Simple feeders will keep birds satisfied

SHARON WOOTTON

Originally published December 11, 2001

There was no way that woodpecker was going to dominate this bird feeder with its skinny ledges.

Not that I didn't want the downy around, I just wanted him on the other feeder, or the suet feeder.

Yet there he was, hanging on for dear life, an avian trapeze artist choosing a seed.

Chalk up another round to the birds, who really don't give a bent feather about our preferences.

Not that they don't have preferences. Birders should pay attention to them in order to attract a wide variety of birds.

Preference No. 1 is black-oil sunflower seed, so rich in oil. The last to be eaten are seeds such as millet, cracked cereal grains and milo.

My rule of thumb is to feed for woodpeckers and the rest will follow.

While many birds have no problem feeding in a horizontal position, woodpeckers are built for vertical, with feet designed to grip tree trunks.

Most woodpeckers will dine at suet cages or logs, and eat peanut butter smeared on bark.

About 75 percent of birds eat suet, so keep an eye out for a good suet sale and buy a box.

We have a suspended suet log with holes drilled into it. Once it's been nicked to death, just build another one.

If you have raccoons, it's best to suspend a suet feeder from a branch rather than attach it to a tree trunk where those cute critters might rip apart the suet cage (been there) or carry the suet cage away (done that).

If starlings have taken over your suet feeder, build or buy a cage that exposes the suet only from the bottom. Even annoying starlings find that hard to deal with.

Many birds also eat meat scraps. Put out a few at a time and keep away from rats.

Unsalted, shelled peanuts are a more expensive treat but rich in calories. Put them in a cylinder feeder of hardware cloth. Pine siskins, chickadees and nuthatches also will enjoy this treat.

And what's a feeder without black-oil sunflower seeds? While a favorite, the seeds are a bit of work for woodpeckers, whose bills aren't designed to crack open the shell (finches), and their feet aren't designed to hold seeds between their toes (chickadees).

Woodpeckers take them to a tree, jam them in a crack, and pound the seed into submission.

Try grapes, raisins, apple and orange sections. Put them in a place separate from your regular feeder because they can be messy.

Now add Niger thistle in small tube feeders for smaller birds. Smear some peanut butter into pine cones and hang them for chickadees and nuthatches.

Make sure that there is fresh water available.

You can spend as much as you want on exotic-looking bird feeders and gourmet suet cakes, but the keep-it-simple approach works as well as the high-end tactic.

It's cheaper to buy in bulk. I buy sunflower seed in 50-pound bags and store the seed in metal garbage cans.

And remember the basics: seed should be dry, accessible and protected from the wind.

If you'd like to find out more on the topic, check out Bob Waldon's "Feeding Winter Birds in the Pacific Northwest," Margaret Barker and Jack Griggs' "The Feeder Watcher's Guide to Bird Feeding," and Donald and Lillian Stokes' "Bird Feeder Book."

Sharon Wootton is a free-lance writer from the San Juan Islands. E-mail questions, suggestions or comments about nature, or Nature's Journal, to songandword@rockisland.com.

The Olympian Copyright 2001

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