What 1 million Iowans are doing

Linn County Master Gardener, Claire Smith, offers advice on how to attract the right friends to your house this winter:  

Are you ready for some winter?  The recent rain/snow mix should certainly wake us to the fact that winter is again, just around the corner.  It seems every winter it takes my body longer to adjust to cold and often damp conditions.  While I wandered around in a down coat today, my brother, visiting from Mason City was in shirt sleeves.

We can always bundle up with a warm blanket, a fireplace, hot cocoa and chocolate chip cookies, but there are some outdoor critters that may not be so lucky.  Do you feed the birds that come to your yard and make you smile on a cold morning? What is more beautiful on a frosty morning than a bright red Cardinal nestled in a snow covered Lilac bush, or Blue Jays dashing close to the ground in hot pursuit of a squirrel?  The easiest way to watch birds is to attract them to feeders in your yard. If you haven't prepared the feed and feeders, you'd best get cracking. Feeding should commence well before the winter snows set in.  Keeping a well stocked, predator free “larder”, will encourage birds to stop in your yard as part of their daily circuit.

                Migratory birds move through commencing in mid-October.  What you get into your yard, and what comes back depends on the buffet you lay out.  Generally, black oil sunflower seeds attract the largest variety of desirable winter birds like cardinals, chickadees, nuthatches and blue jays.  Flickers, woodpeckers, wrens and nuthatches are fond of peanuts.

Do you like lots and lots of birds in the yard and you're not particularly fussy what species?  Millet-based mixes are fairly inexpensive and bring in sparrows, juncos, mourning doves and grackles.   Try  scattering  a millet and cracked corn mix in the farthest corner of the yard to keep these less desirables away from the good stuff.

Water is extremely important for your feathered friends.  A regular source of shallow, fresh and unfrozen water is a necessity.  In our case, we have several heated fountains the birds share with livestock.  Waterers with heaters are available at numerous farm and pet stores.  Obviously, you may need a source of electricity.

Shelter is important.  Evergreens, shrubs and bushes are an excellent source for housing several birds at one time.  Create a brush pile from pruned tree limbs or cut up and stack holiday tree boughs for additional cover.

With the pleasure, comes a little pain, though.  High concentrations of birds at a feeder can cause a spread of disease.  Remember to clean up and dispose of droppings under and around the feeders.  Painted, metal or varnished feeders can be easily cleaned weekly using a mild bleach solution.   

The U. S. Fish & Wildlife Service says one million Iowans-yes, one million! - do some “around the house” wildlife watching.  If you're not already part of that statistic, try it.  What a great family educational experience:  purchase or construct some feeders and waterers, get a little bird feed, check out a bird book from the local library and you're ready for hours and hours of fine family entertainment!