Seed, feeders draw variety of birds

When I moved to my farm in Bedford, N.Y., almost five years ago, the bird population was not what I had expected. I saw jays, robins, red-tailed hawks, a random woodpecker and lots of crows, but no smaller songbirds -- no finches, nuthatches, chickadees or juncos. When I lived in Westport, Conn., I fed the birds every winter, and their numbers and the variety of species grew each year. One spring, we counted more than 100 species.

I made up my mind that I would try to increase the bird population on the farm, and I started a program to entice all types of feathered friends to the property. We began by using a variety of seeds to fill feeders hung under the eaves of my garage. I also installed bluebird houses here and there on the property, owl houses high in the trees and large feeders near wetlands, in old apple trees and next to carriage roads for easy visibility.

Everything I did worked. After three months, a check of the bluebird houses revealed that each one had inhabitants; two owl houses had attracted new tenants; and many different birds were visiting all the feeders with increasing regularity.

That first winter in Bedford, I counted 20 or so species at the feeders. Not all of them came at the same time. It appeared to my unpracticed eye (I am not a trained bird-watcher -- not yet anyway) that each species had a specific feeding time and would arrive in a flock to devour vast quantities of seeds.

Friends from the Bedford Audubon Society visited the farm and were impressed with the numbers and types of birds enjoying the daily feasts. They guided me on which types of seeds to feed which birds, and told me of even better ways to get more birds to visit. I became a major purchaser of bird food -- safflower seeds, black-oil sunflower seeds, thistle and nyjer, to name a few.

Now we see almost 30 species at the feeders, and I've counted more than 40 other kinds of birds on the property. It's so inspiring to catch a glimpse of wonderfully colored Baltimore orioles, scarlet tanagers or pileated woodpeckers.

To make bird-watching even more exciting, I installed a couple of motion-activated cameras, and I've been rewarded with some spectacular photos. It's also good to have on hand a pair of powerful binoculars and a digital camera, as well as reliable ornithological guides.

When first planning my program, I looked for sturdy, well-built bird feeders that were easy to fill and clean. The ones I use come from a variety of sources: Audubon, Havahart, Droll Yankees, Wild Bird Habitats and K-Feeders Enterprise. When purchasing feeders, keep in mind that certain seeds should be offered in specific feeders so that birds are able to extract the seeds.

I start feeding birds the moment the weather turns cold -- in Bedford, that's around Oct. 1 -- when there are fewer seeds and berries available. I continue feeding them until early summer, when nature once again sustains these voracious eaters.