Backyard Birding

Winter is a great time to attract birds to your patio, deck or yard. Winged friends have to look harder for food when grass and seeds are not plentiful. It doesn't take much to attract regional birds - it is as simple as a dish with seed or a large feeder with a variety of attributes.

What are your options with a 'dish':
 - use a planter base
 - kitchen bowl, cat or dog dish, what ever bowl you have handy
 - pie plate works great
 - piece of board, add dowels around the edge to keep seeds from spilling, attach dowels with glue or small nails, add some eye hooks, attach cord or small chain and hang.

Where to place the dish:
 - make a macrame net and hang from a tree or chain from your porch
 - use 3-5 pieces of heavy twine or rope, lay the strands out in a star pattern, set the dish in the center, then tie the strands together above the dish. Attach an 'O' or 'D' ring and hang from a tree or pole.
 - place the dish on a tree stump, or small patio table

Use a similar dish, plate or bowl to make a small bird bath (freezing temps could create cracks in the dish). A larger dish with a solar heating element would be great.

Most of our geographic regions have seed loving 'friends' such as squirrels. If you don't want to share your bird seeds with the four legged wildlife you will need to add a 'cage' around the feeder dish. What you can use is a plastic or wire chicken coop type material and mold a cage around your dish. Most birds will fit through the netting while rodents and squirrels are kept away. You could purchase a pole with hooks to hang your feed and water dishes, as well as suet cakes. These poles are available at most outdoor supply or birding locations. Not familiar with suet cakes - they are bird seeds molded with fats to create a cube, birds love this in the wintertime.

Do you have something else in mind? Maybe a ' non-do-it-yourself' feeder, we have you covered. There are so many choices available. Look at your available space to hang a feeder, is there room for a larger capacity feeder or a simpler smaller one. There are feeders for one type of seed or up to three types. We've included some pictures so you can get ideas.

There are so many options. Making a feeder and watching the birds is a great time for the entire family. Pinterest is a great place for more ideas on home made feeders, making your own suet cakes and many other options.

Wild bird seed is available at many grocery stores, pet supply stores, home improvement stores and outdoor suppliers such as Tractor Supply, and of course on-line.

We would love to see what you choose for your outdoor space, share it with us.

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