Start Your Wildlife Habitat
by Feeding Winter Birds

Published December 11, 2002

Here’s habitat tip #1 in our series celebrating the
National Wildlife Federation’s (NWF)
Backyard Wildlife Habitat™ program’s
30th anniversary.

 

Blackcapped chickadee on sunflower feeder.
© Gordon Scaggs, 2002, all rights reserved.

The National Wildlife Federation's (NWF) Backyard Wildlife Habitat™ program will celebrate its 30th anniversary in 2003. Over the years, the program has connected millions of people with nature in their gardens and inspired them to create landscapes hospitable to wildlife. The result has been over 30,000 home owners nationwide who have had their properties certified by NWF as official Backyard Wildlife Habitat sites and countless others who have learned the joys of gardening for wildlife. To have your yard certified, it must offer four basic criteria: food, water, shelter, and places to raise young. However, people are sometimes reluctant to tackle a project of this scope because they believe it all has to be done at once which they find too daunting a task.

In fact, creating a Backyard Wildlife Habitat is most often a gradual process, doing a little bit each month or year until, Voila!, you have a habitat worthy of certification. Best of all, you don't need to wait until it's completed to reap the rewards. Wildlife of various kinds may come to call at any point along the way. To help nature enthusiasts on their habitat journey, NWF is going to prepare a habitat tip every month during our year long anniversary celebration. Each one is easy to do and applicable to almost any size yard. Tip #1 for January gives some helpful guidance on the best bird feeding techniques.

Bird feeders are an easy way to supplement the natural food sources available to birds and other wildlife in your yard - and are often fun and entertaining for people as well! There are numerous kinds of bird feeders and foods to choose from. The best feeder foods are sunflower, niger (also called thistle), proso millet, cracked corn and suet. The type of feeder and food you provide will determine which species are attracted to and benefit from this supplemental food source.

When you feed birds, take the following steps to provide a safe and healthy feeding environment.

  • Provide multiple feeding stations in different areas of your yard to disperse bird activity and avoid crowding at the feeder which can cause birds stress, making them vulnerable to disease. Be sure to feed in moderation with only a few feeders per acre.
  • Clean your feeders regularly with hot water, and let them air dry completely. Also keep areas under and around the feeders clean.
  • Keep seed clean and dry and watch that it doesn't get moldy. Offer only fresh seed.
  • Use a seed blend that is designed for the feeder you have and the type of birds that come to that feeder. Blends that contain filler seeds or grains are not typically eaten by the birds and end up on the ground making a mess.
  • Rake to keep the area around your feeders clean.
  • Provide seeds from a feeder rather than broadcasting/scattering seed on the ground.
  • Move your feeding stations periodically, so there will be less concentration of bird droppings.
  • Wash your hands after filling or cleaning your feeders.
  • Place bird feeders in locations that do not provide hiding places for cats and other predators waiting to ambush the feeder. Birdfeeders should be placed 5 to 12 feet from low shrubs or bushes that provide cover.

Although providing bird feeders will complement their diet, birds rely primarily on natural foods, so be sure to plant a wide variety of native plants that offer food and cover throughout the year.

Learn more about making your landscape wildlife-friendly by creating a Backyard Wildlife Habitat and having it certified by the National Wildlife Federation [www.nwf.org/backyardwildlifehabitat.]

The nation’s largest member-supported conservation education and advocacy group, the National Wildlife Federation unites people from all walks of life to protect nature, wildlife and the world we all share.