It's time to get out and fill those feeders

When nighttime temperatures plunge into the 30s, bird activity picks up noticeably at feeders the next morning. Last week, after a freak October snowfall, birds flocked to my feeders. Birds don't accumulate layers of fat to get through the fall and winter like mammals do. Migrants fatten up temporarily to fuel their journeys, but most backyard birds eat just enough to get them through each night. That's one reason feeder activity peaks in the morning.
Chilly mornings remind us that it's time to pull out the seed feeders and stock up on bird food. Whether you're just getting started or you want to get more serious, here are some tips to help you turn your back yard into a wild bird haven.
Beginners often ask what kinds of feeders work best. Many people start with an open platform feeder or a traditional hopper-style feeder. These simple, nonexclusive feeders permit access to all birds. Because they are nonexclusive, however, larger birds such as blue jays, grackles and mourning doves often monopolize these feeders.
To accommodate a larger variety of birds, use a variety of feeders.
Some types
A plastic tube containing sunflower seeds attracts everything from cardinals and chickadees to nuthatches and woodpeckers. Nyjer tubes attract finches. Remove the tray at the base of tube feeders to prevent larger birds from using them. Be sure your tubes have metal-reinforced feeding ports to prevent squirrels from enlarging the openings.
A bowl-style feeder covered with a plastic dome to deter squirrels permits only clinging birds such as finches, chickadees, titmice, nuthatches and woodpeckers to feed. Larger birds such as grackles, pigeons and doves require perches and are physically unable to use bowl feeders.
Suet offered in plastic-coated wire baskets appeals to those birds that like a diet high in animal fat -- woodpeckers, chickadees and nuthatches.
The single best food for wild birds is black oil sunflower seed. Virtually all seed-eating birds eat it, and it's relatively inexpensive. Judge any mix by the percentage of black oil sunflower seed it contains. Other good seeds include striped sunflower seed, nyjer, safflower, white and red millet, nuts, whole corn and cracked corn. Avoid mixes with milo, wheat, oats and other cereal grains; these are filler seeds that birds typically ignore.
Backyard birders must also deal with the problem of handling and storing large quantities of seed. Seed is cheaper when bought in 50- or 100-pound bags, but large quantities are difficult to handle and store. Some wild bird stores and nature centers offer customers a seed storage program. Customers prepay a whole winter's worth of seed at a discounted price, but pick it up at the store only as needed.
Seed storage programs, an increasingly popular innovation in customer service, also simplify planning and ordering for store owners, so both buyer and seller benefit. Ask your seed supplier to provide a similar arrangement.
Survey program
If you're curious how the birds in your back yard compare to those elsewhere, consider participating in Project FeederWatch, an annual continental survey of backyard birds. By recording the birds that visit their feeders just twice a month from November through March, an army of dedicated birdwatchers helps ornithologists at Cornell University's Lab of Ornithology keep track of the population trends of backyard birds. No experience is necessary and even children can participate. Each year thousands of FeederWatchers submit checklists reporting millions of birds. Thanks to that effort, ornithologists are gaining a better understanding of the dynamics of backyard bird populations. For more information, visit www.birds.cornell.edu/pfw/.
To join a proven citizen science project, send a check for $15 to cover administrative costs and a subscription to the quarterly newsletter BirdScope to Project FeederWatch, Dept. TWS, 159 Sapsucker Woods Road, Ithaca, NY 14850 or call (800) 843-BIRD.
Finally, for a detailed list of foods backyard birds prefer and instructions for building the ultimate feeding station, send me $2.00 and a self-addressed, stamped business-size envelope.
XSend questions and comments to Dr. Scott Shalaway, R.D. 5, Cameron, W.Va. 26033 or via e-mail to sshalaway@aol.com