Helping the Wild Birds in Winter
Here at my Bedford, New York farm, this winter has been unseasonably mild so far, but it is still a difficult time for wild birds looking for food - there are many chirping visitors at my feeders.
I have a number of bird feeders at my farm, and all the birds love to come by and feast on the seed I provide. I also set out fresh water and cut holes in the burlap covers over the boxwood, so birds are able to take shelter during inclement weather. Helping the wild birds is important to sustain local wild bird populations, but it is also one of the easiest and most beautiful ways to observe and appreciate wildlife and to understand the types of birds that frequent the neighborhood.
Enjoy these photos.
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- I have long fed the wild birds that visit my farm. Feeders are set up where they are easy to see, convenient to fill, and where seed-hungry squirrels and bird-hungry cats cannot reach them. These are also positioned no more than three feet from the glass to prevent possible collisions.
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- A long row of bird feeders are hung behind my carport. During winter, more than 10, and during spring and summer a few less. They are checked and refilled every morning around 7am. It’s important that I feed the birds all year long – they depend on it and become accustomed to looking for food here at the same times every day.
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- Some of the birds perch patiently in nearby trees until they’re ready to feast.
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- Look closely, one is perched on the roof ready to fly down to the feeder.
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- I also feel it is important to make sure all the wild birds have access to fresh water. I use one of these double wall metal chicken waterers on top of a heater to prevent freezing. Made of galvanized steel, these waterers are clean, durable and can hold a couple gallons of water.
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- Some of you may have seen the holes cut out of the burlap here at the farm. I purposely create these holes for the visiting birds. They love to go in and out, especially when it is windy.
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- All my wild bird seed is stored in galvanized metal cans and kept inside my generator room next to the carport.
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- When filling the feeders, we use a pole with a hook on one end. Each feeder is carefully removed from its hanging location and refilled on the ground.
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- Here is a closer look at the pole with the handy hook at the top – it works very well and makes filling these feeders very easy.
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- This is a wild bird seed mix. This includes white millet, black oil sunflower seeds, striped sunflower seeds and cracked corn. The birds love this seed.
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- Nyjer is a great seed to offer birds, especially in winter because it contains more oil, and a higher calorie content, so birds can store fat to survive the season.
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- Every feeder is filled to the top – depending on the time of year, these feeders can quickly empty. Each tube feeder holds about three quart-sized containers of seed.
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- These tube feeders allow the seed to flow only when birds peck at it, which helps keep any spillage to a minimum.
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- Many birds prefer tube feeders – hollow cylinders with multiple feeding ports and perches. Tube feeders attract small perching birds such as finches, goldfinches, titmice, and chickadees.
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- The tufted titmouse is a small songbird from North America. It is rather tame, and active, with an echoing voice, and can often be found near bird feeders especially in winter.
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- Here’s a male house sparrow. Sparrows are frequent visitors to backyard feeders, where they eat most kinds of birdseed, especially millet, corn, and sunflower seed.
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- Here’s a downy woodpecker across the carriage road on the granite upright of my pergola. This is the smallest type of woodpecker in North America.
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- The feeders are visible from my Winter House steps – it’s always so nice to see what bird come to eat at my feeders. I have up to 125 different birds visiting the farm every day.
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- This is a black-capped chickadee. These birds are highly curious about everything, including humans. Its black cap and bib, white cheeks and gray back, wings and tail make it an easy bird to distinguish and identify.
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- Some of them go down below to get the seeds that have fallen out of the feeders. A red cardinal is in the foreground. The northern cardinal is a bird in the genus Cardinalis; it is also known as the redbird, common cardinal, red cardinal, or just cardinal. It can be found in southeastern Canada, through the eastern United States from Maine to Minnesota to Texas, and south through Mexico, Belize, and Guatemala.
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- When starting to feed birds, it may take time for new feeders to be discovered. Don’t be surprised if the feeding station doesn’t get birds right away. As long as feeders are clean and filled with fresh seed, the birds will find them. And in summer, guess what? They take care of all the bugs – I never see any pesky flying bugs near my home. Helping the wild birds – it’s a very Good Thing!
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