Thursday, October 1, 2026
With shorter days and the coming of winter, inevitably readers ask some version of the following question: “I’m worried about the birds. Should I put up a bird feeder?”
The hobby of bird feeding has grown rapidly, probably starting with the COVID-19 pandemic that kept most people home. Now, a huge number of websites offer advice. Bird feeding has become big business.
My No. 1 insight is this: don’t worry about the birds. Their major assignment in life is to find food each day, and they are supremely adapted for this. As you are out and about, take a moment to watch the birds you encounter.
Assuming that they aren’t frightened, you will see birds going about their task of finding food. (If they’re perched up in a tree seemingly enjoying the sun, it’s likely that they have already filled up their gizzards and are digesting in a safe place.)
So, if they don’t really need the food, why put up a bird feeder? For your benefit, of course. A well-stocked feeder will bring a variety of birds in close for you to enjoy watching them.
Which bird species visit will depend mostly on your location and your feeder setup, but there is one thing you can certainly count on: if you provide it, they will come. That’s insight No. 2: you’re doing this for yourself; it should be a joy, not a burden.
This leads me to No. 3: keep it simple, especially if you are just starting out. I know folks whose “bird feeding” consists of keeping a container of sunflower seeds and simply scattering some on the driveway or walk each morning. But if you do want to have an actual feeder, here are a few things to consider.
Begin by evaluating your immediate home territory, including the location of your windows and where you spend your time indoors. Like real estate, the key to a site that attract birds is location, location, location.
Of course, your new feeder should be where you can see it from inside your house. But the birds will also need a safe launch site before they approach the feeder. A nearby tree or large bush gives birds a lookout spot to survey the scene for cats or other predators before they risk landing on a feeder and a place to retreat to enjoy their treat.
There are clear plastic bird feeders made with suction cups to stick to glass on the outside of your window. These bring birds close in, and I’ve seen these priced as low as $10 (although larger or fancier ones are more expensive). As you think about this option, you need to plan how you will refill the feeder since, once the birds become comfortable, they will empty it quickly.
Another option is a simple hanging feeder for outside your window. There are hundreds of designs and price ranges. Some provide a simple tray where you place your daily offering; others have large tubes that hold an abundance of seeds. Again, start simple.
Jill Severn lives in a typical Olympia neighborhood. Her feeder is hung by a chain outside a window, too high for the squirrels to reach but easy to refill. About 12 feet away is a tree where the visitors, primarily chickadees, nuthatches and house finches hang out while taking turns visiting. Jill’s indoor cat is an avid bird-watcher, but the birds have become used to seeing his nose pressed to the glass. Jill also scatters seed on the sidewalk for the juncos to enjoy before the squirrels eat it all.
Another friend lives in an apartment that, fortunately, has a small patio. Her set up is a small hanging feeder and a small birdbath, placed about 10 feet from her patio furniture. Here too, there are some trees close by for security. To my mind, that is near perfect — an opportunity to share your morning coffee with your avian neighbors.
I’ve also discussed bird feeding experiences with folks who have been feeding birds for many years. I’d call theirs a mature setup. They have multiple feeders with anti-squirrel additions and a large bare area on the ground below where over the years various ground feeding visitors have cleared the grass exploring for dropped food.
Over the years they have made many changes, including removing feeders that weren’t effective or, in one case, were too effective. the wide-open design allowed a flock of band-tailed pigeons to prevent all the other birds from gathering.
One comment worth sharing from these experienced folks — feeding the birds is getting expensive! Birdseed is no longer cheap. Having birds visiting your feeder is a joy. However, before starting, you need to realize that 10 pound bags of sunflower seeds can cost something like $20 each. It’s worth shopping around.
Next week will be Part 2 of this series, addressing any questions you send in, offering solutions to bird feeder problems and identifying what bird species likely will visit your feeder, and the preferred food for the various species common here in Thurston County.
George Walter is environmental program manager at the Nisqually Indian Tribe’s natural resources department; he also has a 45+ year interest in bird watching. He may be reached at george@theJOLTnews.com
Bird photos for this column are provided by Liam Hutcheson, an 18-year-old Olympia area birder and avid photographer.
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SteveA
Thanks for this article. Two questions; does a feeder too close to windows increase the likelyhood of birds striking the windows? Second, many commercial feeds have lots of millet. I've read this just causes more bird **** and has little nutritional value.
I hope you'll incorporate answers in subsequent parts of this series.
