During cold winter months, birds provide color and entertainment outside. It’s easy to lure feathered beauties to a feeder, whether it’s on a balcony or in the yard. With a tiny amount of effort, you can draw birds year round. In order to flourish, our bird friends need 3 things; food, water and housing. Houses offer protection from winter’s cold. Different foods draw different birds. As you might imagine, some of them have preferences. We have bird food to satisfy most any of our feathered friends.
Black oil sunflower seed is one of the most popular among birds and birders. This one seed draws dozens of species to your feeder. If you’ve never set up a feeder before, start with sunflower seed and tube feeder. It will give you and the birds great satisfaction, while providing a good balance of fiber, protein and fats that keep birds healthy.
Most bird food is comprised of a mixed ingredients that provide an optimal nutrient value to the birds. Look for food that provides an identifiable list of ingredients. A good food will also provide a nutritional analysis, so you will know that you’re providing them with what they need, not just filler.
Colorado has an abundance of Finches, Jays, Woodpeckers, Starlings, Grosbeaks, Hermit Thrush, and many more. They love fruit and berry seed blends. There’s also a Deck, Porch and Patio blend that leaves little refuse behind. Birds aren’t known to be neat eaters, so it helps to have “clean” food in the feeder for them. 
Suet is a great way to feed birds in winter. Suet is ideal for high energy birds, with full-tilt metabolisms. It provides adequate nutritional value and added fat to see them through winter. Suet cakes usually last a week or so, making it easy to maintain the feeder.
The one thing we all wrestle with is the pesky squirrel. Those agile little thieves love to raid the feeder. They’re enough of a problem that most manufacturers make special feeders, that have a cage around the feeding tube, eliminating the squirrel’s ability to access the food. Now, if you’re a fan squirrels, a squirrel feeder might be a good decoy.
Keep fresh water in shallow saucers outside for birds to access, too
.
Place your feeders where you can see them from the house or patio. That way you get to enjoy the show these beautiful creatures provide during the winter months.