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Step 1. Choose a Feeder

Select a feeder that has a good size capacity and provides an ample supply of food. If you can’t settle for one, buy multiple feeders so the birds will be well set in the wintertime.

Step 2. Place the Feeder in a Covered Area

Birds like to have cover and shelter. Place feeders near cover such as dense evergreens to provide birds shelter from storms and from predators.

Step 3. Place Food in the Feeder

Place a black oil sunflower mix that contains a high proportion of black oil sunflower in the feeder. This type of mix is better for the birds because it contains a high fat and protein content. Birds need more energy to keep warm in the wintertime.

Step 4. Keep Full

Provide an all-you-can-eat buffet for the birds by keeping the feeder full. Typically, birds come to the feeder early in the morning to refuel after a cold night and at the end of the day to stock up on necessary calories.

Step 5. Add Suet

If you want to attract some woodpeckers or nuthatches, add some suet to your feeder. Suet is a high calorie fat that is heated and cooled to form suet cakes. The cakes often include sunflowers, berries, fruit, and nuts. Not only is suet high in fat and protein, but it can be enjoyed by birds in the winter and summer. Some suet cakes are melt-resistant which allow birds to enjoy suet any time of the year.

Step 6. Fill the Feeder Every Day

Do not stop filling your feeder in the middle of winter. Birds become accustomed to using your feeders as a food source so you cannot stop feeding. During severe weather, birds depend on your feeder. If you are unable to fill your feeder, ask a neighbor or friend for help.

Step 7. Check In

Shovel snow off and around the feeder after winter snowstorms. Birds are unable to access the food from the feeder or the fallen seed on the ground after it snows.

All Material ©Don & Lillian, Stokes