After redoing our 10-year-old yard with new plants and a patio, we added the icing on the cake -- bird feeders.
With eastern red cedars, hollies and other bird-attracting plants in the natural area out back, we visited several birding stores to select a feeding system.
In the past, we built a caged system with a cemented 4-by-4 post outfitted with squirrel- and raccoon-deterrent baffles and 12-inch, vinyl-coated hooks. Caged feeders fend off squirrels and nuisance birds.
This time, we bought an advanced feeder pole system and feeders from Wild Birds Unlimited in Virginia Beach, Va., part of a national franchise of stores -- (wbu.com).
FEEDER POLES 101
I have had feeder poles before and disliked them because they twisted, turned and leaned in soft wet soil. It's mainly why we did the 4-by-4 posts and cement -- nothing short of an earthquake was going to move that contraption.
The advanced pole system, however, looks sturdy, thanks to a stabilizer that slips onto the pole and into the ground. Installation is simple and straightforward -- twist the 48-inch base pole 16 inches into the ground and then slide the stabilizer onto the 48-inch section. Several months later, the pole still stands straight, despite gusty winds and drenching rains.
Snap-on, snap-off extensions give you a pole as tall or as short as you want. A double-crook arm provides hangers for two feeders; add a second arm for four feeders. Accessories such as a decorative finial, side-dish feeder, decorative branch perch and suet cage with bracket attach easily. Because the pole is located in the middle of the lawn, close to a window where I can watch birds as they feed, I placed a Yard Tuff mulch tree ring on the ground around the pole. The ring makes it easy for the mower and trimmer to go around the feeder system.
NUISANCE-PROOF FEEDERS
I am a longtime, die-hard fan of caged bird feeders because they, along with a baffle, keep out squirrels, raccoons and unwanted birds like grackles and common blackbirds. Successful caged feeders have a wide, wide space between the feeding tube and the outside cage so paws and beaks can't reach through and sneak a snack.
Easy-clean feeders are another good way to go. Some brands like Duncraft feature a pull-and-slide feature that frees all the feeding ports so you can scrub and rinse them, then reassemble the feeder without much effort. Other brands have bottoms that release and feeding ports that snap out for easy access. These feeders will cost you more than one-piece units but the price is worth it to us.
HOMEMADE BIRD TREATS
Here are some easy-to-do bird treats, courtesy of Cole's Wild Bird Products -- coleswildbird.com.
• Pinecone feeder. You need one large pine cone, string or ribbon for hanging, smooth or crunchy peanut butter and bird seed. Tie a piece of string or ribbon around the large pine cone, leaving about eight inches to wrap and tie around a tree branch or large shrub limb. Spread peanut butter all over the pine cone, and be sure to fill the crevices. Then roll the peanut butter-coated pine cone in birdseed. Hang high from a tree branch. This is a great winter craft project for kids.
• High energy homemade suet for winter. You need one cup of vegetable shortening, one cup of peanut butter (smooth or chunky), two cups of quick-cook oats, one-third cup sugar, and one cup white flour. Melt shortening and peanut butter together and stir until well blended, then stir in the rest of the ingredients. Pour mix into a square container about 2 inches deep. Allow the mix to cool. Cut into squares, bag and place in freezer. Squares can be stuck on tree branches easily.
• Bring on the bacon. Save the grease from your breakfast bacon to make a good winter treat for birds. Mix one cup of bacon grease with one cup of peanut butter and two cups of cornmeal. This treat can be spread right on a tree trunk.
• Fresh fruit feast. Apples: cut in half and skewer onto tree branches to attract robins, blue jays, bluebirds, woodpeckers, gray catbirds, and others. Oranges: cut in half and skewer onto tree branches to attract orioles, woodpeckers, thrashers, tanagers, rose-breasted grosbeaks, and others. Grapes: hang bunches of grapes from tree branches to attract robins, mockingbirds, bluebirds, towhees, woodpeckers, and others.
• Birds and berries. Collect bunches of red berries from holly, spicebush or dogwood. Tie each bunch tightly with a string, leaving enough to wrap around a tree branch
• String popcorn and cranberries. Just like people do to decorate a Christmas tree, hang the natural garland of popcorn and cranberries on a tree or bush outdoors. This is a fun craft for kids.
• Indian corn. Tie a string tightly around a bunch of Indian corn, leaving enough string to wrap and tie it all tightly to a tree branch.
SEEDS BIRDS LIKE
February is National Bird-Feeding Month, a time to put out seed and suet that will bring birds to your backyard feeders, where you can watch them intently.
Here's what birds like best, according to National Bird-Feeding Society, Cornell Lab of Ornithology at birds.cornell.edu and Cole's Wild Bird Feed at (coleswildbird.com).
• Mealworms: bluebirds.
• Sunflower meats: bluebirds, warblers, robins and woodpeckers.
• Sunflower: chickadees, titmice, nuthatches, cardinals, grosbeaks, sparrows, blackbirds and jays.
• White millet: ground-feeding birds like towhees, juncos, song sparrows, doves and Indigo bunting.
• Safflower: cardinal, chickadees and titmice.
• Nyger, also called thistle: finches.
• Corn: jays.
• Suet: most birds; woodpeckers especially like peanut-filled suet.
Kathy Van Mullekom is the garden/home columnist for the Daily Press in Newport News, Va.
HomeStyle on 12/31/2016