Winter Feeding
How do bird stay warm when its -20 degrees? 1) They look for shelter from the wind in bushes, cavities in trees, and bird houses or roosting boxes we put up for our feathered friends. Normally birds do not roost together, but on cold nights it is not uncommon for multiple birds to roost together. 2) The food they eat also makes a difference. Birds are looking for food with a high calorie, fat content. Birds will lose 1/3 of their body weight on a cold night.
SUET
Woodpeckers, Nuthatches, and Chickadees.
Many of the insect eaters are attracted to suet and fat products. The best Suet for bird feeding is high-quality rendered beef kidney fat. Rendering kills bacteria and removes moisture. This gives suet a higher melting point and protects from spoiling. Unrendered suet goes rancid quickly. Suet blend cakes and suet logs are preferred. Adding peanuts, peanut butter, sunflowers, and insects add proteins and additional fats.
PEANUTS
Blue Jays, Cardinals, Nuthatches, Woodpeckers, Chickadees
Peanuts are one of the highest-calorie foods you can find, second only to sunflower chips. BLUE JAYS just love peanuts in the shell, while peanut pieces and hearts are loved my smaller birds. In damp seasons, feed only as many peanuts as can be eaten quickly, since molds might grow on moist peanuts and produce the poison aflatoxin.
SUNFLOWER SEEDS
Cardinals, Juncos, Doves, Nuthatches, Chickadees
Sunflowers mimic the seeds of trees including pine, spruce, maple and elm, plus flower seeds of all sizes. Oil sunflower is the preferred seed of many birds. Sunflower seeds without shells are called hearts, chips, and hulled; they are the same product but different sizes. We sell whats called Premium Black Oil Seed, which is 99% pure, which means that only 1% can be sticks, stems, or other foreign matter. Smaller birds including Goldfinchs, Pine Siskins, Purple Finches, and Chickadees prefer Fine Sunflower Hearts or Chips.
NYJER (THISTLE) SEED
Goldfinches, Purple Finches, House Finches, Pine Siskins, Red Polls
Sometimes called "thistle seed", this seed does not come from native or invasive thistles. It is Nyjer Seed, a member of the aster flower family, with pretty yellow flowers - and does not spread as a noxious weed. Most Nyjer is grown in Ethiopia and India. Nyjer is treated with a dry or steam heat to sterilize any noxious weed seeds that might be mixed in. Nyjer has a thin shell and is vulnerable to spoiling in the tube if moisture is present. If the seed gets moldy in your feeder, clean out the tube & sterilize it with a 10% bleach solution. To attract more birds, purchase a mix of Nyjer & Fine Sunflower Hearts (Chickadees & Nuthatches will flock to your feeder)
