Bird Nutrition

Flower & Garden Magazine, Feb, 1999 by Jennifer Curry

February is National Wild Bird Feeding Month, so get out there and enjoy nature close-up by feeding those birds.

Just as humans require a nutritious diet, so do birds. Although, birds may have a leg up on us, since they are generally attracted to foods that are good for them. You may catch a bird snacking on a doughnut that was left outside, but it's probably just confusing the sweet taste for flower nectar; its instincts are in the right place.

Birds rely on a combination of natural resources and supplemental feedings or bird feeders. Bird feeders are popular and allow you hours of bird watching, but people often forget about birds when landscaping.

NATURAL RESOURCES

Fruiting trees and shrubs not only provide food -- they also provide shelter, protection from enemies and a nesting place. Trees that fruit in different seasons provide year-round food sources. Trees and shrubs with high-fat fruit, such as flowering dogwood and magnolia, offer migrating birds energy. Some shrubs, such as hawthorn and crabapple, hold their fruit longer, tiding birds over through the winter.

Amaranth, lamb's-quarters, bristle and panic grasses are among the most important bird foods. Seeds provide abundant food sources; some of the most attractive garden staples support birds in the fall and winter months. Before deadheading your garden, see if seeds still remain. Sunflower and purple coneflower are popular with birds. Also, refrain from raking leaves from underneath bushes. Leaves make a natural mulch, creating the perfect habitat for spiders and worms -- much to an insect-eater's delight.

SUPPLEMENTAL FEEDING

Though birds are accustomed to scrounging for their own food, supplemental feeding can ease them through a tough season. It also allows you to watch feeder play.

Distracted by natural foods, birds may ignore your feeder at first. A simple way to attract them to your feeder is to throw out pieces of white bread. Stale or fresh, bread heels make enticing hors d'oeuvres. The pieces will draw attention to your feeder, though you might not want to continue this practice once the birds have caught on. Leftovers won't hurt birds, but they will attract scavengers, such as sparrows, who will compete with native specialists, such as bluebirds.

You can also attract insect-eaters with mealworms. Purchase mealworms from your local bait shop, and place them outside in a shallow pan. You might even coax some birds to eat from your hand.

Once you've attracted a sizable bird population, it's important to continue feeding regularly. Most birds don't rely on your feeder for survival -- at least not any more than they rely on your neighbor's feeder or the natural resources at hand. Birds often migrate from feeder to feeder in a neighborhood. If you lapse in your feeding, you might get left off the flight plan.

Occasionally, kitchen waste can be used to fill your feeders. In the spring, female birds need calcium for laying their eggs. You can supplement birdseed with crushed eggshells and oyster shells. During the summer, put fruit on your feeding table, cutting open overripe bananas and citrus fruits. Birds who pick your sunflowers clean will be delighted with melon seeds. You can even create suet mix with leftover pan drippings, if they aren't too spicy.

SEED AND FEEDERS

Though it isn't dangerous to feed table scraps to birds, you should invest in birdseed. Seed mixes are coated with vegetable oil, supplemented with vitamins and formulated with birds' nutritional needs in mind. Dan Pennington, chief operating officer at Pennington Seed Co. Inc., said that most birds are attracted by the gloss the oil adds to seeds. Birds are also attracted to the taste of the mixes; most contain sunflower seeds, a favorite among birds.

Different birds are attracted to different types of seeds. Most mixes will attract a varied feeder population, though some people are more willing to invest in premium blends that attract songbirds. At first you may want to experiment with different types of seed and feeders.

All feeders, particularly ones filled with suet, need to be cleaned regularly. If you don't rinse your feeder out, mold will accrue and could spread disease among your feeder population. For the same reason, don't throw more seeds on the ground than can be eaten in a day. Scrub feeders once a month with a mild detergent (one part chlorine bleach to four parts water).

Playing busboy to the birds may not sound like much fun, but with a little effort on your part, you can delight in the antics of a healthy bird population.

GARDENING FOR THE BIRDS

Birds will eat the seeds of many attractive garden staples.

Sunflower (Helianthus spp.) Black-eyed Susan (Rudbeckia hirta) Corn Poppy (Papaver Rhoeas) Forget-me-not (Myosotis spp.) Iceland poppy (Papaver nudicaule) Oriental poppy (Papaver orientale) Snapdragon (Antirrhinum majus) Broomsedge bluestem (Andropogon virginicus) Junegrass (Koeleria cristata) Indiangrass (Sorghastrum nutans) Buffalograss (Buchloe dactyloides)

INSECT-EATER'S DELIGHT