Feeding Birds in Your Backyard: A Complete Guide

Wild bird enthusiasts often provide food to attract birds so they can observe local species up close. But what—and how—you approach bird feeding matters.

Different types of wild bird foods may attract a variety of species and provide endless entertainment outside your window. Offering various types of feeders with a mixture of food and water sources will bring a variety of birds year-round! Here’s what to know about feeding birds in the wild.

Is Feeding Wild Birds a Good Idea?

Wild bird feeding helps ensure that food is readily available during their migration to a different geographical area. Providing food for wild birds also ensures they have enough nourishment during the harsh winter months.

This also allows bird enthusiasts to learn about the various species in the area during each season. Songbirds, hummingbirds, woodpeckers, finches, chickadees, cardinals, bluebirds, and other species can all be observed at different times of the year.

What Can I Feed Birds?

Wild birds may be fed a variety of options that include:

• Nectar

• Seeds

• Nuts

• Insects

• Soft fruit

• Suet in various blends, cylinders, cakes, and butter formulations

Different bird food for wild birds is available to support the demands of nesting and winter stress. Some even have ingredients to deter competing wildlife and pests from eating the feed.

Organic ingredients offer the benefit of nutrition without exposure to chemical fertilizers, pesticides, herbicides, or fungicides. Live or dried mealworms will add variety and are a good source of protein. In addition, fruits and nuts are a welcome treat for increased energy, and most will be eaten by a variety of birds.

Wild Bird Food by Season

During the spring and summer months it is breeding and nesting season. For these seasons it is important to select a high protein feed to help with the increase nutritional demands of breeding, nesting, and raising the new fledgling babies.

For fall or migration preparation birds often need high fat feeds to help build fat reserves for their long journey to migrate south.

For the birds that stick around in the winter months they require high energy high fat feeds to help maintain body heat and survive cold temperature. Bird feeds appropriate for each season include:

• Spring: seed blends, sunflower seeds, sunflower chips, millet, fresh fruit, suet when dry weather permits, nectar, peanut butter, mealworms, crushed eggshells

• Summer: seed blends, sunflower seeds, sunflower chips, Nyjer seeds, millet, nectar, fruit, jelly, mealworms, peanuts, suet

• Fall: seed blends, sunflower seeds, Nyjer seeds, millet, nectar, nuts, fruit, suet, cracked corn

• Winter: seed blends, sunflower seeds, millet, Nyjer seeds, nuts, suet, cheese, fruit, peanut butter, cracked corn

Can Birds Eat Bread?

Do not feed birds bread. Human foods such as bread, cereal, and crackers don’t provide the necessary nutrition and may fill up wild birds too quickly, preventing them from getting enough nutrients for optimal health.

Due to the inadequate amounts of protein and minerals, young birds may even develop growth deformities when offered these foods.

How To Choose a Bird Feeder

The best wild bird feeders are based on the type of food you’re offering and the types of birds you want to attract. Varieties include:

• Cylinder seed feeders, with mesh, tray, and weather guard options

• Nectar feeders will have a cylinder or tray design

• Some feeders are designed to deter squirrels and insects from eating the food

• Other styles will attach to a window for up close indoor viewing

Bird feeders should be cleaned every other week (scrub with soap and warm water, thoroughly rinse), or sooner during wet conditions or when there is exposure to visibly sick birds.

When Is the Best Time To Feed Birds in Your Yard?

Feeding wild birds will attract them to neighborhoods any time of the year. There are times when the birds will gain added benefit from this supplemental source of food.

For example, during the spring, birds are nesting and raising young and an increase in the demand for nourishment is required. Also, harsh winter conditions may increase a bird’s physical requirements for survival when resources may be scarce.

Bird seed should be placed in feeders daily, when possible. Offering fresh portions first thing in the morning or just before sunset will allow routine bird-watching opportunities!

Where To Put Your Bird Feeder

Place bird feeders where they are easily visible from inside your home and a where the birds are relatively safe from predators or collisions with windows.

Placing feeders at least 30 feet from windows is best to prevent window collisions.

Birds may mistake window reflections for sky or open space and collide with them, which can unfortunately lead to serious injury or even death of wild birds.

Avoid placing feeders too close to natural cover to prevent tree-dwelling animals, like squirrels, from having access to the feed and to keep predators from being hidden. Alternatively, a baffle is a great way to protect the bird feeder from squirrels.

Ground Level

Ground feeding can be accomplished by sprinkling seeds across the lawn or on a platform such as a stone, deck, or platform feeder on the ground. Choose a location away from busy areas near the house and close to vegetation for protection.

These areas should be easily visible to attract a variety of birds, including mourning doves, sparrows, towhees, and juncos.

Table Level

Bird feeding at table-level can be done with a tray feeder, hopper, or cylinder feeder that hangs from a pole. These should be located away from busy homes, driveways, or playgrounds and at least 5 feet up from the ground, 7 feet away from other horizontal surfaces, and 9 feet away from trees or buildings to deter other wildlife from eating the feed. They should also be placed closer than 3 feet or farther than 10-30 feet from windows to minimize in-flight collision injuries.

Table-level feeders may attract bird species like cardinals, finches, and jays.

Hanging Feeders

Hanging feeders may be either a traditional hopper, cylinder, or platform style. They must be secured so they don’t fall when the bird lands on them or when the winds blow. They can be placed high in a tree, hanging between trees, or on a pole.

Prevent squirrels from bothering your hanging feeder with a baffle placed on top of the feeder. Those placed on a bird feeder pole should also follow the table level location and height recommendations. Be sure to separate feeders by 3–4 feet to reduce territorial fights.

Bird species that enjoy hanging feeders include titmice, goldfinches, and chickadees.

Tree Trunks

Some bird feeders are cleverly designed to be attached to the trunks of trees. They may be decorative and hold a small platform for the birds to perch and feed on. However, squirrels can easily access the feed in these hangers, so you may be refilling your feeder more often.

Woodpeckers, nuthatches, and wrens specifically love these feeders.

Risks of Feeding Birds in Your Backyard

Risk of Disease

One threat with feeding wild birds is the possibility of communicable disease spreading through close contact at bird feeders. But with proper care, maintenance and planning the threat can be easily mitigated.

Bacteria such as E. coli and Salmonella may cause digestive illness leading to dehydration and death.

Highly pathogenic avian influenza is quickly spreading among wild bird populations and other wildlife species putting exposed humans at risk as well.

Cleaning feeders at least every one to two weeks helps kill bacteria and other pathogens.  

Wear gloves when you are bleaching or using warm soapy water. Do not touch your mouth or face before washing your hands to minimize risk.

Keeping feeders away from general living areas or patios helps prevent bird poop contamination.

Avoid handling any sick or dead birds that you encounter and instead contact local wildlife authorities or animal control.

Any immune-compromised individuals should not be handling or cleaning contaminated areas with bird poop unless under the guidance of their primary care physician.

Risk of Predators

Feeding wild birds keeps them coming back to a predictable location, which makes them more susceptible to predator attacks from community cats and local hawk populations.

The presence of food in bird feeders may also attract other wildlife, such as squirrels and even bears, that are looking for easily accessible food.

Being strategic about the type of food and the location of bird feeders can minimize these risks. A deterrent such as a squirrel baffle may reduce the easy access to these unwanted wild animals.

Risk of Window Collisions

When bird feeders are placed near buildings, the birds see through the glass and may collide with it. Even reflective or colorful stick-on additions may not be enough to prevent these injuries.

Keeping feeders more than 30 feet from a window will reduce high speed collisions by keeping the birds’ flight speed slower and allowing birds time to maneuver away.