Feeding The Wild Birds in Your Backyard

by admin  
Filed under Backyard Bird Articles

People used to frown on the practice of feeding wild birds, saying that it took away the birds’ natural behavior to migrate South for the winters. But it is proven that bird feeding does not harm wild birds and does not deter them from their natural instinct of migrating. People don’t realize that not all birds migrate. There are some wild birds that don’t migrate, they live in one area and can withstand the cold winters till spring comes along. Cardinals and Woodpeckers are just some of the birds species that don’t migrate. When food from the forests is scarce they depend on bird seed for their survival. There are a variety of bird feeders to consider if you decide to put one up in your garden.

There are one time use bird feeders which are completely edible and can be hung up on a tree branch and be picked apart and eaten by birds till there is nothing left. There are also reusable ones such as the tube bird feeders which have slots and openings that you can fill different bird seed into. Bird feeders can be hung or placed on a flat surface like a table or porch or even put up in a window. Bird Seed Trays are found on most tube feeders in order to catch the falling seed that drops while they are feeding.

If you prefer putting a more nutritious variety for the wild birds that come visit your garden, you can also put mealworms for them to eat. Mealworms are eaten by Cardinals, woodpeckers, robins, and bluebirds. Mealworms provide protein to a wild bird’s diet and keeps them healthy during the seasons when other food is scarce. Make sure you have a separate meal worm feeder placed in your garden from the seed feeder. There are some birds who prefer eating just the seed so it is important to keep the Dried Mealworms on a separate meal worm feeder. If you want to attract different varieties of birds in your garden you can put out a wild bird seed feeder. A wild seed feeder can include all kinds of seeds that different birds enjoy eating.

Most bird watchers will notice that squirrels create a lot of problems when they realize bird seed is available in your yard. Squirrels can destroy your bird feeder, scare away the birds and eat all of the bird seed while creating a big mess. There are a lot of new bird feeders that are specially made to prevent squirrels from accessing the seed. These bird feeders are called Squirrel Proof Bird Feeders. Squirrel proof bird feeders usually have a perch that can support the weight of a bird but will not be able to support the weight of the squirrel. When a squirrel tries to stand on the perch to access the bird seed the perch tips making it impossible for the squirrel to stay stable and feed.

Enjoy your garden and let the wildlife enjoy it too. Keep out bird seed for the birds to enjoy and you will get to experience nature at its best. There are so many choices of bird feeders and so many different kinds of bird seed. Putting out bird seed will attract and give you a chance to see bird species that you were probably thought were rare.


- Chantelle Simoes