Thursday, November 6, 2025 Report this
NewToOly
Happy Birthday, George! I enjoy your column a lot. My husband has 2 hummingbird feeders which we enjoy year round.
Friday, November 7, 2025 Report this
GinnyBanana
I live in the Jubilee community where our HOA tells us that we're not supposed to have bird feeders. Their reasoning is that bird feeders attract rats and other pests. I know other critters such as raccoons and squirrels are attracted to free food. Should we really be dissuaded from feeding birds because of the fear of rats?
Friday, November 7, 2025 Report this
kellykelly
Please also cover the importance of regularly cleaning the feeders. Last year my small dog found three dead birds. I contacted the state about this concerned it might be bird flu. They wrote back most likely it was salmonella and that it is passed through the saliva of the birds. The instructions were to remove and wash the feeder and to not put it out for two weeks-the idea being that those infected would either recover or die during that gap. Then to wash the feeder every two days. This was in the winter.
I had house wrens last year but this fall my feeder is busy with nuthatches. Oh and I also have the issue of birds flying into my windows Lowering the blinds has stopped that from happening.
Friday, November 7, 2025 Report this
CommonSenseSenior
In my home in Lacey I put up a open type octagonal tray type feeder that hung by 3 chains under the eave but even with my dining room window. Put in sunflower seeds and other seeds. I never had so much fun watching and learning about the birds. It hung next to a large, tall Sango Kaku japanese maple tree they would sit in before landing and sat in after feeding. My house backed up to a open meadow with lots of conifers.Nearby I had a large cement birdbath. Over a couple years I ended up having 25 varieties of birds coming into my back yard. My dining table sat within a foot of the window and even when the window was open, they got used to us being seated there talking. We ended up recognizing them and informally naming the funny ones. Endless conversation pieces those birds. We got used to seeing which ones got along with others in the open tray. One young one used to gorge himself and then simply fall asleep in the middle of the open tray feeder. Yup, we called him Sleepy. I was homeschooling my grandson at the time and we made a research project out of it, him researching the types of birds and habitat, photographing them and making a binder that I still keep even though he's an adult now. At the end of the project I applied for a Backyard Wildlife Sanctuary designation and received it. Mounted it at front door and was so proud of us. Love those birds!
Friday, November 7, 2025 Report this
ClimateTeam
Happy Birthday George, Love your informative columns and the gorgeous photos, especially Liam's. He has a bright future in photography!
I second the question on rats. Had to stop feeding this summer when I saw two rats sitting in the bird feeder that's like Jill's in the photo.
Keep up the wonderful articles and hope you have a great Birthday!
Friday, November 7, 2025 Report this
DianaMoss
Happy Birthday! My question is about Hummingbirds: Do they stay around all winter? We had visitors to our feeder all spring and summer, but the past two weeks have seen only one, once. If they do winter here, any suggestions for preventing their nectar from freezing?
Friday, November 7, 2025 Report this
Georgewalter
I'm thinking I should respond to all these great comments. First, thanks for the happy birthday wishes. I cannot believe I've actually reached 80 years.
In part 2 I will address rats, squirrels and other challenges to successful bird feeding. However, it does surprise me that Jubilee would be strictly anti-feeder. Maybe a very modest approach to your bird feeder would avoid the risks. I'm having difficulty envisioning a small window feeder attracting vermin.
Those window feeders do not increase birds hitting windows. They slow up prior to landing on the feeder, and the feeder itself breaks up the reflection that leads to window strikes.
I'll write about different seeds in part 2. However, millet is considered prime food for some birds. For this series I was focusing on seed feeders. I'm glad that some of you are keeping your hummingbird feeders up. Anna's hummers are here year around. When freezing weather strikes, I take the feeder in overnight.
More next week. . . .
Saturday, November 8, 2025 Report this
Snevets
Thank you for your articles.
On another subject, can you name the birds that are flocking over the log yard & Swantown Marina over the past week? Someone said Starlings but I disagreed.
Sunday, November 9, 2025 Report this
Dogmom
Hi George & a Happy 80th birthday to you. I'm glad u mentioned the Anna hummingbirds. I used to take my feeder down in the winter but read that the Anna's stay all year so left it up & I have them all year long. As for the feeders freezing up, I ordered heaters (lights) to attach underneath & no more freezing in winter. Now I just need a cooler for those hot summer days, lol. Thank u for the informative & interesting articles you write about.
Tuesday, November 18, 2025 Report this