Feeding Birds in Maine

For birds and birders alike, Maine provides an abundance of excellent habitat. As the largest and most sparsely populated state in New England, Maine represents a significant portion of the breeding range for many eastern woodland bird species. One of the most satisfying ways to enjoy birds is to attract them to the vicinity of our homes. There are several strategies for doing this: by providing food and water; by providing nesting facilities; and by planting trees, shrubs, and other vegetation attractive to birds.

Food

Birds prefer natural foods when they can find them, and in general, plants are the principal sources. By selecting trees, shrubs, and ground covers with an eye to their seed- or fruit-bearing potential, buds, and nectar production, the wildlife gardener can create habitat that offers a rich, long-term source of food for dozens of wildlife species.

Establish a Feeding Station

Setting out food for birds provides a supplement to natural sources, so even the most regular avian visitors will not depend exclusively on your feeding station for nourishment. When they are not at feeders, they continue to forage for seeds, fruits, insects, or other foods they find in their habitat. Nevertheless, once you establish a regular winter feeding station, you should continue doing so or the birds that regularly congregate there will disperse. Probably the most important key to attracting birds to your feeders is to be conscientious about keeping them filled.

Year-round Feeding

Traditionally, most people who feed birds do so only in the winter season, but putting seed out year-round will allow you to enjoy seeing birds in their brilliant breeding plumages as well. Keeping your feeders filled during the spring and summer will also allow you to enjoy such species as the rose-breasted grosbeak and northern oriole that winter in the tropics.

Is Your Feeder Attractive to Birds?

A satisfactory feeder should be simple, with a minimum of moving parts. It should protect the food from ice, snow, rain, and wind, and it should be placed in such a way as to be inaccessible to cats and squirrels. Your feeders will also be more attractive to birds if you situate them near a tree, bush, or brush pile to which they can dart should a predator appear. Also, many birds like to have a staging area from which to safely make sure the "coast is clear" before exposing themselves in the open. Grit should be provided at or near every feeder. Sand or finely crushed oyster or clam shells are suitable.

Attract Variety - Offer Choices

Experiment by putting several kinds of feeders at different heights from the ground and different distances from your house and the nearest cover, and you will quickly learn which options are most successful for your particular situation. Providing different foods from different feeders also reduces competition that occurs when food is offered only at one large feeder.

Since different bird species prefer different types of food, the best way to attract a variety of birds to your feeding station is to offer as wide a choice as possible. Spread white millet and cracked corn on the ground for sparrows and mourning doves; sunflower seeds, mixed grain and fruit on platform feeders for cardinals, grosbeaks, and finches; sunflower seed in hanging feeders for chickadees; and suet for woodpeckers and chickadees. more about seed varieties

Suet provides a rich supply of energy and is readily taken by many insect-eating birds such as woodpeckers, chickadees, tufted titmice, wrens, and warblers. Feed suet to birds whole or melt and resolidify it in a more workable form. Suet can be mixed with cornmeal, bacon fat, and peanut butter to increase the variety of birds that will eat it.

Fruit is the best choice for attracting birds that do not normally eat seeds. For example, halved oranges or grapefruit, conspicuously displayed, are an excellent way to attract orioles and certain woodpeckers. Scarlet tanagers can sometimes be lured to a feeding station with sliced bananas. Northern mockingbirds, American robins, grey catbirds, cedar waxwings, and eastern bluebirds are attracted to raisins, grapes, or cherries sprinkled on a conspicuous surface, such as a flat rock or table feeder. Generally, birds are more receptive to fruit in the warmer months, but wintering pine grosbeaks are often drawn to apples left to rot at the base of a tree. And for early-returning robins caught by a spring blizzard, raisins and other dried fruits spread on the snow will be a welcome handout.

