03/30/2026
Some reminders! Get those hummingbird feeders ready as well! They should be here early this year!
Your bird feeder is still set up for winter. The birds at it changed three weeks ago. Here's what to switch right now.
🐦 Remove:
- Standard suet cakes — once daytime temperatures stay consistently above fifty degrees, standard suet softens and goes rancid. Switch to no-melt formulation or remove until fall. The birds that relied on suet in winter are switching to insects now
- Whole peanuts in the shell — jays and woodpeckers love them but the shells accumulate under the feeder and harbor mold in warm wet spring conditions. Switch to shelled peanut pieces or peanut hearts
🐦 Add:
- Grape jelly for orioles — one tablespoon in a shallow dish. Baltimore Orioles are arriving now and this is the strongest attractant. Limit to a tablespoon per day so they continue hunting insects for their chicks
- Orange halves for orioles — on a nail, cut side up. Replace every two to three days before fermentation
- Mealworms, live or dried — bluebirds, wrens, chickadees, and phoebes switch to insect-heavy diets in spring for breeding. A dish of mealworms near the feeder attracts species that don't eat seed
🐦 Keep but adjust:
- Black oil sunflower stays — year-round staple, no change needed
- Nyjer seed stays but watch for clumping — nyjer absorbs moisture in warm weather and blocks the ports. Shake the feeder every few days. Goldfinches are molting into yellow right now and hitting nyjer feeders harder than any other time of year
- Safflower seed — add if you haven't. Cardinals prefer it. Squirrels and grackles mostly ignore it
🐦 Clean everything:
- This is the most important step. Warm weather plus moisture plus accumulated seed debris equals rapid bacterial growth. Clean every feeder with a dilute bleach solution every two weeks through spring. Rinse thoroughly and dry completely before refilling
- Feeder-transmitted diseases peak between March and May — the same window when birds are concentrated at stations and physically stressed by breeding. A clean feeder is the single easiest intervention
- Rake or sweep the ground under the feeder weekly — accumulated hulls and wet seed on the ground are where the bacteria grow fastest
Your winter menu kept them alive. Your spring menu helps them breed 🌿
