Feeding birds can be an enjoyable, educational and entertaining year-round hobby. Depending upon the seed mix you choose and the types of birds that live in your area, bird feeding can be inexpensive and rewarding.

If you plan establish a new feeder, put it where birds can find it! Birds find new feeders by sight. Once one bird finds your feeder, other birds will take notice. A new feeder can be scary and it may take a week or more for birds to work up the courage to check it out. Once your feeder becomes active, observe it for a few weeks to gauge how often you will need to refill your feeder.

If spillage is a big problem, think about using a different type of feeder, larger seeds, or putting something beneath the feeder to make clean-up easier. Cleaning up spillage and husks will discourage volunteer germination by scattered seeds, and will also reduce the number of ground feeders (including chipmunks and squirrels) as well as the number of predatory attacks on ground-feeding birds by animals in and around your yard.

The location of your feeder is important. On the one hand, an open area can minimize incursions by squirrels. On the other hand, feeders in open areas make visiting birds vulnerable to attacks by flying predators like falcons, hawks and eagles. Keep this danger in mind when you're trying to find a location for your feeder.

Fill your feeder regularly to keep birds coming. Wintertime feeding is especially important if you live in a "four-season" area, since birds have few natural food sources during the winter months. Birds will depend upon your feeder and those of your neighbors to make it through a long, cold winter. If you plan to stop feeding birds, it's best to wait until springtime to discontinue feeding, since natural food sources will be more abundant.

In addition to food, birds need water, especially in the summer months. Many hobbyists also provide a birdbath or other source of water. Birds don't bathe in the winter and can usually find ample moisture from snow on the ground or in the trees.

Birds digest food with a special organ called a gizzard. Birds look for small pebbles or other kinds of grit to help make their gizzards work properly and to aid digestion. You can include grit, very small pebbles or sterilized eggshell fragments to provide this material in the winter. Don't mix these materials into the feed. Instead, place it in a small dish or open container near the feeder.

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