It is sad to see people in big box stores dragging out bags of budget bird feed, lamenting that all they ever get is sparrows. Anyone who shops around for budget bird feed should pick another hobby, because they’re not really very good at this one. Budget feed attracts budget birds.
That is not to say budget bird feeds are totally useless. They are fine for tossing on the ground for ground scratching birds, and I pick up the odd bag myself to satisfy those species who prefer to shun the conventional feeders. But if you are keen on attracting colourful blue jays, cardinals, and any others that are about this winter, operators need to invest in mixed bird feed that is worthy the name. That was the main focus at our birdfeeding seminar in Tweed last week.
The reason we feed birds is because we want to have them around, and to attract a good variety, we need to do more than buy a single feeder, fill it full of low quality feed and stick it out in the middle of the yard somewhere as I have seen so many do. A bird feeding program requires some planning and attention to quality products. As I pointed out at the seminar, birds don’t really care if the feeder is colourfully painted or if it’s in the shape of a gazebo – it’s what’s in the feeder that counts. At the end of the day, your choice of feeders will depend a lot on what appeals to you. Of course, there are those feeders available today that serve to repel squirrels or dispense only a particular type of feed. For the most part, feeder choice depends on what birds are in your backyard, what you hope to attract, what the backyard habitat is like, and what is appealing to your eye. No two backyards and the birds they contain will be identical.
Some of the most successful bird feeding setups are those that incorporate high quality feed and a wide variety of feeders to appeal to varied tastes. I’m not saying you should have 25 or more feeders as I do, but there is something to be said for the old adage, “the more the merrier.” People today feed birds because they enjoy watching their antics. When people started feeding birds in earlier years, purchasing a bird feeder was not the complex decision it is today. One either zeroed in on a wooden hopper style feeder, or a less expensive plastic self-feeder that held about a cupful. That is pretty much all that was available on the market, unless you hunted up a hammer, nails and some scrap lumber and threw together a basic platform feeder with a roof attached.
A visit to Picton Farm Supply, A Place To Perch and Thrasher Feeds in Belleville, The Birdhouse in Wooler, or any outlet where bird feeders are offered, will soon verify that bird feeding is big business these days, and customers are faced with a bewildering array of feeders ranging in price from very simple structures starting at under $10.00 to elaborate feeders made by Droll Yankee that are guaranteed for a lifetime and can run you well over $100.00. There are big feeders, little feeders, plastic, aluminium, wooden, silo, octagonal, hanging, pole-mounted, and window mounted. Ultimately, the choice is a personal one. Fill it with good quality feed, and they will come.
Bird feeding is fun. So, don’t pay any attention to the scare mongers who warn that you may be interrupting migratory patterns, or that birds may become dependent on you. More people each winter are frightened away from starting a bird feeding program because they have heard that if you should miss even one day of putting out feed, there will be an ankle deep carpet of dead birds at the base of your feeder the next morning! This annoying myth has been circulating for years. Birds regard your bird feeder as nothing more than another stop in many that they make during the course of the day, and skipping a feeding now and again due to weekend commitments elsewhere will do no harm.
Tweed area residents can get the high quality bird feed I was talking about at The Chicken Coop, on Highway 37, just north of Tweed. Owner Vance Drain sells mixed feed packaged by Thrasher Feeds, as well as nyger seed and sunflower seed. Certainly the place to go to find a good mixture instead of a big box store that is interested more in moving product rather than offering a superior one that guarantees repeat business.
Just remember, we are in this hobby for fun, so don’t be afraid to invest a few dollars in quality feeders and quality feed. Pay attention to cleanliness at your feeders, keep them within easy flying distance of some bushes, etc. so birds have an escape route if a predator enters the yard, and just let yourself go and enjoy this popular pastime as it was meant to be enjoyed.
