Top 6 Bird Feeding Mistakes to Avoid

Author: Mary Fesio
Many bird fans try to encourage wild birds to come to their website.  But, not knowing the care wild birds need, mistakes can be made which can, actually, hurt the birds.  Below, are feeding strategies that can cause illnesses to birds.

1. Feeding on the ground in the same place all winter—If you feed on the ground in the same place all winter, you will create a stinky, messy, unhealthy place that will be difficult to clean up in the spring.  The best thing to do is to change the feeding spot frequently, especially when the weather is wet.
2. Ignoring the cleanliness of the feeder—Even though it's cold outside, cleaning those feeders on a regular basis is very important.  You should make it a ritual to clean the feeder in a light bleach/water solution, at least, on a monthly basis.  Then rinse the feeder thoroughly and let it air dry.
3. Taking your feeders down so birds would migrate—It is not true that bird feeders keep birds from migrating.  Bird feeders or no, the birds know when it is time to fly south and bird feeders will not keep them from going.  No matter how well your feeders are stocked, when it is time to go, the birds will go.
4. Feeding birds stale bread—Birds may seem to love bread.  But bread to a hungry bird is like feeding popcorn to a hungry child.  The stale bread is filler but has very little nutritional value.  A better feast is fruit like oranges, apples, mealworms or rendered suet.  The birds will be very appreciative.
5. Going to the grocery store to buy seed—Most seed mixes from the grocery store is not of a good quality.  If you notice that most of the seed are wheat, barley or milo, you need to find some other place to shop.  A good seed mixture should be comprised of cracked corn, millet or sunflower.
6. Feeding seed left over from last year—Seed ages like any other food.  Weevils and moths get into it and contaminate the seed.  It gets full of flour moths and cobwebs.  The solution is to throw it out and get fresh seed.

By following these few pointers, you will find that your visitors will come to visit frequently.  You will feel good for helping them stay happy and healthy, causing them to visit your yard frequently.  You will be a popular person with the bird community.  That will make a wonderful win/win situation for the birds and the bird watchers.  We wish you happy bird watching right through the winter.

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