Don't let fear of dependency keep you from having a bird feeder

Your responsibility to the birds is to keep the feeders clean and to provide fresh water.

SHARON WOOTTON

Originally published November 27, 2001

I once knew a man who forgot he had a road-kill raccoon carcass stashed in the back of his freezer behind a winter's supply of venison.

My lost stash wasn't anything as dramatic: a dozen frozen suet blocks. Hear the birds tweeting and chirping in anticipation which, in the stream-of-consciousness category, leads us to bird feeders.

The main feeder groups are cage, hopper, tray and tube. But before we take a look at the birds' dining rooms, let's take a look at yours.

I'll assume that there are no moldy bread slices, no dishes caked in leftovers, no long-abandoned drink glasses on your table. That said, your responsibility to the birds is to keep the feeders clean and to provide fresh water.

In return, birds will provide hours of entertainment and education.

Here are the feeder basics:

- Hopper feeders: Just a roof, a base and two pieces of plastic or wood that guide the seeds to the tray. As the birds pull the seeds, gravity drops more into the space. Add seed by lifting the roof.

- Tube feeders: Usually heavy-duty plastic with small perches that discourage larger birds. I've made one with 30-inch-long wire mesh with quarter-inch holes, a couple of plastic plates and chopsticks; and another from a tree limb with holes drilled for suet.

- Tray feeders: This can be messy because the larger birds can take over and seed will more likely be scattered to the ground. It needs a roof to prevent seeds from getting wet, or you can dispense just a handful at a time.

- Cage feeders: Wire suet cages can be bought or built, or a suet block can be dropped into a mesh bag.

There is an anti-feeder faction that fears fall feeding will delay migration of songbirds who will be caught in a cold snap and die; that unless you keep the feeders full, the birds will die when you leave for a few days; and that feeders are nothing but breeding grounds for disease.

However, most migratory neo-tropical birds eat bugs, not seeds. When the bug supply dwindles, it's migration time.

As to the vacation-starvation scenario, consider these winter scenes: (1) Birds have stripped a group of pine trees of the last seed; (2) Your family drives over to a fast-food place but it's out of business.

What are the options? (1) Starve, or (2) Go to another restaurant? You've made the right choice.

In a cold snap, birds do stand a better chance of survival if they use minimal effort to eat. Flying the relatively short distance from a perch to a feeder takes less energy than searching high and low among picked-over cones.

Easy eating is particularly important to smaller birds. During freezing weather, a tiny bird's high metabolism can consume up to 20 percent of its weight staying warm.

The disease concern is a real one, so keep feeders clean, seed fresh, and the ground around the feeder clear of bird-dropped debris to avoid diseases such as salmonella.

Clean your feeders once every two or three weeks with a mixture of one-fourth cup bleach and 2 gallons of water. An old toothbrush is useful. Let the feeders dry before refilling. Remove the seeds, shells and droppings from the ground.

And don't forget the water.

We'll mix-and-match birds and food in the next column.

Sharon Wootton is a free-lance writer from the San Juan Islands. She can be reached At songandword@rockisland.com or 360-468-3964.

The Olympian Copyright 2001

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