Keeping your bird feeder, and the seeds inside it, clean is key to making sure they are not harmful to the birds who may visit it. Photo by Ariana van den Akker courtesy Maine Audubon

‘Tis the season … of bird feeding questions. We always get an increase in questions about attracting birds to peoples’ yards in winter, be it thanks to the new bird feeder they get during a holiday gathering, because their local bears are hibernating and it is “safe” to hang a feeder again, or because folks are just getting into the awesome hobby of birding and want to see more birds. So in the spirit of the bird feeding season (which, by the way, can be year round), I wanted to answer some of the most commonly-asked questions.

Let’s start with the classic: “should you even feed birds?” The easy answer is “Yes,” but it is important to acknowledge that this comes with more responsibility than I think most people are aware of. Primarily, if you are going to be feeding birds, you need to also make sure that your feeders and the seeds in them are clean, generally kept dry, and are not going to be harmful to the birds. Cleaning the feeders once every two weeks is typically adequate to ensure that no bacteria is growing or to help prevent disease from spreading, but this will vary. If it is warm or wet, you’ll want to clean more often, or if you are seeing a sick bird at the feeder, like one with avian conjunctivitis, then you’ll want to clean the feeder and maybe pause feeding for a week or two.

This is a good segue to “Do birds need bird feeders?” and another easy answer of “No.” Birds have survived for millions of years without bird feeders, and we haven’t changed their survival instincts in the past century by putting out little piles of seeds for them in random backyards. Birds are actually amazing survivalists. Think about it — a Black-capped Chickadee can survive a Maine winter! It’s remarkable. Even more so, the tiny Golden-crowned Kinglet (half the size, by weight, of a chickadee) also overwinters in Maine’s evergreen forests and rarely ever is seen visiting bird feeders.

This is just to say that these birds can and do find plenty of naturally occurring food on the landscape and don’t actually need the food we are putting out for them. They are probably happy to take a free handout, but studies have shown that they are only supplementing their diet and do not become dependent on a feeder. In winter, natural sources of food like insects and berries may be a bit harder for birds to find, so it’s a good idea to keep your feeders up and, of course, clean.

I already mentioned the responsibility that comes with feeding birds, and also want to point out that perhaps not every yard is suitable for a bird feeder. A few years ago, I moved from a third-story apartment in Portland to a lovely little house in Windham with fields and woods around, seemingly perfect for getting a bird feeder set up. Naturally, the best housewarming present for a naturalist is a bird feeder, but unfortunately mine are still stacked up in our shed, years later, for one reason: outdoor cats. Our new neighborhood has too many people that let their cats roam outside, and I’m sure that putting up a bird feeder would attract birds to their doom. As a reminder, cats are a non-native surplus-hunting apex predator that humans have introduced to the landscape, and kill an estimated 2.4 billion birds per year in the U.S.

I do own three cats myself, all which will live long lives indoors, where they are safe from predators, cars and diseases, and won’t kill any birds. As a fun fact, Maine has “animal trespass” laws where an animal’s owner is responsible for keeping their animals off your property and outlines when the animal needs to be removed, when it becomes a civil violation, the fines associated with that, and so on, except the odd section on “Definitions,” where it says “‘Animal’ does not include cats.”

The last thing I’ll end on is usually the first question people ask — after they have decided to be responsible bird feeders and decide they have a safe yard: “Where do I start!?” There are tons of options for seeds, and even more for types of feeders. A good place to start is thinking about the birds you want to attract and what they like to eat. The biggest limiting factor for a bird’s choice is what seeds it is capable of eating, and you can generally think of this as the larger the bird’s beak, the larger the seed it can eat. Small-billed siskins and finches like Nyjer seed, while at the other end of the spectrum, cardinals and grosbeaks favor large safflower seeds. A “middle of the road” seed that is most commonly put out is black oil sunflower, because it is the right size for many birds. Increasingly popular (and available) are mealworms, which are great for attracting bluebirds in winter. Beware, these tasty morsels will be in high demand for many species, so you may want to put them out sparingly.

The takeaway here should be that feeding birds is an easy and accessible way to see birds, and it’s really one of the only ways to bring them closer to you. It should be done in the right way, and over time, you can figure out what will work best for your yard or local outdoor space. I’ll be teaching all about bird feeding and many more topics during my “Birding Basics” course starting with the new year! Learn more about that at maineaudubon.org/events.

Have you got a nature or wildlife question of your own? It doesn’t have to be about birds! Email questions to ask@maineaudubon.org and visit www.maineaudubon.org to learn more about birding, native plants, and programs and events focusing on Maine wildlife and habitat. Doug and other naturalists lead free bird walks on Thursday mornings starting at 8 am, at Maine Audubon’s Gilsland Farm Audubon Sanctuary in Falmouth