Winter Birding Prep

Winter birding preparation a few chores to accomplish before winter moves in

With the heat of summer behind us, thoughts turn to colorful fall foliage and crisp mornings. It’s also a great time of year to take care of housekeeping for your birds, and prepare for winter which lies just a few months ahead.

Now is an excellent time to clean your bird feeders. Summertime gets busy and our best intentions to clean feeders somehow get superseded by other life priorities. As with any type of housekeeping, the more often you do it, the easier it is each time. Unless it’s been a long time since you last cleaned your feeders, the task should be fairly easy.

Many feeders are designed to be easily disassembled, allowing access to hard-to-clean areas. The primary element which attracts and retains grime in your feeders is the oil from your quality seed you’ve had in your feeders. That oil residue adheres to many surfaces and in turn attracts dirt and debris and over time can be a bit of a mess.

As oil is the prime culprit, cleaning solutions which cut through oil are best. Any household dish detergent which is designed to cut through oil/grease will work. Sometimes, just like doing dishes, it’s easier if you can soak your feeder in a hot soapy solution for hours or even overnight. Other options include a 50/50 solution of household vinegar and water. Also, a 1 to 10 ratio of bleach to water can be used. Regardless of which cleaning solution you use, be sure to rinse all parts thoroughly with water and ensure they are fully dry before refilling with seed.

Another true “housekeeping” activity is the care for your bird houses. By now, all our cavity nesters have long since fledged their last brood of babies. Now is the best time to clean these houses and prepare them for next spring because many houses will be used throughout the winter as roosting boxes. Roosting is an interesting behavior where birds, even of different species, will huddle together inside a cavity/house to stay out of the bitter cold and winter weather.

Clean out all the nesting material in the house and dispose of it in your trash can. Check for any loose screws or nails and tighten along with any loose hinges. Also check for and remove any splinters or other intrusions into the nesting cavity. If you see any signs of mold or fungus, clean with 1 to 10 solution of bleach and allow to dry thoroughly in the sun. Also, if any cavity openings have been expanded from their original size, affix a portal cover to restore to original size.

Now is a good time to consider the placement of feeders and determine if you need to move them to a “winter” location to make it safer and easier to access during winter weather. Ensure you have a safe and clear path which is not likely to become icy, so you can easily and safely refill your feeders. This is a time of year when some people move their feeding stations closer to their home and/or onto their decks or patios for easy access.

Autumn is a good time to ensure you have all your winter birding needs on hand or plan to purchase. Some will switch the type of feeders they use and will accordingly bring in, for example, their hummingbird feeders and clean them and store for the winter. Please leave hummingbird feeders up until October 31 to ensure a source of food for any late migrating hummingbirds. If you don’t feed suet all year, autumn is a great time to resume feeding suet. You can also switch to other higher fat and protein foods as well and purchase accordingly. Another important consideration is providing water for your birds through the winter with either adding a heater Please leave hummingbird feeders up through October 31 to ensure a source of food for any late migrating hummingbirds.

Keep feeders full in winter so that the red male house finch will visit all season long.

to an existing bird bath or buying a heated birdbath.

So, take advantage of these cooler days before the bite of winter sets in to get your housekeeping chores completed and preparations made for a winter filled with joyful bird watching.

NIK HIREMATH Birding Expert

Local birding experts Nik and Theresa Hiremath own and operate Wild Birds Unlimited of Leawood at 11711 Roe Avenue, Leawood, Kansas. Contact them at 913-491-4887.