Don't feed birds bread crumbs. It's a nice gesture, but it's not good for them. There are many different mixtures of seeds that fulfill their basic requirements. These can be supplemented with suet for balanced nutrition.
There are dozens of styles of bird feeders. Some are tubes and others are platforms. Different species have different feeding habits. Some feeders are more decorative than useful, but most every feeder will serve the purpose of helping the birds. If you don't want to be bothered with hanging a feeder, you can simply leave the seed in a bowl on your patio table.
If you want to make sure the birds get more than the squirrels, select a squirrel-proof feeder that is encircled with a wire grid. This allows small birds such as finches to feed but keeps out squirrels and larger birds.
If you have a bird bath, remember to keep it clean in winter and fill it regularly. Birds need open water for drinking in cold weather. To make a bird bath more useful for both drinking and bathing, consider a heating element to turn it into a refreshing spa.
You'll enjoy watching wild birds eating and frolicking from your windows and know that you provided a useful service for them.
Products shown in this segment are courtesy of Tagawa Gardens.
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