Liquids

Water is required by most birds for drinking and bathing. Incorporating it into your home landscape plan can be a key element in successfully attracting birds. In fact, many species will ignore habitat with abundant food and cover if there is no water nearby. Ideally, the water should be located on the ground (as opposed to in a pedestal-type birdbath) and near cover. If possible, try to provide for year-round water needs. Water slowly dripping from a pipe into a shallow pool will ensure a regular supply in all but the coldest weather. Also, the sound of moving water will often draw species to its source.

The ruby-throated hummingbird, present in Maine only during the summer, will feed on a mixture of one part sugar to four parts boiled water. Do NOT add food coloring. Hummingbird feeders should be kept clean and the mixture changed weekly. Special hummingbird feeders can be obtained from our Nature Stores or from many garden supply centers.

Taking Care of Your Feeders

Birds can spread disease among themselves if feeders become contaminated with bird droppings and mold. During the warm weather, rinse your feeders off with water pressure from the hose and scrub with a bleach water solution consisting of 10 parts water and 1 part bleach. (Do not use any soap on them. ) Rinse thoroughly. Do the same thing with your hummingbird feeders, and rememer to change the food mixture weekly.

Tips for Solving Some Common Problems

There are no birds at your feeder.

Probably the most important key to attracting birds to your feeders is to be conscientious about keeping them filled. Usually offering a variety of seed types will increase the diversity of birds visiting your yard.

Sometimes it can take up to several months for birds to come to a new feeding station. You can try spreading some seed on the ground - sometimes this will attract attention to the area and will alert birds to the feeders. Also, the sound of moving water will often draw species to its source.

Check the placement of your feeding stations. Your feeders will also be more attractive to birds if you situate them near a tree, bush, or brush pile to which they can dart should a predator appear. Also, many birds like to have a staging area from which to safely make sure the "coast is clear" before exposing themselves in the open. Remember to place feeders in such a way as to be inaccessible to cats and squirrels. To avoid giving raptors or cats an advantage in catching birds, feeders should be at least ten feet from the nearest cover where predators could hide.

If birds have left an established feeding station, first check and make sure the feeders are clean and that the tubes are not clogged. Ordinarily, when birds disappear from a feeding station it is usually due to either clogged feeders, or large abundance of natural food (this is most common in the fall). It is important to keep in mind that birds are wild animals and we can not control where they feed or travel.

Preventing Collisions With Windows

If placing feeders closer to the house increases the number of bird/window collisions, try using stick-on window feeders, or move feeders to within one or two feet of the window. By reducing the distance between the feeder and the window, birds have less room to build up the speed that causes serious collisions.

Deterring Bees / Ants in Hummingbird Feeders

To reduce problems with bees, make sure bee guards are installed on the feeder. This will help stop bees that crawl into the feeder and contaminate the food when they drown in there. If you have a problem with ants getting into your hummingbird feeder, grease the pole that the feeder hangs on to help eliminate the problem. Apply 6 inches of Vaseline petroleum jelly to the midpoint of the pole. The ants won’t climb through it. Eventually, the petroleum jelly will attract dust and become ineffective against the ants and it will need to be cleaned off and reapplied. (source:Hiawatha Valley Audubon Society, Wisconsin)

Deterring Squirrels

Squirrels are very ingeneous and keeping them off your feeders is a constant challenge. First, determine how the squirrels are accessing your feeders. Are they jumping up from the ground? If so, you need to raise the feeder. Are they climbing from a tree or branch to the feeder? If so, you need to create a physical barrier between the branch/tree and the feeder. A baffle will usually solve this problem. Other ideas include: place the feeder away from a tree, and feed a less expensive food like cracked corn on the ground in another part of the yard. Keep the ground clean below the feeders to deter the squirrel's from that area.

Deterring Pigeons

Pigeons do not like to perch, so feed using a tube feeder. Keep the ground clean underneath the feeders to deter the pigeons from feeding in that area. Pigeons generally prefer cracked corn or millet. So, if this is the grain/seed you are using, we recommend switching to whole black-oil sunflower seeds.