Function

• Blue jay
  
  Wild bird food attracts birds and keeps the population healthy around one's home. Food can be brought out and placed into feeders any time of the year. For North American areas, there are some birds that do not migrate south in the winter such as blue jays and cardinals. How many birds will stay throughout the cold winter months depends on how well a location is maintained with fresh bird seed and a clean eating area. Most birds rely heavily on man-made feeders to supply their entire winter food supply.
  
  

Types

• Bird seed
  
  There are different varieties of bird food for every species of bird. One of the most popular types of food is the sunflower mixture. Sunflowers are loved by most birds especially finches, cardinals, chickadees, sparrows and woodpeckers. Sunflowers can be found in most bird food varieties and provide an inexpensive filler for packaging. White proso millet is a favorite of ground-feeding birds such as finches, doves and juncos. Cracked corn and peanut pieces are popular seed varieties that attract woodpeckers, doves, cardinals, sparrows, starlings and blue jays. Thistle seeds are favored by all types of finches and siskins. Suet treats made from fat, peanut butter and seeds are popular among blue jays and songbirds. Liquid nectar is a well-favored treat that many hummingbirds seek for refueling and should be placed in a hummingbird feeder to attract the birds.
  
  

Bird feeders

• Bird feeder
  
  Choosing the right bird feeder to hold the seed is just as important as matching up seeds with birds. Some of the most popular feeders are hanging, platforms, tubers and suet feeders. Most bird feeders start off with a basic design and then are embellished for decorating purposes such as chalets, mini farmhouses, copper etching, log cabins, chapels and gazebos. Most hanging feeders hold varieties of seed mixtures that have one or more feeding ports and a small ledge for perching. Tubers are very similar to hanging feeders but are designed to better hold small seeds such as thistles, which can easily fall out of most hanging varieties. Platforms are a flat feeder that can hold larger seeds such as sunflowers that may get caught or jammed up in a hanging feeder. The platform also allows for a suet stick or a homemade peanut butter bar to be combined with the seeds. Suet feeders hold suet filled with peanuts, berries and seeds that birds love to indulge in, especially in winter months when seeds and berries are scarce.
  
  

Considerations

• Squirrel on a Bird Feeder
  
  One should consider that there are animals such as squirrels, chipmunks and mice that will eat bird food. Keeping bird feeders off of the ground or installing a baffle or cone-shaped device where they cannot climb up the feeder is a good way to keep them at bay. Bird feeders can also be messy when the birds drop seed shells and suet onto the ground below the feeder. Bird feces can also accumulate near a bird feeder and should be cleaned daily for a healthy environment.
  
  

Effects

• Suet ball
  
  The effects of providing bird food for feathered friends who live in the wild are to be able to attract an assortment of birds on a daily basis --- even during cold winter months. Bird food also helps reduce the risk of diseases that are prevalent with many birds such as conjunctivitis and West Nile virus and promotes bird health and longevity.