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Healthy birds in your yard! |
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With spring just around the corner we will be inviting more birds to our yard. There is a "change over" and preparation to do this. We need to ensure that our bird feeders will have the proper food for them to snack on. High protein seeds such as black-oil sunflower seed are a good starting choice. Not all birds are seed feeders such as Robins, so we might need to assist them for a short period until they're able to get worms & insects. There are different types of high protein food such as meal worms & suet to place out while waiting for the snow to go! You can simply place it in a shallow foil pan on a deck, stump or even a snow bank. Suet with seed can be placed in a mesh onion bag & hung off a post or tree limb. You can also get the kids involved and make pine cone feeders with a peanut butter and seed mixture. Just tie a string to them, roll the pine cone in the mixture and hang in the yard!
As bird watchers it is our job to keep our feathered friends healthy. A clean feeding environment is most important to bird’s health! Birds can become ill from moldy or decomposing seeds. Bird droppings can also cause the spread of diseases, not only to the birds but family pets and other ground feeders. Remember, what goes in the bird must come out! Don't place ground feeders or bird baths directly under hanging feeders.
The following are helpful tips to reach the goal of a clean & healthy bird feeding station.
• Clean feeders once every 2 weeks, more often during times of heavy use. Wash the feeder in hot soapy water, we recommend Dawn dish soap. Then soak or rinse it in 1 part bleach to 9 parts water. Be sure the feeder is completely dry before refilling with seed.
• Spread your feeders out, crowding your feeders could expedite the spread of disease.
• Clean up the ground and dispose of the waste. The moldy or spoiled food could attract your pets or unwanted rodents.
• Check feeders for sharp edges nails and so forth. A scratch could cause a bird to get an infection.
• DO NOT place suet feeders in direct sun during warmer temperatures. Suet can go rancid when temperatures rise in the 80º mark. I would recommend removing suet feeders in the summertime.
I hope this will help you get started with you seed bird feeders. Look for our future articles on humming bird feeders & bird feeder placement. Enjoy those birds! Please visit our on line store at www.ChimesAndBirds.net to purchase a decorative bird feeder for you yard today.
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