How do I get other birds to visit my bird feeder besides cardinals?

the bird feeder is in my garden and I use a bird feed for all kinds of birds.

Wild Bird Food : What Do Cardinals Eat?

Cardinals are seasonal eaters, much like most songbirds, as they feed on insects during the summer and seed during the winter. Find out what cardinals usually eat withhelpful information from an Audubon Society member in this free video on wild birds. Expert: Wayne R. Petersen Contact: www.massaudubon.org Bio: Wayne R. Petersen is director of the Massachusetts Important Bird Areas (IBA) program at the Massachusetts Audubon Society. Filmmaker: Christian Munoz-Donoso

Feeding The Wild Birds in Your Backyard

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

How do birds pair up (with same species) to mate, when they don’t know what KIND of bird they are?

I mean, birds can’t look in a mirror to know they’re a cardinal let’s say. Yet, cardinals always pair up with other cardinals, and robins with robins, and so on. They’re not like dogs that just hook up with anything available, why is that?

Is it because they recognize the return of their unique call/song?

And don’t just say “instinct”, I feel that is just a cop-out answer for those who really have no clue, not to mention it is quite obvious that instinct is involved. I am looking for a logical answer here. Thanks!
- pancakes & hyrup

What are the most common bird species living around North East America?

I live in Montreal and I’m just curious of the names of the species of birds that live around here. I know robins, sparrows, chickadees, crows, blue jays, doves, cardinals and pigeons but there are tons I don’t know the names of. Mainly those little brown ones with the bright green stripe on their neck that are always fishing for worms in my yard!
- kathyjr1979

Ground Feeder

mdc4.mdc.mo.gov Go to our website for more Handy Hints info. A good backyard bird habitat will have something for everyone. Mourning doves, cardinals, and sparrows…among others…prefer to forage for food on the ground and rarely visit traditional bird feeders. But you can still provide for them with a simple ground feeder! You’ll need wood…like this rough-sawn cedar…a 20-inch square of aluminum house screen…nails…a staple gun and staples. Following the instructions, carefully measure …
- MObirds

Backyard Bird Watching

These are some more videos of the birds that I have seen in my backyard. There are a lot of different birds in this video including towhees, cardinals, nuthatches, and one very special bird that hasn’t been seen in my yard for about 13 years.
- cloudfalcon528

I want to hang a new birdhouse in my yard (Minnesota, urban). Should I add nesting materials to the house?

I want to attract a nesting bird couple to my new birdhouse. The most common birds in my area are house sparrows and cardinals. Should I put in some nesting material, like fabric scraps? Or just let the birds collect what they like?
- Pelican Pants

What Sound Attracts Birds?

Can anyone tell me what sound attracts birds into our yard? More likely house finches and cardinals !!!
- Gus X

I want to attract doves to my yard – any one know how?

I have feeders and birth baths, etc., and get a nice variety of finches, cardinals, robins, mocking birds and such. My favorite is doves – is there anything I can do to attract them?
- CC

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