If you are fairly new to bird watching and feeding the birds, just remember that if the weather is raining or nasty in some other way, we still need to make the effort to see to it the feeders are filled.

We have a couple of platform feeders that we only put out a certain amount of seed each day rather than the type you can fill and let go until they are emptied.  So, we must be diligent in our daily treks to those platform feeders, because birds get into the habit of looking for their food in the same places.  If we let a little bad weather keep us from getting out to put out that seed, well, those guys still have to eat, so that will make them have to look elsewhere for food.

There are certain birds that prefer taking seed from a platform feeder.  They are Cardinals, Chickadees, Doves, Nuthatches, Juncos, Titmice, Cowbirds and Woodpeckers to name a few.  Then there are those smaller birds that, more easily eat from the tube feeders, such as Finches, Siskins and Chickadees.  If the tube feeder has a tray attached to the bottom, though, a number of the birds mentioned in the platform-feeding group might also use the tube feeder.  We have noticed that doves will spend most of their time on the ground under the platform feeder, getting what the other birds sort of flick out.

Becoming familiar with the birds in your area and your back yard can be interesting and fun at the same time.  Now that spring is around the corner, think about getting to know your bird friends that are just waiting for you put out that feeder.  You will be surprised how quickly they will start coming to it.