In an effort to attract birds to your garden, you may decide to set up bird houses at various strategic points in your yard to provide shelter for the birds. In addition to giving them a place to live, it also brings them close enough for you to observe all through the seasons.
All the same, after you have positioned these bird houses in your yard, you have to make a decision as to whether you should leave food out for them or not. Many purists believe that you should not feed them believing that if you do, the birds will become dependent on you and lose their natural wild life survival instincts. Others, however, think that if you don't give them help, especially during the colder winter months when food may be hard to come by, the odds that the birds will not make it through the winter are diminished.
Unfortunately, there is not an absolute right or wrong answer to that question. Everyone has to decide for themselves the right thing to do. Keep in mind, however, that if you do make the decision to set up feeders for the birds and set food out for them - once you begin, be prepared to continue. Because, whether you like it or not, you have made them partially dependent on your generosity. The birds that live in your garden, as well as the birds that visit your garden will come to depend on a certain amount of food being at your place.
Birds need to eat a lot to survive. Once they arise in the early morning, they begin to look for food. And except for a couple of midday rest breaks, they spend most of the day until dark looking for food. My personal belief is that man has spent centuries slowly destroying their natural wildlife habitats and feeding areas. A nice way to give something back is to provide feeding areas in your back yard or garden which you make a good effort to keep stocked and replenished.
So what do you feed them? You won't go wrong by following two simple rules. One, give them staples. And, two, give them variety.
Staples have a simple purpose - help keep your bird friends alive and healthy. The most typical staples are generally the seeds and grains. They are perfect staples mainly for a couple of reasons. If they are stored right, they will keep a long time. So you won't have to be continually reordering supplies.
And, most importantly, just about all species of birds can survive on seeds and grains if need be. This would be similar to you surviving on bread, nuts, and water. These may not be your favorite foods, but they will enable you to survive.
But, survival is not everything. Birds, just like you do, want to get enjoyment out of life as well. This is where variety comes in. Make an effort to surprise them with different kinds of food - peanuts, sun flower seeds, even fruits. You will attract many more birds by having a variety of foods. And the ones that show up will look forward to the variety that they find in your garden.
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