How to Feed Wild Birds in New Hampshire
- 1). Choose a location for your bird feeder that is at least three feet from a window to reduce the chances of birds striking glass and injuring themselves. Whether you install a shepherd's hook for hanging, place a bracket on your house or hang the feeder from a branch, plan to place it where you can easily reach it to refill it.
- 2). Pick a tray, house or tube feeder, depending on what type of New Hampshire bird you want to attract. Finches, nuthatches chickadees, wrens, sparrows and other small wild birds can easily manage the small posts and holes on tube feeders and house feeders. Larger birds like cardinals, blue jays and doves prefer roomier platform and tray feeders, though they'll also pick up what's on the ground.
- 3). Hang a suet cage for woodpeckers, which are highly attracted to the fats, oils, fruits, nuts and seeds that are buried in it. Woodpeckers common to New Hampshire include the downy, hairy and red-bellied varieties. If you live in a wooded part of New Hampshire, you may see the enormous and shy pileated woodpecker at your feeder.
- 4). Keep the feeder filled all winter with oilseeds like sunflower, safflower, millet, flax and peanuts. Wild bird mixes sold in stores often have "filler" seeds that birds don't like. If you see birds sorting through the seeds in the feeder, try mixing your own from this group.
- 5). Take down and wash feeders every few weeks in hot water and mild detergent to remove molds and bacteria from decomposing seed and bird droppings. Rinse and dry the feeder thoroughly before refilling and hanging it up.
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