Male Cardinal
Male Cardinal
Invite birds now for the winter
In backyards around New England, the signs of fall are here, and wild birds’ internal clocks are signalingl them to begin their preparation for the harsh winter ahead. Along with our partner Songbird Essentials, we’ve prepared some expert suggestions for inviting and retaining winter birds in and about your yard during the upcoming long, cold winter.
September chores – clean bird feeders & birdhouses
By mid to late September, we suggest you take down all of your bird feeders and give them a good, thorough cleaning. Scrub all plastic tube and bowl feeders with soap and hot water, rinse thoroughly and let them dry. Wooden platform feeders should be scraped to remove all debris and also scrubbed thoroughly. A 10:1 water to bleach (or vinegar for plastic) will help to disinfect the bird feeders. To help make cleaning easier we suggest using a long handled stiff brush.
It is also very important to clean your birdhouse nest boxes thoroughly. By now, wild birds that nest in houses (cavity nesters) have completed their breeding season, and it’s a good time to remove their old nesting material. Be careful not to breathe the dust from the nest and handle any remaining nesting material with gloves. Use an old spatula to remove the nesting materials and scrape out the inside of the box. A shop vac with a vacuum bag can quickly suck away the old nesting material, if you prefer not to touch it. Carry all of the material away from the nest so that it does not attract predators.
When cleaning your boxes you may notice that woodpeckers or squirrels have damaged or enlarged the entry hole. You can quickly fix the problem and prevent future occurrences with entry hole protectors.
Black Capped Chickadee
After the nest boxes are cleaned, you may find that some cavity nesting birds such as chickadees, titmice and nuthatches will use them this winter for roosting sites during the cold nights. To improve your chances of attracting chickadees, add some wood shavings to the nest box, as they are attracted to cavities where they have to carry out wood chips. Also, consider placing some dry grass or clean straw in the bottom about an inch or so deep toprovide more insulation.
Although there are increased supplies of natural foods available during the fall, there are several reasons to keep your feeders full during the autumn months. First, juvenile goldfinch and other birds are active at feeders during the fall. It’s important to keep nyjer or thistle feed in your finch feeder. Shelled Sunflower Hearts in your open port tube feeders, and a high quality blend like Backyard Best in your platform feeders for these young birds. Further, there is an increased chance of enjoying migrating species in your yard (like the yellow-rumped warbler). Also, some permanent residents are likely to return more frequently to your feeders such as tufted titmice or woodpeckers.
Some wild birds begin feeding actively in September in order to begin building extra body fat to help them through the harsh, cold winter months. Having a consistent, ready supply of food for wild birds is the most effective way to establish a population of winter resident birds in and around your yard.
Fill basins with pebbles for bird safety
Fill basins with pebbles for bird safety
It’s also important to offer a constant supply of fresh water.
Wild birds rely on water not only to avoid dehydration, but also for bathing. It’s vital that they clean their feathers frequently so that they can maintain both effective and efficient flight. Further, water should be consistently offered throughout the coldest winter months because many backyard birds must bathe year around.
The easiest and most reliable way to avoid ice is to install a high quality, efficient and safe deicer. This device is energy efficient since it only prevents freezing rather than keeping water warm.
Enjoy the wild birds in your yard throughout the fall and oncoming winter!!
1 comment
ramblingwoods says:
October 10, 2009 at 2:17 pm (UTC -5 )
This is great. Too many people don’t clean their feeders, birdhouses and baths….Michelle