4 Foods for Winter
To attract more birds, add these best-loved options to your backyard menu.
SUET The easiest way to provide suet to birds is to get it straight from your butcher. Put the beef fat in a mesh bag (an empty onion bag works) or a wire cage feeder. If the real deal is a little intense for you, birds will devour premade cakes from the store, too. Attracts: woodpeckers, chickadees, titmice, jays and nuthatches THISTLE Fill a mesh tube or sock feeder with thistle (Nyjer) and soon your backyard will be a winter finch haven. The small needlelike seed is a perfect snack for tiny songbirds.
Attracts: goldfinches, pine siskins, house finches and common redpolls PEANUTS Whether you serve peanuts in the shell or out (just avoid the salty kind), put them in a tube or tray feeder. If peanuts get pricey, mix in some black-oil sunflower seeds. Change peanuts frequently in rainy or snowy weather to prevent mold. Attracts: jays, woodpeckers, chickadees, nuthatches, titmice and house finches
BLACK-OIL SUNFLOWER SEED
A seed preference test performed by the Cornell Lab of Ornithology showed that the majority of feeder birds prefer high-fat black-oil sunflower seed. It’s simple to serve, too— spread it right on the snow-covered ground or fill up a tube, tray or hopper feeder. Attracts: cardinals, grosbeaks, finches, chickadees and nuthatches Water, Water, Water! Birds get thirsty, too. Change the water in your birdbath daily to prevent it from freezing. Or buy a heated bath at your local big box or specialty bird store.