Winter Feeding and More

©Melissa Penta

If you've been feeding the birds over the summer and fall, they've become accustomed to finding food in your yard. So it's important to continue feeding through the winter, when insects and berries become even more scarce. They'll welcome seed, suet, and water from now until spring. You can read about feeder placement on the Citizen Science Blog. It was interesting to note that window strike mortalities can be reduced by moving your feeder to within 3 feet of the window...OR more than 30 away. There's a danger zone identified somewhere between these markers.

If you have a camera handy, snap a few photos of birds at your feeder to enter Vanguard's Birdspotter contest. Yes, those are Legos. Unique feeders and great photos are provided in the Birdspotter slideshow.

©Gary Mueller

Download PDF

While you're at it, grab the 2014-15 copy of Winter Bird Highlights published online by the Cornell Lab. It's a free pdf download! Revisit the site in the spring for the 2015 issue as many of the migratory birds begin to return. Lots of good info here.

And please don't miss the winter birds feeding at this fun snowman bird feeder on the live-stream FEEDERWATCH CAM in Ontario Canada. When they put out peanuts in the shell, the Bluejays are all over it. Lively!