Fall Cleanup… It’s for the Birds!

Before the winter winds start to blow, many of our favorite song birds head south, although, many also stay behind and tough it out with the rest of us. However, there are a few ways to make life a little easier for our feathered friends such as sparrows, cardinals, chickadees, nuthatches, woodpeckers, finches and sometimes, robins. To survive in freezing temperatures, birds need lots of high-fat protein found in black-oil sunflower seeds, peanuts, suet and insects. Keep bird feeders full when wild foods are scarce and also supplement their diet by leaving plenty of ‘leftovers’ in your garden.

Don’t rake everything or remove all of your garden debris in fall. Leave some of your perennials and shrubs intact at the end of the season. Dried leaves, stems and seeds look pretty with a coat of frost and birds will appreciate the tall stems, tasty seeds and berries throughout winter. Ground-feeding birds such as cardinals will also look for high protein insects under leaf litter. Dried seeds from annuals, perennials and grasses will become a rich buffet for goldfinches, cardinals, nuthatches, chickadees and many other backyard birds. Keep your bird feeders full to encourage your favorite birds to stick around for food and shelter. Especially this year, bird watching can be a wonderful family activity when we will all be sticking closer to home.

10 Great Plants to Keep Backyard Birds Fed and/or Sheltered in Winter.

1. Holly or native Winterberry: Holly’s evergreen foliage and red berries always look beautiful in a winter landscape and birds, especially robins, devour these berries. Winterberry shrubs have fall foliage that turns yellow and then drops to expose red berries on dark branches… or until the birds get to them!

2. Purple Coneflower: Daisy-like petals in a rainbow of colors are attractive especially to Monarchs and Swallowtail butterflies. The seedheads dry in fall and will attract goldfinches and others in winter. It is sweet sight to watch a tiny Goldfinch delicately take the seeds from a dried coneflower.

3. American Cranberry Bush (Viburnum trilobum): This is a tall viburnum with bright, red berries. Usually, the berries won’t last past autumn because once the leaves fall and berries are exposed, woodpeckers and bluebirds will consume them without worrying about leaving something for tomorrow’s meal.

4. Liatris or Gayfeather: Vertical spikes of purple flowers feed nectar to butterflies in summer and the dried seeds for finches in fall.

5. Monarda or Bee balm: This native in the mint family features twisted, or whorled flowers. Most varieties produce bright-colored pink, purple, or red blossoms. In fall, many different bird species come in to dine on the ‘nutlet’, a large, hard-shelled seed that forms when the flowers turn into seed. It attracts finches, sparrows, juncos, redpolls, among other species.

6. Rudbeckia or Black-eyed Susan: Many varieties of cheerful, yellow-gold, daisy-like flowers bloom profusely in mid- to late summer and into fall.

7. Asters: Many beautiful varieties of late-summer and fall blooming daisy-like flowers bloom in shades of purples and pinks.

8. Evergreens (Yews, Spruce, Juniper, Pine, Arborvitae): These shrubs/trees provide dense foliage (needles) provide welcome shelter and protection from cold, winter winds.

9. Grasses (Little Bluestem, Oat Grass, Switchgrass): Besides the feathery seed stalks that providing texture in your landscape, they also become food for birds and shelter for smaller animals.

10. Leaf piles: Even though it might look a bit messy to some people, birds prefer that you don’t remove all of those fall leaves. Rake them along the perennial border for hibernating bumblebees, butterflies, caterpillars and insect eggs. They will be a welcome snack in fall and winter for foraging birds.

Supplement their winter diets with Pasquesi Bird Seed and Wildlife Mixes…

Pasquesi Four Seasons No Waste Seed Mix: A premium mix of sunflower meats, white and red millet, peanut pieces and clean, cracked corn will tempt songbirds and reduce waste around the feeder (no shells.)

Cardinal Food: A great mix especially for cardinals but expect blue jays, nuthatches, and other wild birds to enjoy the blend of black sunflower, safflower, white millet, peanut pieces and striped sunflower seeds. 

Wild Finch Plus: This blend of Nyjer (Thistle) seed, sunflower meats, hulled sunflower, red millet, canary seed and canary grit is made for goldfinches, pine siskins and other small songbirds.

Peanuts: Whether in the shell or not, peanuts are a high calorie, fat-rich nut (legume) that appeals to many backyard birds such as  nuthatches, blue jays and chickadees. Since nuts don’t freeze, they are a perfect food for winter birds. However, squirrels love them too. Tip: Make sure you put fGive the squirrels, their own feeder and place it far away from the bird’s feeders.

Woodpecker Food: High protein peanuts, sunflower meats, shell corn, black sunflower seeds, dried raisins and cherries. Cardinals love this mix, too.

We also carry bags of:

Safflower Seed, Chickadee Blend, Woodpecker Food, Cracked Corn, Black Oil Sunflower Seeds, Safflower Seed and more. Plus, corn kernels and full corn cobs for deer, squirrels and other wildlife feeding.

For more information on bird feeding, birdhouses, squirrel-proof feeders or other bird-related items, talk with our experts at our Lake Bluff store or visit our blog at www.pasquesi.com. We would like to offer you every opportunity to create a bird-friendly habitat for your favorite, backyard birds.