Feeding Birds in an Apartment

Red-bellied woodpecker
at a backyard feeder.

Question from Reader:  I live in an apartment.  Can I feed birds from my balcony?  Should I participate in Project Feeder Watch?

My Answer:  Long ago before I met Kathy and when I was a young man, I used to live on the third floor of a "luxury" apartment complex and had the same issue with rules you have. Basically, I just broke the rules. Fortunately, the apartment managers (all female!) thought I was a wonderful tenant, so I got away with breaking the rules---one of the privileges back then of being young and dashing.

But I did use cracked sunflower seed that left no hulls or mess on the balcony---Kathy and I use the same kind of seed in our yard. You can purchase it at any of the Wild Birds Unlimited stores in the Houston area, or you can order it online at http://www.shopwbu.com/products/. Get the "No-Mess Blend Bird Seed." They also sell suet cakes specially blended for warm climates---order the "No Melt" variety. (I have no financial interest in Wild Birds Unlimited; I simply like their products and customer service.)

We also travel quite a bit, so we record birds when we're home and leave it at that.

Project FeederWatch has no hard-and-fast rule that you have to count birds every week. If you sign up for the project, it will take about two weeks to receive the kit. But you can download the tally sheet on the website at www.FeederWatch.com and begin keeping tallies right away.

Cardinal Sees His Reflection

Question from Tonie: We have a cardinal that keeps crashing into our front window then he flies to the back where he crashes into a glass sliding door! He must be knocking himself silly! What can I do for him? Why is he doing this?

The Cardinal sees his reflection and thinks it's an intruding male on his territory. For our birds here in Texas, breeding season in terms of staking out territories has already begun. The thing to do is to put up window decals of falcons, the natural predator of birds, or leaf decals that distract birds from windows. You can buy the decals online at any number of places (just type in "Window Decals for Birds" in a search engine like Google. Even Amazon.com has the decals. They're not expensive.

Backyard Bird Feeding Tips

Question from reader: I am an avid reader of your nature column and an avid bird lover as well. I was wondering if you could tell me how to increase the species at my home bird feeders. I have several feeders in my back yard, two with standard millet/sunflower seed mix and a new one with finch mix. They are at this time about 6 feet apart on my patio. I attract thousands of house sparrows and different species of doves. I also get frequent visits from mockingbirds, cardinals, and blue jays. However, I never seem to attract any of the migratory thrushes and warblers described in your column. Could you give me any advice on how to get more diversity at my feeders?

Answer: It doesn't sound like your doing anything particularly wrong. Warblers and thrushes are insect eaters and only visit feeders in winter. The three warblers we routinely have in winter at our feeders are Orange-crowned, Yellow-rumped, and Pine. Hermit warblers spend the winter here and often hang around platform feeders. Warblers and thrushes are also attracted to suet cakes in almost any season. Come spring, you might want to put out orange slices to attract migratory orioles and resident woodpeckers.

Other suggestions: Use a "No-Mess Blend of Bird Seed" available at Wild Birds Unlimited Stores in Houston or online at http://www.shopwbu.com/products/. Also, get the "No Melt" variety of suet cakes from the same store. Both products should attract more varieties of birds to your yard, but there's no guarantee because many factors such as trees, bushes, and plantings are at play in attracting birds to a yard. I've seen "perfect" yards for birds, but the poor home owner gets few birds. We don't always no what's keeping birds away or what's attracting them. Obviously, if you have feral cats coming to your yard, that could be a deterrent. Still, backyard bird feeding is not a science. (By the way, I have no financial interest or reward in recommending Wild Birds Unlimited; I simply like their products and customer service.)

Hope this helps, and thanks for being an avid reader of the column.