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Here are some common questions people ask South Bend-Elkhart Audubon Society about birds. |
Will my birds starve in the winter if I cut down on the amount of seed I put out?
No, they won't. "Your" birds visit many feeders in your neighborhood, and find food in many locations. It is nice to have someone fill your feeders when you are on vacation, but if that's not possible, you won't come home to emaciated birds! Even though feeders do help birds get through the long northern Indiana winter, they still find other things to eat and still sample food from others' feeders.
When should I take my hummingbird feeders down?
We suggest that people leave their hummingbird feeders up until mid-October. The hummers WON'T be tempted to stay up here if feeders are available; they go when the migratory urge hits.
Your own backyard hummingbirds may leave soon, but there will be travelers from further north coming through, and they need a pit stop. Hummers are eating a lot right now, to lay on a good fat supply to give them energy to migrate. So keep those feeders full!
What kind of seeds should I feed the birds?
Seeds come in many shapes and sizes. Many birds, such as cardinals, blue jays, finches, and chickadees - along with others - eat oil sunflower seeds and striped sunflower seeds. They can be placed in tube-style or platform bird feeders.
Other types of seed, such as millet and cracked corn, are popular among mourning doves and grackles.
Niger, or thistle seed, is popular among American golfinches and requires a special tube feeder with smaller holes. Some birds, including woodpeckers, tufted titmouses and nuthatches, also enjoy peanut kernels. A tray of whole peanuts can also be set out for jays and titmouses, which will fly away with the whole peanut!
The best bird viewing is possible when you have a combination of hanging and platform feeders, because different birds prefer to eat in different ways.
I have a robin at my feeder. He seems to be eating seeds, but what else can I give him?
Robins are fruit eaters, and while they will eat seeds after they have cleaned up all of the berries on your shrubs, they will enjoy apples cut into bits with the red peels left on.
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Try some suet. All of the woodpeckers are very fond of suet and suet cakes, and for starters you can cut some up into bits and put it in the feeder with the seeds. If that seems popular, you may want to get a wire suet cage to hold the cakes and put it up next to the feeder. There are also special "logs" with holes cut through them that are good for providing suet. | 
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Is there a less expensive way to provide suet than the pre-packaged cakes in feed and bird stores?
Suet comes from the hard fat located around beef kidneys and loins. It can be purchased from your local grocery store, though you might need to call ahead to make sure they set some aside for you.
You can use the suet raw, or you can make your own suet cakes or suet-filled pine cones. Cut the suet into small bits, melt it in a pan with a little water and birdseed or peanut butter. Pour into muffin pans and let them cool. Or, dip pine cones into the mixture until they are coated with the mixture. You can hang these around your yard.
Although many feedstore-bought suet cakes can be used year-round, don't provide your homemade cakes once the temperature reaches 70 degrees, or they can become rancid.
There is a sick-looking bird at my feeder; his eyes seem all crusty. What can I do?
An eye infection that attacks finches arrived in our area a few years ago. In worst cases, the eyes are sealed shut, and the birds are blinded. If you can pick the bird up (wear gloves!) and bring it to a rehabilitator, do so. If you have a cage for it, sprinkle seed on the floor so the bird will find and eat it. If the bird can still see, it may well get over its infection on its own.
Meanwhile, take your feeders down and give them a good scrub with a 10 percent solution of bleach to disinfect them. It is a good idea to scrub the feeders once a month or so, anyway, to prevent diseases.
A hawk is catching birds at my feeder. How can I get rid of it?
Cooper's Hawks are the usual feeder predators in the area, and they are protected - so resist the urge to get the BB gun out. If you really want to discourage the hawk, stop filling your feeders for about a week. The birds will find other feeders in the interim, and the hawk will look for better hunting grounds.
But on the other hand, take a good look at the hawk. Isn't it astonishingly beautiful and powerful when it zooms through your yard? Being a predator isn't an easy way to make a living, and the hawk has to work hard and often goes hungry. They aren't wanton killers; in fact, most young hawks die of starvation before they are 1-year-olds.
The little birds at your feeders are very wary and keep a sharp eye out for hawks, so that the little ones that are caught are the weak ones - too sick or too stupid to get away. In that way the hawk keeps the population tuned up. It isn't pretty, but brace yourself and enjoy the hawk for the magnificent creature it is.
I don't keep my bird bath filled in the winter. Should I be providing water?
Birds need water year-round for drinking and feather maintenance. You can provide drinking water in a bird bath with a heater, or in another type of container they can drink from. Feathered bathers prefer a rough-bottomed bird bath that gives them sure footing, and they prefer to bathe knee-deep in the water. Look at the depth of a bird bath before purchasing - some are too deep for small birds. Also, be sure to change the water frequently and scrub the bird bath with a stiff brush and a 10 percent bleach solution weekly to keep it clean.
Birds sometimes fly into my windows and die. What can I do to prevent this?
Birds fly into your windows because they see the sky reflected in them and think it's an escape route. You can reposition bird feeders close to your windows, if they're taking off from the feeder. This way, the bird doesn't get up to terminal velocity before hitting the glass.
Hang decals, like hawk decals, on the outside of your windows to distract the birds. Hanging things inside your windows doesn't help much because they can still see their reflections.
Hanging items that flutter in front of your windows can also be helpful to distract birds. In extreme cases, people have installed a wall of nearly transparent netting or screening a few inches in front of their windows to prevent birds from striking them.
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Compiled by Joan Tweedell and Deanna McCool