Twigs from my garden

As daylight hours lengthen and Ohio gardeners hope for an early spring, nature’s bird food — seeds and berries — are being depleted by our overwintering birds. Winter birds must consume high-fat calories to survive winter harsh weather; a bird can lose seven to 15 percent of body weight just keeping warm on cold nights. Soon those birds that did migrate during the winter months will return, increasing the competition for food.If you choose not to feed birds during the winter months — by planting berry- and cone-producing shrubs and trees in your yard and allowing the seed heads to remain on garden plants — you may still want to augment your yard’s natural food supplies in late winter and early spring by providing backyard bird feeding stations. Well-stocked feeders are an important way to supplement those dwindling natural food sources.Sunflower seeds, which have a high meat to shell ratio, attract the greatest variety of favorite winter birds: jays, cardinals, chickadees, juncos, nuthatches, tufted titmice, redpolls, and woodpeckers. Small feeder birds prefer black-oil sunflower seed; striped sunflower seed is a favorite of larger beaked birds.Mixed birdseed, while cheaper to buy, is often wasted because birds “kick out” the less desirable seed to get to their favorite — sunflower seeds. Seeds not particularly popular with most birds include milo, red millet, wheat and canary seed. If you do buy a bag of mixed seed, look for one containing sunflower seeds, cracked corn and millet. Manufacturers and packagers are required to list what percentage is waste material or “other,” which can include seed hulls, twigs and other inedibles. Or just buy separate bags of seed and mix them together.Niger seed (commonly, but incorrectly, called thistle seed) is high in calories and favored by finches. Since it is a small seed, it requires a special feeder.Suet is high fat and a good source of energy for woodpeckers, nuthatches and other birds that eat insects in warm weather. Fresh suet can be made from beef fat and hung in a mesh bag or purchased as a processed solid cake, which often includes berries, nuts and seeds.A variety of feeders placed at different heights will attract more bird species than one feeder featuring just one type of seed. Refill your feeders from mid-morning to mid-afternoon so hungry birds can eat without interruption at their preferred feeding times — early morning and late afternoon.Female birds, drained of calcium by egg-laying, will be happy to consume your leftover eggshells this spring. Rinse the eggshells and sterilize them by baking them on a cookie sheet at 250 degrees. Crumble them into bite-sized bits and spread them on a patch of bare ground, a rock, a platform feeder or your deck railing.Finally, here is a recipe from Bird Watcher’s Digest you may want to offer your birds this spring.Eggshell Pudding Suet2 cups quick oats2 cups corn meal1 cup lard1 cup peanut butter1 cup wheat germ1 cup raisins1 cup ground eggshellsSugar (just enough to thicken)Grind eggshells in a food processor. Melt lard over medium heat and add eggshells; cook until eggshells are slightly brown. Remove from heat and add peanut butter. Blend in remaining ingredients, let mixture cool, pour into containers and chill. Remove suet cakes from containers, wrap in waxed paper, and store in refrigerator or freezer. Be considerate of our hungry overwintering birds — and welcome back our soon-to-arrive spring birds, with a tasty nutritious buffet. Bird feeding is second only to gardening as a home hobby. Where else can you enjoy nature’s most beautiful sights and sounds but in your own backyard?EventOn Saturday, Tri-Moraine Audubon Society will make its annual field trip to Killdeer Plains Wildlife Area (more than 8,600 acres in Wyandot and Marion counties) to search for ducks, hawks, owls and other wintering birds. A carpool will leave from behind Wendy’s at Eastgate, state Route 309, Lima. Participants should plan to stay until dusk or until a short-eared owl is sighted! They should wear appropriate clothing and footwear, and bring binoculars, lunch, camera and field guides. The trip is free and open to both experienced and beginning birders. Contact Eric at 419-999-1987 or broughtoneric@yahoo.com.Master Gardener Tip of the WeekMark Mohr, Johnny Appleseed Metropolitan Park naturalist, says we should never feed our birds leftover bread, doughnuts or muffins. Starch only fills them up and cannot provide the nourishment they need the weather is still cold and natural food is scarce.