How to Feed Wild Birds in Your Backyard
Learn how to feed wild birds, including how to choose bird food and bird feeders, in this Lowe’s video.
Give wild birds fresh water to drink and bathe in, plenty of cover, and a variety of quality bird food to keep them coming back to your yard. A bird bath or water feature will attract a larger number and a wider variety of birds. Birds need cover for nesting, protection from predators and shelter from adverse weather conditions. A mixture of trees, shrubs and hedge rows is ideal. Nesting boxes and bird houses will encourage birds to stay near your home and raise their families. You should keep your cat in the house to ensure birds will return to your feeders.
Birds eat a wide variety of foods depending on the season and availability. Choose quality bird food such as black-oil sunflower seeds, thistle seed, safflower seeds, fruit, suet, and seed mixes with millet, cracked corn and peanuts. Keep bird food cool and dry in a metal container; this will also keep out mice and squirrels.
Place feeders with different foods at different levels as some birds feed on the ground while others feed in shrubs or in trees.
- Platform or tray feeders can be located near the ground or higher up and are ideal for cardinals, sparrows, towhees, woodpeckers, nuthatches, buntings and juncos. They should be placed in an open area at least ten feet away from trees and shrubs
- Tube feeders attract a wide variety of birds such as chickadees, sparrows and titmice. They should be positioned at least five feet from the ground.
- House or hopper feeders can hold up several pounds of seed and should also be hung at least five feet from the ground.
- Thistle feed is a favorite of goldfinches, house finches, purple finches and pine siskins. Thistle feeders are suitable for thistle and small seed blends and can be hung from a tree or a pole.
- Suet feeders can be hung from trees and are most often used during the winter as suet will spoil at higher temperatures. Suet is an important winter food source for woodpeckers, chickadees, titmice and nuthatches.
- Hummingbirds eat nectar through their long bills. Hummingbird feeders should be placed in the shade to keep the nectar from spoiling.
Place bird feeders within three feet from your windows to optimize bird watching. Mount feeders on poles at least five feet off the ground and six feet from any tree to keep squirrels away. Finally, remember to keep your feeders clean and the food fresh.
