Getting The Maximum Benefit Out of Your Bird Feeders
There is nothing more relaxing than sitting in your favorite Adirondack chair
and watching the birds come to the bird feeders for a snack. However
there is a good amount of care to be given to the feeders in order to
have the birds visit. For birds to visit your feeding stations, the
feeder must be
attractive to most species and is easy to make. Called a platform
feeder, it consists of a 2-foot square of half-inch of marine wood
plywood. With a hammer, tack moulding strips around the edges to
prevent seeds from falling off and attach the entire thing to the top
of a cedar post at a level you can reach easily--but at least 30 feet
off the ground. Treat the feeder with oil-based stain and rub the wood
with a metal sponge to remove excess; let the feeder age outside for a
few days before stocking it so no paint will absorb into the seed and
make the birds sick. With this feeder, birds see the seeds, you see the
birds, and the view provides excellent light for wildlife
photography especially
if the feeder is just outside your kitchen window. One improvement to
the platform feeder is a flat roof to keep off the rain.
Also made of half-inch plywood, the roof is slightly larger than the
platform and is held a foot above it by 1-inch doweling at the corners.
A more
decorative platform feeder would use an inch log upright and a roof
covered by
copper or brass. The roof diminishes the amount of light that strikes
the seed
platform, but it keeps the seeds dry during inclement weather. Don't
waste your
money on grocery store seed mixes. They often are high in milo and
other seeds
that most birds ignore and won't eat. It's better to buy bags of
cracked mill
corn, whole wheat corn, white millet, and black sunflower seeds at a
feed store and
mix them in portions you find attractive to birds visiting your
feeders. BLACK
sunflower seeds are the best and most nutritious for the little birds.
Striped
sunflower is air-filled with heavy hulls, which is hard for many birds
to crack.
Black sunflower has tight, easily-cracked shells and a very high food
value
full of nutrients and goodness. Ground-feeding birds such as Mourning
Doves,
Northern Bobwhite quail, and many sparrows come to food that is
scattered about
on bare soil. A low platform feeder on sturdy bricks concentrates the
birds in
one location and provides some control over ground-feeding mice or
rats.