Try these tips below from Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources to supplement the natural foods birds find in winter while safely minimizing disease and other concerns. The Cornell Laboratory of Ornithology’s Winter Feeding Guide has some great recommendations, as does its Project Feederwatch website.
The best seed to provide is black oil sunflower, which has high-fat content and attracts the most species.
Offer nyjer seed for finches, white millet for sparrows, doves and other ground-feeding species, and both suet and peanut chunks for woodpeckers, chickadees and nuthatches.
Avoid generic seed mixes as these tend to have more waste and attract less desired bird and mammal species.
Deter squirrels with cone- or dome-shaped baffles above hanging feeders or below pole-mounted feeders.
Place feeders closer than 3 feet or farther than 30 feet from your home to avoid the deadliest window collision zone.
Minimize disease by cleaning your feeders at least once every two weeks using soapy water and a 10 percent bleach solution. Put out as much seed as will last for 1-3 days at most and change out seed after a rain/snow event.
Provide covers such as brush piles or dense shrubs for roosting and escaping predators.
Offer water to attract a wider variety of species, using a heating element when temperatures dip below freezing.
Source: Save Our Songbirds
