Let It Grow
By Tammy Thornton
Those of us living near the Atlantic Coast in South Jersey find ourselves along an important migratory route for birds. However, not all of our feathered friends choose to leave the area, but instead tough out the cold winters like the rest of us year-round “locals”. But winter weather can bring challenges for these little creatures. Offering them birdseed throughout this season will provide these year-round residents with extra sustenance in the winter months.
This time of year, a variety of songbirds can be found in South Jersey. Chickadees, blue jays, cardinals, woodpeckers, tufted titmice, nuthatches, robins, sparrows, and finches are among the many different kinds of birds that don’t migrate. You can attract them to your own backyard with various types of birdseed. Black-oiled sunflower seeds are popular with a wide variety of song birds. These types of sunflower seeds are high in oil, protein, and fat, providing energy that birds need in the winter months. The shells of black-oiled sunflower seeds are thin, making them easy for birds to crack open.
Our Shore Local area hosts a few different types of woodpeckers such as the red-bellied woodpecker, downy woodpecker, hairy woodpecker, and Northern flicker. If you enjoy birdwatching, you’ll love seeing these different types of woodpeckers visiting your feeders. They can’t resist peanuts. Use a quality bird seed mix containing nuts, and you will soon see these hammerheads visiting your backyard. You can also offer whole peanuts, but avoid salted or roasted nuts. Woodpeckers and other birds also enjoy suet, which is high in fat, giving them energy. For a few dollars, you can buy a metal suet holder, made specifically for square suet cakes. You may want to try your hand at making your own suet. This is a good project for winter since you won’t have to worry about homemade suet melting, as it would on a hot day in the summer. In addition to woodpeckers, suet will attract cardinals, chickadees, titmice, and nuthatches.
Unfortunately, squirrels also enjoy sunflowers, peanuts, and suet. Squirrels can decimate your suet cake in minutes, spill your bird seed all over the ground, and chew through your bird feeder in the process. Saving some of your seed from squirrels requires mental gymnastics and loads of patience. Strategically hanging your feeders, using squirrel baffles and squirrel “resistant” bird feeders, and employing the services of a large dog are all ways you can attempt to salvage some of your birdseed. For an easier and less maddening solution, simply use a different type of bird seed. Safflower seeds will attract cardinals, titmice, chickadees, finches, blue jays, and nuthatches. However, squirrels don’t like safflower. When I’m at my wits’ end with squirrels, I smugly fill my feeders with these white seeds and gloat as the squirrels pass them by.
Squirrels also have zero desire to eat Nyjer seeds. These tiny, black, thistle-like seeds are a favorite of our New Jersey state bird, the American goldfinch. Though goldfinches may leave their homes in a nomadic search for food in the fall, plenty of goldfinches are present in South Jersey during the winter months. You just might not recognize them in their drab winter coats. The vibrant yellow and black spring and summer wardrobe has been exchanged for less noticeable plumage. When offering Nyjer seed to finches and other birds, be sure to offer fresh seed and change it frequently since goldfinches are finicky about their Nyjer. It’s also prone to mold. Since the seeds are so small, you will need a special type of feeder. But inexpensive ones can be found, often in pre-filled plastic feeders or pre-filled “socks”.
Whichever type of birdseed you choose to offer your feathered-friends, be sure to keep your feeders clean, and change out any unused seed frequently, to avoid the growth of bacteria. Provide birds with a water source such as a bird bath, making sure fresh water is added when everything else has frozen. Avoid bird seed mixes that contain a lot of filler, such as milo and millet. Though these bird seed mixes will be cheaper, you get what you pay for. Most of the songbirds that I’m trying to attract to my yard won’t eat these filler seeds, so they would be wasted. Also, the tiny seeds spill out through the holes of typical bird feeders, leading to further mess and waste. Personally, I prefer a quality birdseed that has a fruit and nut mix and also contains black-oil sunflower and safflower seeds.
By providing birdseed in the winter, you may also encourage these same birds to choose your backyard to nest in the spring. What a delight of nature to find a nest of eggs and enjoy the hope of baby birds in the spring.
We would love to hear about your winter gardens and bird-watching experiences. Kindly send your comments, pictures, and questions to: shorelocalgardener@gmail.com.
Tammy Thornton is a mom of four, a substitute teacher, and a Sunday school teacher. She is passionate about gardening and cooking, and loves the beach.
