Bird Feeding Tips

The National Bird-Feeding Society (NBFS) developed tips to enhance the bird feeding experience. The tips include:

1. Place bird feeders in locations where they can readily be seen through a viewing window.
2. Start with a basic bird feeding set-up: tubular feeder filled with black-oil sunflower seed.
3. Add other types of bird seeds and feeders such as Nyjer® in a Nyjer® feeder, and hopper or platform feeders filled with black-oil sunflower, sunflower hearts, and whole peanuts.
4. Alternative foods such as suet, fruit, insects, and nectar, as well as water, may also attract additional species of birds.
5. Each season of the year, there may be a different suite of species visiting your yard. These bird species may have different bird food and feeder preferences.
6. In addition to bird seed and feeders, provide birds with habitat, water, and bird houses.
7. Keep your birds safe by protecting them from cats and bird-window collisions, and regularly clean your feeders.
8. To learn more about birds visiting your yard, use the tools of a birdwatcher: binoculars and a field guide.
9. There are birds you can’t see in your yard. To see these birds, take a trip to your local, state, and national parks and explore your natural areas.