WINTER BIRD FEEDING in the Truckee Meadows

​

Written by Jacque Lowry

Bird watchers and bird lovers in Northern Nevada are truly lucky that we host such a variety of birds during the winter months.  With a little planning and dedication, we can increase the likelihood that many of these visitors will be seen in our own backyards.  Providing the right type of food in the right type of feeders, along with a consistent source of water for drinking and bathing, is really all it takes to have a chance to host all these feathered friends. 
 
For more information on feeder and food types and deterring unwelcome birds, go to Project Feeder Watch’s web site. They also have an excellent tool showing food and feeder preferences of common feeder birds by region to help you attract particular birds. 

Be sure to clean feeders at least once a month and birdbaths every week.
​

Photos courtesy of Jacque Lowry

​Other Winter Bird Needs:

Water: Be sure to provide a consistent source of  fresh water.  Many birds bathe even in winter to keep their feathers conditioned.  Heated bird baths and water pans are available for purchase.
Clean out birdhouses after nesting season for birds to use as roosting places in winter.
Maintain a brush pile in a corner of your yard for shelter and protection from predators.
Leave some leaf litter under shrubs for foraging by some bird species.
Plant dense evergreen trees and shrubs for winter shelter.  

Hummingbirds in Winter?
​
​In our area, we do have Anna’s Hummingbirds that regularly overwinter here, so if you have one sticking around, don’t worry, your feeder isn’t keeping them from migrating south. If you wish to continue feeding your winter resident, there are heated hummingbird feeders for sale or just remember to bring the feeders in at night to prevent the nectar from freezing. If you don't want to deal with frozen feeders in the cold weather, you can take them down, the hummingbird will find food elsewhere.

Read more about the Anna's Hummingbird, which has been expanding its range since the middle of the last century in response to more available feeders and nectar plants in suburban gardens here.

Feeding Guide Chart

​Food	Feeder Type	Species Attracted
-SEED-- black oil sunflower blends (no milo, please!) ​no waste blend​​	​elevated—tube or hopper feeder	​house finch, house sparrow, goldfinch, dove, Cassin’s finch, chickadee, northern flicker, western scrub jay
millet or cracked corn	ground or near ground	​dove, California quail, white-crowned sparrow, Oregon junco, spotted towhee
nyjer  (Often referred to as "thistle seed.")	​mesh finch feeder, sock	​American goldfinch, lesser goldfinch
Peanuts	Peanut Feeder	​scrub jay, flicker, downy woodpecker, chickadee, starling
​--SUET--        straight suet or cakes with peanuts, fruit or dried bugs	​suet feeders: cage tail prop upside down	northern flicker, downy woodpecker, chickadee, wrens, yellow-rumped warblers
peanut butter	smear on pinecones, tree bark	​bushtits, kinglets
​--FRUIT-- Apple pieces, raisins or craisins soaked in water. grapes, other fruit	Hanging fruit feeders, open tray	​American Robins, Cedar Waxwing, Finches, Mockingbird