A Bird Feeding Station – The Bird’s One Stop Shop
A bird feeding station is the perfect one-stop-shop for birds in your backyard. Many bird watchers will simply place seed out for birds but there are a whole host of other foods and various bits and pieces that you can put out for them.
A complete, 5-star bird feeding station may cater for all types and have a range of foods including seeds, peanuts, fruit, suet and even unwanted human waste like kitchen scraps.
You should also provide grit to aid in digestion and water too. Some people tend to think that birds only need water to splash around in to clean their feathers or keep cool, but birds that live in hot climates especially do need to actually drink to stay alive just as we do!
Of course, the actual food that you put out will be largely dependent on the types of birds that are you located in your area. You should make sure that you know what the birds enjoy eating because if you put out a whole lot of food that they don’t like, all you are doing is encouraging squirrels, introduced birds or other unwanted guests to eat the leftovers.
How to attract birds to your bird feeding station
It is important to understand that most birds are naturally shy creatures, apart from certain species of sea gull which have been fed by humans for centuries and have become quite aggressive towards us.
When you initially set up the feeding station you should start off with small amounts of each food because the reality is that it may go rotten before the birds have a chance to find it.
What I am trying to say is that it might take some time for birds to firstly find the feeder and secondly become comfortable using it. This is especially true if there are no other houses with bird feeders nearby and it has not become part of the normal behavior of the bird yet. Humming bird feeders are somewhat exempt from this.
Once you have a large crowd congregating at the bird feeding station you can definitely up the amount of food that you put out.
Consider the seasons
Establishing your bird feeding station in the warmer months might seem like a good idea but this is when food is naturally plentiful in the environment. As a result the birds in the area might be less inclined or willing to use your feeder. Again, what will happen is that the food will either spoil or it will be gobbled up by other animals.
Consider hanging it towards the end of summer when the temperatures start to cool and food becomes more scarce. You may have better luck doing it this way and by the time that summer comes around again, the birds will know where to find you.
You may also be able to catch migratory birds if you happen to be in their path and you have done your homework as to exactly when they will be flying over.