Thanks to a stretch of bitter cold that brought ice and snow, most of us in North Texas were cooped up at home for a good bit of last week.
I am not complaining, though. After several weeks of building new garden beds, my body needed the rest. Morning coffee time stretched gloriously into a several-hour ‘do nothing’ fest. Physical activity was limited to raising and lowering my binoculars to watch the birds.
More Time at Home, More Birds at the Feeder
The birds were the true beneficiaries of this forced staycation. No noisy leaf blowers, no cars on the road, and feeders kept filled to the brim thanks to my empty schedule.
I counted nearly ten different bird species visiting the feeders during the deep cold, many that I had never seen before. Good feeder placement helped, but the bigger factor turned out to be food choice.
Food Choice Determines Which Birds Show Up
Black oil sunflower seeds are the gold standard for filling feeders. They’re easy to find and attract a wide number of songbirds. But if your feeders only offer whole sunflower seeds, you might be missing out on many interesting bird species…