LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) -- Wildlife and birds that didn't fly south for the winter can use a little help at this time of year. Brownsboro Hardware and Paint's Jim Lehrer explains which foods attract which birds, and the best way to keep squirrels out of your feeders.
Bird seed & suet:
There are a lot of different bird seeds. Black oil sunflower seed is the most common choice to attract a variety of backyard birds. Nutrasaff and safflower is the number one favorite of cardinals. The great part of this seed is that squirrels, starlings and grackles eat it.
Peanuts have a high oil and fat content that converts easily to body heat. Peanuts can be added to a mix or fed separately in a feeder. Woodpeckers, nuthatches and blue jays love peanuts, either whole or shelled.
Millet is a favorite seed of ground feeding birds like juncos, indigo buntings, sparrows and doves. You may see other birds sorting through the mix in the feeder and kicking the millet to the ground. This is exactly what is meant to happen. Some people like to buy just millet and put it in a ground feeder.
Suet is popular and offers the birds a quick source of energy that is critical for their survival, especially in the winter. Suet contains beef fat which helps them keep warm. There are many different types of suet that contain insects, nuts, hot pepper (to keep the squirrels away), and other ingredients to keep the birds coming back. Use suet to attract woodpeckers, nuthatches, chickadees, bluebirds and more!
Different types of bird feeders:
Hopper Or "House" Feeders: This kind of feeder protects seeds fairly well against the weather and bird droppings, but if the seed within the hopper does get wet, bacteria and fungus can thrive. Hopper feeders are attractive to most feeder birds, including finches, jays, cardinals, buntings, grosbeaks, sparrows, chickadees, and titmice; they're also squirrel magnets.
Tube Feeders: These are hollow tubes that keep seed fairly clean and dry and, if they have metal feeding ports, may be somewhat squirrel resistant (though squirrels often chew through the end caps or the plastic tube itself). These usually attract small birds such as sparrows, grosbeaks, chickadees, titmice, and finches while excluding larger species such as grackles and jays.
Bird bath & heaters:
Everyone needs water in the winter including birds. There are a wide variety of bird baths, heaters and de-icers to help keep water from freezing.
Keep squirrels away or just go ahead and feed them?
Baffles are the best defense against squirrels. Baffles are a large plastic domes you put over your bird feeders that rotates or is unstable. The idea is to make them unstable and to block access to the bird seed. Most squirrels are dumped to the ground. But squirrels are known to be determined. So don't be surprised if a couple of these bandits get through your barrier.
If you can' t keep the squirrels away, you might consider feeding them, too. Their favorite foods are whole raw peanuts, sunflower seed or whole or cracked corn. In that order!Throw these favorite foods into a hanging platform or a specialized squirrel feeder. The idea is that the squirrel will become territorial and protect his own feeder versus trying to invade the bird feeders.
Brownsboro Hardware & Paint
4858 Brownsboro Road
Louisville, KY 40207
502-897-1591
OR
9521 US Highway 42
Prospect, KY 40059
502-292-2595
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Brownsboro Hardware & Paint is a locally owned, full-service hardware store in Louisville, Kentucky. With two locations we have been serving the East End of Louisville since 1960. They are your local source for Weber® grills, The Big Green Egg®, Benjamin Moore Paint® and all your hardware needs.
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