Is your backyard ready for winter birds?

Hopper feeder, an ideal station for cardinals

We've been fortunate. The weather has remained favorable and birds have had plenty of leftovers from last season's natural seed, berries and nuts. But any day now, snow will arrive and birds suddenly will be knocking at your door for food. Are you ready for them?

If you have an existing feeder, clean and repair it, checking for broken perches and clogged feeding ports. 

If your feeder is damaged or broken, replace it.

To attract the greatest variety of birds in the winter, you may wish to provide more than one feeder. Some birds will eat from one style of feeder but not from another. For instance, cardinals feed have short necks. They must feed head-on. That usually means they won't eat from tube-style feeders. Hopper feeders or tray feeders are usually better for them. Mourning Doves, enjoyed because of their pleasant cooing sound, need ample-sized feeders from which to feed. On the other hand, goldfinches prefer tube feeders with tiny seed ports designed specifically for tiny grains of Nyjer seed.

Tube feeder

During cold months, you probably won't be outdoors on the patio watching the birds. Try moving the feeders closer to the house, where you can see the birds from the window. You'll also avoid having to trek through the snow to refill the feeders.

Take advantage of the current weather. Right now, the ground is unfrozen. It's easy to move an existing shepherd's hook or pole. Consider creating a multi-unit feeding station in your backyard. That will enable you to hang more than one style of feeder and attract the greatest variety of birds.

During autumn rains, water sometimes enters the seeder ports, creating soggy and moldy conditions at the bottom of the feeder. Birds can contract illnesses at a time of the season when they have trouble staving off disease. Add covers to feeders to keep seed dry and prevent snow or ice from accumulating on the feeders. 

Clean the ground beneath the feeder. Consider adding "Seed Hoops," mesh platforms that are hung beneath the feeder, to catch spilled seed. There will be less mess on the ground and drier seed.

In winter, songbirds need high-energy food. Some get through cold winter nights by eating as much as 10 percent of their body weight during the day. The food gives them the energy to survive until morning. Suet is exceptionally high in fat and protein. Black oil sunflower seed also is a great source of energy. Peanuts, peanut butter and safflower are good additions.

Unless you enjoy feeding squirrels from your bird feeder, try using a squirrel-resistant feeder. Some of these feeders automatically shut the seed port. Others have cages that keep squirrels from entering the feeder. A third option is a squirrel baffle. Make sure they feeder is placed 15 feet away from a tree limb, shrub or deck from which the squirrel can leap.

Hello ...

Squirrel wars

Squirrel baffle

While most of us love nature, squirrels can try our patience. These furry gluttons shove their way to the front of the bird feeder. Here are a few strategies for thwarting them:

Distract them. Squirrels love peanuts, sunflower seeds and corn. They'll take the most accessible food, so place these tantalizing treats closer to their home and farther away from your bird feeders. Another option is a Squirrel Log, which is made of compressed corn. The squirrel must gnaw and gnaw just to obtain a morsel of food—and none of it meant for the birds.

Baffle them. Place baffles on your poles or shepherd's hooks. The baffle should be 5 feet above the surface of the ground to prevent the squirrels from leaping onto the feeder from the ground. If the feeder hangs from a tree limb, use a baffle specially designed to block them as they climb or jump down. But be sure they can't leap sideways from the trunk or another limb to reach the food.

Put them on a diet. Avoid offering squirrels their favorite foods to discourage them from visiting your yard. Safflower seed, for instance, is prized by cardinals, chickadees, House Finches and other songbirds. Squirrels don't like the taste, however.

Deter them. Force them to perform a tightrope act. Hang the feeder from a clothes line and add obstacles such as cans, tubes or spools. This may slow them down. You also can use strong fishing line instead of thicker wires or ropes. They'll have trouble grasping the fishing line.

Seed ports close under the
squirrel's weight, blocking
access to the seed

Spice it up. Try mixing hot pepper in the seed or suet. Songbirds won't mind the heat but the squirrels have a more delicate palate. We offer sunflower chips pre-coated with cayenne pepper. Use that in place of your plain sunflower chips. We also have "Flaming Squirrel Seed Sauce," a liquid that you can blend or shake into any seed or seed mix. It contains habanero pepper sauce.

Invest in a squirrel-proof feeder. We have some that really work! We've gotten a lot of positive customer response to the Squirrel Buster line of feeders. I've been told that the seed saved is worth the price. Droll Yankees has several top-of-the-line feeders which excel also. The Droll Yankees Flipper, for example, does exactly what its name implies: It flips the squirrel off the perch, letting only songbirds land. Another option is a tube-style feeder that has a metal cage around it. Songbirds can get in but adult squirrels cannot.

New Product: Day Dreaming Squirrel

Those lazy days of summer are here. And this squirrel is even lazier than we feel. Hanging from its hammock, the squirrel snoozes contentedly, dreaming quietly of his favorite things.

The Day Dreaming Squirrel has sculpted detail that resembles carved wood. The hammock's rope is real, and the acorn dangling above the squirrel's head is affixed with a copper wire so it will remain rust free.

You can hang this little treasure from a porch, pergola, tree limb or window awning. The rope and hook is included.

Products sold at The Bird House may be available for a limited time, so hurry in!

New Product: Squirrel Feeder Chair

The snow that's covering the region affects not only bird life. It's also making life tougher for squirrels. Some are able to sniff through the snow to find peanuts, acorns and seeds that they buried during the fall. But the frozen ground makes it difficult to dig out these treats.

Of course, many backyard bird-watchers have little sympathy for these critters which seemingly spend every waking hour conniving to reach the seed in bird feeders. But for those who sympathize with the squirrels' plight--or for those who want to distract them from bird feeders--we now have an amusing item that is sure to please.

The Squirrel Feeder Chair requires squirrels to sit politely, as if at a dinner table, for them to have their meal. It's quite a sight!

The Squirrel Chair is made of durable Western red cedar. All you have to do is affix the chair to a wooden post or a tree (non-rusting screws are provided for that purpose). A vertical 3-inch screw holds in place an ear of corn or a Corn Log.

We carry both corn ears and Corn Logs. The latter consists of corn that is compressed into the shape of a log. A hole down the length of the log holds the log in place. A Corn Log replaces 12 to 24 ears of corn, depending on how hungry your squirrels are. The logs come in two flavors: sweet corn and peanut-flavored corn.

You're bound to have fun watching the squirrels behave themselves for once!