Category Archives: Back Yard Birdfeeding

What Happens When You Change Seed Blends

What happens when you change wild bird food blends

I get asked a lot about changing seed blends during different seasons. The answer is “Yes” but with an asterisk (*).

Yes, in the fall and winter seasons it is much easier to offer blends with fruit in them. The dehydrated fruits used in wild bird seed don’t tend to get sticky when it’s cold. And as a bonus, there aren’t any ants climbing the poles trying to get at the fruit. In the summer, it’s another story.

But we also must apply an asterisk to the statement. As the picture shows the corn I added to my sunflower/nut mix isn’t being eaten. Now there are many birds that like corn. Larger birds like woodpeckers, cardinals, doves, crows, blue jays and more will eat whole corn (pictured). Smaller birds like finches and sparrows eat cracked corn. Many people buy corn from us to feed ducks and geese.

However, when you change food or add ingredients to the food the birds “may not like it!” This feeder is a perfect example, I basically put nuts in it for the blue jays. I know they will eat corn but… what the heck.

Well to put it bluntly birds are creatures of habit. And like you and I they know what they like and where to find it. Unlike you and I they don’t have quite the number of taste buds as mammals (humans up to 10,000 taste buds vs. birds up to a few hundred). So humans rely on taste more than birds, but birds do use taste as a sense.

So, the moral of the story is yes, go ahead and change seed blends (if you wish) during the different seasons. But *** don’t be shocked if everything isn’t eaten right away. The right bird may not have found that new ingredient yet!

Where have all the birds gone?

  berries on a dogwood tree
I love to do this post every year. Here in NE Georgia the birds stop eating bird seed and suet right around Labor Day. The wild birds don’t completely stop eating but it is a noticeable difference in consumption.
 
Why…
 
The answer is simple. 1st the great fall migration is happening. Wild birds are leaving (towhees, catbirds, hummingbirds, etc) and new ones haven’t quite arrived (millions of sparrows, juncos, warblers, etc).
 
The 2nd reason is hiding in plain sight! The trees and bushes are fruiting. The picture shown here is a dogwood, those red berries will be bluebird crack in just a few days. My serviceberry in the backyard is about to pop with 1000s of berries. Frost grapes will be coming soon. Acorns, and tree nuts in general are dropping.
 
Yep, it’s a darn good time to be a bird in NE Georgia.
 
So, no… there is nothing wrong with your suet or seed right at this moment. Your feeder now has a lot of competition. Don’t worry, the wild birds will come back!

Keeping Bees Off Your Hummingbird Feeder

How do you keep bees away from your hummingbird feeder?
 
  1.  Buy a feeder that doesn’t leak!
  2. Buy a feeder that has extremely small feeding ports (ex: The “Best-1” 8oz feeder)
  3. Buy a feeder with built in “bee guards” (Perry’s Enterprises in TN installs bee guards in their feeders)
  4. Add a bee guard (Aspects hummingbird feeders are great no-leak feeders but their feeding ports are large. To keep the bees out you add an Aspects “nectar guard” to the bottom of their feeding ports.)
  5. If you are allergic there are “Bee Proof” hummingbird feeders. If you are allergic but still want to feed then contact “Copper Hummingbird Feeders” out of AZ. Here’s a link https://www.copperhummingbird.com/
 
Enjoy the hummingbirds while they are here!