anything, but in better climates, you must
learn to present the food right if you want to compete and get the biggest bang
for you buck.
There are many good feeders that cost little. Most people go that route, and it is a good
way to go as you learn how you and your birds are going to respond. Eventually, you will want to pay more money
for better feeders, and learn to build you own.
Building bird feeders can be as
simple as putting a flat rock on the ground,
or expanding your window sill with a wider board. Tube type feeders are hard to build. Go to eBay or Amazon and buy the Droll Yankee
‘Whipper’. They have a battery operated
version that is great, and the ‘Dipper’ which does seed well, but only if you
mount it over a catch screen. Save
money and buy those from day one. They
are large (good), and critters like squirrels and chipmunks can’t deal with
them.
Most seed eaters prefer ground type feeders. They don’t have to be o the ground, but need
to have room for hopping about. This is
simulated by hopper type feeders which mostly look like tiny houses. The best of this lot is to do it
yourself. You can start just by throwing
seed on a stepping stone. Eventually,
you will be putting on a cover and maybe putting it all up on a pole, or
not. One of my best feeders is a screen
floor just a few inches off the ground. Go
to the feed store and buy white millet.
The big store bags cost more and are filled with seed that your birds
don’t prefer. If you can’t do that, why
the hell are you reading this?
In a post before Winter arrives, I will explain how to build
the ULTIMATE seed feeder that will impress your neighbors, and more importantly
make it easy for you to feed the Winter birds.
To be honest, you can’t give seed away in the Summer, but in Winter, it
will light up your yard.
Not many birds eat seed in the Summer. The year-round best food to attract the most
birds is sunflower seed. Still, many
birds do not eat sunflower. To be
honest, sunflower feeders are dominated by Finches which are important because
their activity in your yard draws in the odd birds that might not visit
otherwise. Gold Finches, House Finches,
and Purple Finches will never leave you once they find you, and they will find
you. Finches are colorful and will eat
up most up your sunflower, but they do earn their keep.
Many birds eat suet.
Not all, but some will be attracted to your home by nothing else. Real suet comes from your butcher. Fake suet is sold in cakes anywhere you shop.
If you want to feel good, pick up some of those. They don’t work in my yard, but many people
have luck with them. If you want to attract the birds, do this:
Buy a bucket of lard.
Now that Hispanics are here, lard is easy to find. Melt it, and add corn meal. When it cools, the birds will go crazy. I also add in cheap peanut butter. This mixture is in great demand in Winter as
it helps make up for the fewer juicy insects birds can find. For Summer I add in things like flour and
grits so it won’t melt in the feeders.
Do not add in things like seed.
This mix will bring in the birds you will not otherwise be able to
attract. I mix it in a ten gallon pot
twice a year. One batch for Winter, and
one for Summer. You should mix smaller batches till you get it
right for your yard. You will not need
to refrigerate it, and if you need it harder or softer, you can just throw it
back into the pot until you get the recipe you need. Nothing you can easily do will bring the odd
bird to your porch like this will. Start
with a mixture of about 1 part lard, three parts corn meal and one part peanut
butter, and adjust from there. You want
it as soft as possible, but not were it runs out of the feeder, so you need to
adjust with the seasons. You will
quickly catch on how to adjust this for the season at hand.
The best way to put it out is to pick up a piece of oak
firewood and drill many 1 ½ inch holes at a downward angle that do not go
completely through. Try to get a limb
that is not split about 2 foot long and 8 inches in diameter. Screw a hook in the top and hang it near
where you watch. I coat mine with poly
urethane and they will out last me, plus it keeps the bark on so the birds can
get a grip. Pack the holes with the suet
you made and it will be you favorite feeder to watch as anyone might show up
there. The only thing better is a water
feature – do both.
So there you almost have the basics. I do so much more than that, but it would
embarrass me to post it. You will have
fun working it out if you get into this, and then we can exchange tips as my
birds teach me new things all the time.
-
put sunflower in tube feeders or anywhere.
-
put seed on the ground or a flat surface.
-
start making ‘suet’
-
add a water feature
Next time I am in the mood to share, we will get into
‘hardcore’ bird feeding.
Everything above is just fluff for the masses, but you gotta
start somewhere.
Every time I post things like this, I get mail from the
trolls questioning my manhood. The
cowards always question from some dark secret hole though.
I will explain water features soon.
YC
