Questions About Feeding Wild Birds

When is the best time to start?

Usually, whenever the weather is severe, birds will appreciate a reliable supplemental food source. In northern areas, start before the onset of cold weather so birds have time to find the feeder. I like to try to get food out starting around March. I live in Ohio.

When's the best time to stop?

Although you can feed birds year -round, especially with fruit and nectar, you can stop feeding seeds once a reliable supply of insects is available in the spring. Having said that, we all know we plan on putting seeds out during the spring and summer to attract birds.

Do wild birds need grit?

Birds have no teeth to grind their food. The dirt, sand, pebbles and grit they eat sit in their crop and help grind up their food. Adding grit to your feeder is helpful, particularly in the winter and spring. Crushed eggshells do the same thing, and in the spring have an added benefit: they provide birds with extra calcium for producing eggs of their own.

Can birds choke on peanut butter?

There is no evidence that birds can choke on peanut butter. However, birds have no salivary glands. You can make it easier on them by mixing peanut butter with lard, cornmeal or grit. Your birds will appreciate drinking water too, from a bird bath or trough.

Won't suet go bad in the summer?

In the winter, raw beef fat from the local butcher is all you need for your suet feeder. When temperatures rise, raw fat can melt and get rancid. It's safer to use commercially rendered suet cakes in the spring and summer months. Rendering (boiling) the fat kills bacteria.

How close to my window can I put a feeder?

Birds will come right to your window. Sometimes it takes a while for them to overcome their initial reluctance, so be patient. Don't worry that a feeder on the window will cause birds to fly into the window. Birds fly into the window because they see the reflection of the woods. Window feeders and decals help break up the reflection. 

This hummingbird feeder hangs on a friends deck right outside the window.

My neighbor tried one of the bird houses you put against the window so you can watch the babies inside the house. It never attracted any birds.

However, outside my upstairs window their is always a nest and new baby birds during the spring and summer. So just try things for yourself.