Fall Bird Feeding Tips
Birds will come to bird feeders at all times of the year, but be prepared to see a slow-down in their food consumption over the next few weeks. This is the harvest season for birds, when there is an abundance of natural food available, lessening your birds‘ need for the food you provide. Here are some tips to get the most out of your backyard birds this fall:
- Don’t stop feeding the birds! The best way to get consistent bird activity in your yard is to reward your birds each time they visit. If birds come to your yard and find nothing to eat, you’ll become a lower priority.
- Put out less bird food. Bird food, especially seed, will stay fresher stored in a cool, dry place than it will in your bird feeders. Fill your feeders only part way. You can use a serrated knife to cut seed cylinders in half. Wait until bird activity starts to increase again before increasing the amount of food you provide.
- Clean your bird feeders. This slower time of year is a great time to give your feeders a thorough cleaning. Wash them with warm, soapy water, then rinse with a 10% bleach solution. Rinse again with fresh water, then let the feeder dry completely before adding food. You can skip the bleach step if you’re using an EcoClean feeder.
- Offer suet. This is a great time of year to emphasize suet products like Suet Balls, Suet Cakes, Bark Butter, and Bark Butter Bits. Suet products remain fresh longer than most bird seed, but during this period of slower activity, you can cut suet cakes in half until bird activity increases. Additionally, you may attract a new kind of bird to your yard, because many of the migrating songbirds passing through our area like suet.
Downy Woodpecker (male) in Dan's yard (September 2021)
White-breasted Nuthatch in Dan's yard (November 2020)
Downy Woodpecker (male) in Dan's yard (September 2021)
Fall Bird Feeding Tips
Birds will come to bird feeders at all times of the year, but be prepared to see a slow-down in their food consumption over the next few weeks. This is the harvest season for birds, when there is an abundance of natural food available, lessening your birds‘ need for the food you provide. Here are some tips to get the most out of your backyard birds this fall:
- Don’t stop feeding the birds! The best way to get consistent bird activity in your yard is to reward your birds each time they visit. If birds come to your yard and find nothing to eat, you’ll become a lower priority.
- Put out less bird food. Bird food, especially seed, will stay fresher stored in a cool, dry place than it will in your bird feeders. Fill your feeders only part way. You can use a serrated knife to cut seed cylinders in half. Wait until bird activity starts to increase again before increasing the amount of food you provide.
- Clean your bird feeders. This slower time of year is a great time to give your feeders a thorough cleaning. Wash them with warm, soapy water, then rinse with a 10% bleach solution. Rinse again with fresh water, then let the feeder dry completely before adding food. You can skip the bleach step if you’re using an EcoClean feeder.
- Offer suet. This is a great time of year to emphasize suet products like Suet Balls, Suet Cakes, Bark Butter, and Bark Butter Bits. Suet products remain fresh longer than most bird seed, but during this period of slower activity, you can cut suet cakes in half until bird activity increases. Additionally, you may attract a new kind of bird to your yard, because many of the migrating songbirds passing through our area like suet.
White-breasted Nuthatch in Dan's yard (November 2020)
About The Author
Dan Hinnebusch is the Ornithologist for Wild Birds Unlimited. Click to learn more.