Feeding the Birds is Feeding Your Soul

If you've never been able, or interested in feeding wild birds, I hope this information will either inspire you to try or at least encourage you to consider it. There is so much more to the experience than just filling bird feeders, and you will definitely get out of the experience what you put into it. You also can control how much or how often, so you don't need to worry about this becoming a time or money consuming endeavor.

While there is a cost to the activity, the payoff is more than worth it. It's an ever changing visual show, and you don't have to go anywhere to see it. You simply need to hang your feeders where you can see them from the comfort of your own warm interior through the window in the winter, or from your deck or favorite seat in the summer. Of course you can feed and enjoy the other seasons of the year as well. In fact the birds would greatly appreciate it.

There are a few considerations you need to work through before you go to the expense and time involved with setting up feeders. You need to begin by ensuring where you want to place the feeders is not in the path of foot traffic. Birds that eat do leave little messy reminders behind, and it's best to avoid those areas where people will walk.

Hanging feeders from tree branches, where birds can fly in and land on the feeder, is the optimal choice. The other branches and leaves offer some protection for them while they feed. Conversely, if you don't have a nice tree to use, and want to use one of the metal hooks that stand in the ground, make sure there is open space around the birds as they land and feed. They need to be able to view their surroundings if they are without protection, and be able to get away if a threat appears.

If you are prone to having squirrels where you are planning to put your feeders, you'll need to either have feeders the squirrels cannot get into, or do as I do and give them their own food so they don't go after the bird food. Some well planted peanuts in the shell located elsewhere or corn still on the cob are great squirrel deterrents when it comes to feeding the birds.

When you've decided where to place your feeders, it's time to either get a feeder or fill it up if you already have one! Once again, you have options, and this is when you really want to explore them. Many of the prepackaged wild bird feed mixes contain quite a bit of millet. The greedy birds who know there is good stuff to get to will dig through the millet, discarding it to the ground. Depending on where it lands, there's a good chance it will begin to sprout out in the near future. Sometimes it's easier to make your own blends of seeds that the birds will like and eat. It may cost a bit more in the beginning, but with less seed wasted it actually is more cost effective than the premixed bags.

If you want to attract small finches, which are bright spots of color in the drab winter, you need niger seed (also known as thistle) and a special feeder with tiny slits for the birds to pull the seeds out. If you want to attract a wide variety of birds, sunflower seeds, both in the shell and out, are always popular. If you only get blends of those two seeds, you should see vibrant yellow finches and colorful red cardinals and blue jays. Just watching that selection will keep you entertained for some time.

Now that you've researched your wildlife, determined where to put your feeders, and filled your feeders, you're almost finished. You also need a clean water source for the birds. Once you have those two things it's time to sit back with your cup of coffee, or glass of tea, and watch the grateful birds come swooping in and chattering to all of their friends about the bounty they've discovered. It may take a while for the birds to find you if you haven't fed them before, but once they do find you they will keep coming back as long as you provide a food source for them.

As a fun project with kids, take some pine cones and smear peanut butter on them, and then roll them in bird seed. You can hang them from branches on the tree, and watch the progress as the birds slowly peck away the seeds until only the pine cone remains. It's fun for kids of any ages who enjoy nature and the creatures there...and who doesn't love that??

The birds will appreciate what you've done, and if you take the time to appreciate your efforts, your body will appreciate what you've done as well. Your breathing will slow and level out, and your blood pressure will slowly drop from the stress relief and relaxation that come from communing with nature. Take it from me...feeding the birds is the way to go. Here's to happy birding!