Feed the Birds

Maybe you love the cabin lifestyle because it gives you the opportunity to get closer to nature. You love the thrill of outdoor activities, but it’s also nice to spend a little quiet time by the window with a warm mug, observing the wilderness just outside. A cabin offers the opportunity to see wildlife in a way you usually can’t in urban or suburban settings.

One great way to get a little closer to nature is to feed the birds who live near your cabin. It’s really not hard to attract birds and keep them coming back to your cabin or home, and it’s not much of a time commitment. Just put out a feeder and keep filling it with seed, and they’ll find you. Here are a few ideas on getting started with feeding birds.

• Place your feeder in a location that offers you easy access (so you don’t have to trudge through snow to refill it), but also where it’s not a big problem for there to be discarded seed hulls and bird droppings on the ground. You’ll also want to place it where you can enjoy looking at it. Right outside your kitchen window might be a good choice.
• For just about everyone who feeds birds, squirrels pose a huge nuisance. The most squirrel-proof feeder seems to be the house style on a metal pole. Hanging feeders from tree limbs invites squirrels, and the bushy-tailed rodents can usually chew through plastic. A tube feeder with metal mesh is a good option.
• When it’s time to decide what food to put out, remember that the seeds you put in your feeder will attract certain types of birds. The seed packaging should tell you what species the feed will attract, and the fact sheet above has a table showing which birds prefer which seeds.

Before long, you’ll be learning the names of various species and making all kinds of bird friends. Here are some more tips to get you going, and if you end up developing an interest in serious birding, here’s a really fun blog to serve as a resource.