Get ready for spring!

Spring is finally here. It’s nice to have a break from wintry weather, but spring also means it’s time to get your bird feeders, nesting boxes (bird houses) and bird baths ready for the new season’s arrivals. Here are a few things to put on your “to-do” list:

• Clean tray feeders to remove accumulated debris. Use hot, soapy water and rinse well. Dry before filling.

Birds like to "furnish" their own homes each year

• Soak tube feeders in a mild bleach solution (1 part bleach to 10 parts water). Use a long-handled brush to scrub. (These special brushes are available from The Bird House.)
• Hot, soapy water (and muscle) is good for cleaning birdbaths. Rinse many times. If you used a special heater in your bath this winter, scrub it with a solution of white vinegar and water to remove mineral deposits.
• Piles of hulls under the feeder? Move the feeder and rake up the hulls to give the grass underneath a chance to recover. This is especially important if you have used black oil sunflower seed, because the hulls contain chemicals that stunt the growth of grass.
• Be sure to clean out nests from last season’s nesting boxes.
• Use more millet for small seed-eaters such as buntings, finches or native sparrows.
• Add another tube feeder to attract goldfinches.
• By mid-April, hang hummingbird feeders. Ruby-throated Hummingbirds usually arrive in our area around Income Tax due date.
• Keep in mind that some birds will be migrating through your neighborhood on their way north. Place mealworms on tray feeders for migrant insect-eaters.
• Offer cleaned & dried, crushed eggshells to provide needed minerals for nesting females.
• Make sure you have fresh water available.
• Plant flowering annuals to attract insects for the birds to eat. If you’re willing to wait until future springs for lure insect-loving birds to your spring backyard, consider planting lilacs and other spring-flowering shrubs and perennials.