As part of their Project FeederWatch program, The Cornell Lab has a handy online tool to help backyard birders determine the best foods to attract common feeder birds.
You can use filters to narrow your bird search by region, as well as food type and feeder type. As Project FeederWatch focuses on watching birds in the winter, and winter is the peak season for backyard bird feeding, the region filter uses the winter range for the birds.
As expected, black oil sunflower tops the list for many seed-eating birds. But other popular seeds are featured, and some birds prefer safflower or hulled seeds to the obvious favorite. Of course, other foods like nuts, fruits, corn, and even nectar may also attract birds to your yard. Check out the tool, plug in your location, and see how you can best attract desired species to your yard.
Did you get a new Wingscapes BirdCam for Christmas? Consider sharing your photos with the Wingscapes BirdCam Flickr group. The group is fun to browse, with BirdCammers located all over the world. Your photos can contribute! At one time the creators of the camera kept a...
Some birds feed by hanging upside down. There are "sock" style thistle seed feeders for goldfinches designed for the birds to be able to hang any which way. Nuthatches and some warblers also move around tree trunks and branches upside down as naturally as they do right side...
It's been over six months since I first reviewed the EcoClean Dinner Bell bird feeder. While I was super happy with the feeder and the bag of Bark Butter that came with it, it took a while for the back yard birds to catch on. It...
