SUMMER FEEDING OF BIRDS (7/24/03)

If you wonder whether feeding birds during the summer is not such a hot idea because you might be corrupting them or causing them to lose their instinct for “proper” food, fear no more.

Just sit outside for a while and watch your backyard birds and their activities. Sure, some of the time, they are flying back and forth from your feeders, grabbing a seed or two here, a bit of suet there. But keep watching. You’ll also see just about every bird forage for itself. This morning I watched one of our downy woodpeckers, a real regular at our suet feeder. He was flying from one tree to another, picking and pecking on and under the bark of each, seeking out his own food.

Our goldfinches hang out most of the day, it seems, at the thistle feeder, what I consider to be the equivalent of the office water fountain, but then, again, I see them dining happily on the seeds of expiring flowers. There have been times when our yard has blazed yellow, not just from the blooming dandelions but also those that had gone to seed and were being picked clean by goldfinches.

In the summer, our feeders make for a quick snack, the birds’ version of an ice cream cone. However, since I also see a few adults bringing their young to the suet, I consider this more like a trip to McDonalds for an order of fries. Nonetheless, feeding birds throughout the summer will not make them "lazy" or "dependent," nor will it keep migrating birds around longer than they should stay.

Over the years, I’ve decided that birds may be inclined to lay larger clutches of eggs when they feel secure about their food sources. I am sure we have more birds nesting in our yard now that we feed all year around than we did when we stopped feeding in the spring. Furthermore, for many birds, especially the goldfinches, house finches and other predominantly seed eaters, their natural food is still not very plentiful, and they have come to depend on our handouts for a steady source of food.

It is especially important to keep your feeders very clean during the hot weather. Instead of the beef suet you may have used during the winter, use commercially rendered suet cakes, available in some supermarkets and stores that cater to bird watchers’ needs, as they won’t melt or become rancid. If possible, buy the cakes that have berries in them. Ours attracts a catbird.

Another precaution for summer feeding: Be careful about the seeds you buy and where you store them. It's wiser to buy seeds in smaller quantity than you did in the winter and to store them in a cool, dry place, because certain moths will lay their eggs in sunflower seeds. When the seeds get hot, the eggs hatch. Also, don't buy seeds that are packaged in burlap bags, another site for insect eggs, or in paper and plastic bags that have patched holes, as they may well be indications of insect or rodent infestations.

As I’m sure you’ve noticed, there’s a seasonal change in your customers. Just as local eateries experience a change of clientele from winter to summer, so do we. Instead of juncos, white-throated sparrows and perhaps a yellow-rumped warbler or golden-crowned kinglet, we’re feeding red-winged blackbirds, cowbirds and grackles, while a few lucky people have orioles dining on gourmet handouts. Of course, we still have our year-round chickadees, titmice, cardinals, woodpeckers, mourning doves and song sparrows. Our “best” birds of the summer, at least so far, have been a pair of bobwhite, eating the white millet that we scatter on the ground for the doves and sparrows. Between the loss of their type of habitat and the dining preferences of coyotes, these quail are very scarce on the Cape nowadays. Actually seeing one is a rare pleasure!

I hope you don’t put grackles in a category with starlings. Grackles don’t usurp other birds’ nesting sites; they build their own on a branch somewhere rather than in a birdhouse or other cavity. There's nothing pushy in the way grackles eat, either, although at times they will use their large size to advantage, dropping down to a feeder with outstretched wing, causing the other birds to fly off and clearing the feeding field rather rapidly.

I’m sure you’ve noticed that whether seasonal or regulars, life is a whole lot more earnest than it was during the winter. Birds right now have a lot of family responsibilities,whether it’s eggs to incubate or eager mouths to feed. The adults look bedraggled, but, then, didn’t most of us look that way when our children were young? They have a lot of mouths to feed. Our blue jays’ young have been quite raucous in their demands, and cardinals seem to be on the run all day long fulfilling the needs of the begging young.

During this past long and drawn-out winter, watching the birds at our feeders was a daily pleasure. Now we can add enjoyment to our hours on the porch or patio by watching the antics of our summer birds.

Please send your comments and anecdotes about birds to me in care of the Cape Cod Times, 319 Main Street, Hyannis, MA 02601 or, if you use email, to emiller@seepub.com. I regret that because of an overwhelming amount of mail, I cannot respond to each of you personally. However, I have added a Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) section to the web page with my current and past bird columns, now found at http://home.comcast.net/~elliemiller/index.html. If you can’t find the answer to your question there, try Bird Watcher’s Digest at 1-800-879-2478 or check out their FAQ at www.birdwatchersdigest.com.

GRAPHIC: Seeds, suet and sticks provide an attractive bird-feeding setting.