BY: Connie M. Thompson, Barbeau Birder Glancing around through the woods and the surrounding fields, I see a lot of natural food still available for the birds. This is the time of year when many people put out their bird feeders and begin to fill them. Although my own personal philosophy is to feed the birds all year around, I do understand the winter-only bird feeders as well. Their philosophy stems from the fact that the birds have lots of food available all summer, so why feed them? Extensive studies undertaken by major universities such as Cornell University indicate that the birds will still partake of the natural food supply and that they only use feeders for 20-25 percent of their daily intake, no matter what the season. At this particular time of the year there are lots of berries still on the bushes, even though the leaves have all fallen off. The berries will continue to cling to the branches until a bird or animal consumes them. Also clinging to their branches are various seed heads from all of our summer gardens. The coneflowers and black-eyed Susans have perfectly dried seed heads ripe for the taking right now. In years past these perfectly packaged food treasures will sway unnoticed in the breeze until just the right flock discovers them. Last year one day in late November our black-eyed Susan patch was descended upon by a charm of goldfinches and siskins. They clung to dozens of the moving stems and picked apart the seed heads, peck by peck. Some preferred to land directly on the seed head and feed between their feet, while others scooted up and down the stems, ripping off pieces of the heads when they swayed close. Then there were the shy birds, which preferred to hop around on the ground and snatch up any dropped or fallen seeds. They were the true opportunists of the crowd and were also the smartest ones, preferring cover from predators over ease of feeding. American Goldfinches like to dine on coneflowers! Photo courtesy of Sandy Hoover The same scene happened with the berry-laden bushes. All of a sudden there were dozens of waxwings chirping merrily away in the bush. They were gulping berries left and right and were also feeding berries to one another. Their happy whistling calls and chirps were the epitome of a satisfied, full-bellied flock of birds. Northern Cardinals savor berries too! Photo courtesy of Sandy Hoover So what can you do to supplement the birds' diets? There are many preferred foods among our various winter species, but the all-time favorite still seems to be the black-oil sunflower seed. Ninety-five percent of the birds in Michigan prefer this over any other type of seed, even the expensive gourmet mixes. The high oil content in black-oil sunflower seed translates into high, quick, long-lasting energy for the birds. Sunflower seed can be tossed on the ground for the ground feeders such as cardinals, doves, chickadees, grouse, turkeys, sparrows, jays, snow buntings and juncos. It can also be offered in tray feeders or hopper feeders for the rest of the winter birds such as woodpeckers, nuthatches, goldfinches, purple finches, sparrows and grosbeaks. Sometimes your ground feeding birds can surprise you when they advance up to the next level and decide to join their fellows on the tray feeders. It was a shocking day for me recently when I discovered that the ruffed grouse knew how to fly up to the five-foot high tray feeders and that they took advantage of it when they could, even adapting to flying directly to the trays from the nearby trees. Now, of course, you must realize that most tray feeders are not made to withstand the weight of a full grown adult grouse - especially when a hasty retreat demands a harsh push-off. The feeder poles rock a bit, but have so far held up. It was just a matter of time though. This week the wandering flock of hen turkeys we have hanging around also noted the grouses departure from the tray feeders and gave the feeder their unique "tilted-head, one-eyed" stare. It happened a few minutes later - two of the hens nimbly hopped up (with a tiny bit of wing help) to the top of the feeder. Wow - they had found a wonderful treat up there! It was only a one foot by two foot feeder tray, but the hens peacefully co-existed while they pecked away at the sunflower seed bonanza. There was no room to dance up there but that was of no concern to the turkeys when there was a pound or more of seed within easy reach. When the hens decided to depart with mighty leaps, you can bet that that tray rocked and rolled ... and then it toppled right over onto the ground, the weight on top overbalancing the weight on the bottom. Other popular winter food favorites are peanut butter and suet, which the birds greedily consume in great quantities in the winter. When we recently put out a suet ball, it took all of about five minutes for a hairy woodpecker to find it. Even though it was a bit small for him, he curled his body and tail around the ball and tore out huge chunks, gulping them down as fast as he could. He then hastily departed, sending the suet ball twirling crazily around on its rope. Suet and peanut butter are perfect winter food choices, due to their high-fat content. Eating these foods helps the birds maintain their energy level and allows them to feed all day long so that they can successfully make it through the long, cold winter nights without eating. Hairy Woodpeckers enjoy suet! Photo courtesy of Sandy Hoover A few weeks ago I observed a strange sight. There was a cob of corn on the ground out in the woods behind our house and it was moving. It was just an average cob of corn - nothing supernatural about it - but it was really spooky to see it advancing through the woods at a fast pace all on its own. As I watched it, it bounced up and down, marching rapidly through the crunchy fall leaves before disappearing from sight. I realize now that it was probably a squirrel hauling off the goods, but that is just about how fast the corn disappears around our place. Many folks use corn to distract large ground-feeding birds (and squirrels) from their feeders that hold more expensive seed. Corn is a good source of oil and starch and many birds will seek it out. If you make corn readily available and keep it well stocked - while at the same time keeping it out of the line of sight of your other feeders - you can be assured that the grouse, turkeys, jays, red-winged blackbirds and pheasants will quickly snatch it up. Some of the more "undesirable" birds such as blackbirds, house sparrows and starlings can be effectively lured away by keeping your corn supply plentiful. Corn is a relatively inexpensive food and can be purchased and used in many different ways. The whole ear of corn may be put out, either on a spike or suspended from some type of hanger. I observed a cute feeder in a catalog recently that was simply a coil of wire (that the ear of corn went into) suspended from a long length of bungee cord. I imagined countless hours of hilarity watching the birds and squirrels bouncing all over on the cord. Beware if you put the corn cob out on a nail - the raccoons and squirrels can easily remove it. Twisting a corn cob onto a long screw/bolt will keep those rascals from making off with the treasure. Corn cobs will be enjoyed by grackles, towhees, jays and woodpeckers. Shelled corn is simply corn kernels which have been removed from the cob. Shelled corn can be easily offered in hopper or tray feeders or it can be spread on the ground to attract the ground-feeders too such as cardinals, jays, grouse, turkeys and pheasants. Another way to offer corn is to buy cracked corn. This is simply corn kernels that have been crushed somewhat to make a finer, easier-to-swallow, wonderfully digestible food. The smaller birds with tiny beaks such as chickadees, juncos, sparrows and buntings will enjoy the cracked corn even more than the shelled corn. When storing corn, be sure to keep it in a tightly-lidded, rodent-proof can and keep it in a cool area. The cobs of corn and shelled corn will keep longer, due to their harder shells, and will have a longer shelf life than crushed/cracked corn. Cracked corn can also become easily infested with pests such as meal moths, so be sure to check it regularly. It can also become rancid if not kept in a cool area. Try to keep cracked corn dry because if it is exposed to rain, moisture or dew it will turn into a moldy, heavy, hard mess. When offering cracked corn to the birds, never offer more than they can eat quickly, spreading it in a thin layer - not a thick layer - onto the ground. If you want to try your hand at growing your own corn - be creative! Corn is easy to grow and you are not limited by size, color or flavor. Have fun - corn comes in many different sizes, colors and stalk heights. Another type of corn that the birds really like is popcorn. A long string of popped popcorn looks especially festive during the holidays - but that is ALL that it is - just a decoration because the birds will not eat it when it has been popped. If you would like to offer popcorn to the birds, either leave it on the cob or use the shelled kernels in a hopper or tray feeder - UNPOPPED. The popping process literally explodes the corn kernel into a fluffy mass that the birds tend to mostly ignore. It is a definite disappointment to spend hours stringing popcorn onto a tiny thread for the birds, only to have them shun it like the plague. I guess birds are not as fancy as us - they like popcorn just the way nature made it - that is, before man dropped a kernel into a fire. One more food for the birds that is high both in protein and fat is nuts. Birds like nuts in many forms, whether they be peanuts, hazel nuts, acorns or pecans, though peanuts seem to be a favorite. Many birds consider the finding of a nut to be such a delicacy that they cache or "horde" any that they find. Chickadees, nuthatches, and woodpeckers are common food storers. Nuts are great to store because of their nutritious, high-energy food value, but also because they stay fresh a long time. Chickadees are rumored to be able to remember where their caches are for up to four weeks. Nuthatches and woodpeckers have been readily observed stashing nuts in the crooks of trees or under pieces of bark. Remember to use only raw peanut kernels - roasted or salted varieties are for humans only. Peanuts can be offered thrown loose onto the ground, in special nut feeders, in mesh bags or they can be threaded - still in the shell - onto long pieces of wire or thread to hang around. Red-bellied Woodpeckers pick for the nuts! Photo courtesy of Sandy Hoover Acorn woodpeckers are especially fond of (you guessed it) acorns. They have a habit of jamming acorns in specially-drilled holes. One of the field guides I came across mentioned that an acorn woodpecker was once observed pushing acorns into a knothole in a cabin wall. It lost several hundred before it realized that they were irretrievable. Imagine the cabin owners surprise then they opened the door. Good bird feeding everyone. All text copyright of Connie Thompson December 2002 To report any bird sightings or anecdotes, please call me evenings at 906-635-5336 or write to: 14488 S. Ridge Rd., Dafter, MI 49724