Feeding the Birds
We are very fortunate in Ocean Hills Country Club to have the kind of landscape which attracts many different species of birds. There are bluebirds, kingbirds, even hawks on the golf course. In my own small yard I have seen more than 20 different species: wrens, yellow-rumped warblers, house finches, lesser goldfinches, bluebirds, towhees, a roadrunner, song sparrows, Lincoln sparrow, house sparrow white-crowned sparrows, mountain chickadee, bushtits, orange-crowned warblers, hummingbirds, orioles, mockingbirds, mourning doves, a hermit thrush, black phoebes, a crossbill, Nuttall's woodpecker, spotted towhees, crows. Sometimes I put out food for the birds; sometimes my plants attract them.
What kind of food should you supply?
Black-oil sunflower seeds are by far the most popular backyard bird foods. They are not expensive and extremely nutritious for a wide variety of birds. It is interesting to watch a house finch manipulating a seed in its beak in order to shed the outer husk. The seeds can be put out on trays or in purpose-designed feeders. Finches and sparrows love them. So do towhees and doves. Unfortunately, so do crows and rats. Personally I have stopped putting out sunflower seeds during ‘rat season’. Rats can be a problem here. Be sure to remove your feeders from the yard before nightfall and sweep up any debris underneath. You will also find yourselves pulling up sunflower seedlings from time to time, as they grow very easily.
Nyjer seed attracts goldfinches and pine siskins by the dozen. The seeds themselves are very tiny and require feeders with very small holes or a ‘sock’ with a fine mesh, so that they don’t fall out. Because they are light, fallen seeds tend to be scattered on the breeze. Sweeping up at the end of a windy day can take a while. You will notice quite a pile of seeds under your feeder at times and wonder if the birds are simply discarding them. In a way they are. Goldfinches extract only the oil from inside the seed and drop the rest. The good news is that nyjer does not usually attract rats as it is odorless. It is also sold sterile, so it won’t sprout when dropped in the soil. Nyjer seed is quite expensive.
Suet cakes come in many different flavors with a
variety of ingredients. Any bird which is athletic
enough to cling to the holder will enjoy them.
Anything with peanuts is particularly popular.
Suet cakes with berries can even attract woodpeckers.
I always buy the No-Melt suet cakes so that the hot
sun doesn’t turn them into a sticky mess. If you are
concerned about rats, the ones containing hot pepper
are least likely to appeal to them. Although a rat’s
tongue may be burned, birds do not feel a thing!
The cakes are available in Home Depot or Lowe’s
for around $1.50 each. Holders are around $3.
A mountain chickadee clinging to a suet holder