Biology Reference
In-Depth Information
over more nutritious fare. Fortunately, most birds innately feed their chicks a natural,
protein-rich diet.
Summer feeders are especially helpful when incubating birds need a quick bite before
they need to return to the nest, and when adult birds are spending every waking hour
searching out insects for their babies. A bird feeder can give them some quick energy to
keep doing what needs to be done for their babies.
Q I was trying to buy some thistle seed to attract goldfinches, and the woman in the
bird-feed store said they didn't sell it and wanted me to try something called “Nyjer
seed.” What is that, and how is it different from thistle seed?
A
Nyjer seed, also spelled niger seed, is a tiny black seed that resembles thistle, and it's
just as attractive to goldfinches, siskins, and redpolls. It can be fed in fabric tube feeders,
called “thistle socks,” orintube feeders with tiny openings. Itis heat sterilized toprevent
germination. If a few weeds with yellow flowers do sprout up under your feeder, pull
them before they go to seed.
Q My goldfinches seem to love Nyjer seed, but after they've been feeding there is so
much wasted seed on the ground! How can they possibly be getting any nutrition?
A
What look like seeds on the ground beneath a feeder filled with Nyjer seed are mostly
just the emptied-out outer shells. Finches slit open the outer coat and use their tongue to
extractthetinyseedinside.Ofcourse,theseedsaresotinythatwhenafinchpullsoutone
seed, a few others do spill on the ground. But finches usually arrive at feeders in flocks,
and while some birds are sitting at the feeders, others are on the ground picking up the
spilled seed.
Q How can suet be good for birds? Shouldn't we be concerned about their choles-
terol levels?
A
Mostbirdsthriveonadiethighinfatsandproteins.Unadulteratedanimalfatisactually
good for them, especially during cold weather. Unlike humans, birds metabolize fat very
efficiently. This gives them the energy they need to maintain their body temperature.
Never offer suet when temperatures get warm enough to make it goopy — it may coat
the feathers, making them harder to preen and less effective at insulating the bird. If the
bird is nesting, some of the soft fat may be transferred to eggs, plugging the tiny pores
that provide oxygen to the embryonic chicks. Also, warm raw suet grows rancid rather
quickly.
If you feed suet when temperatures are above freezing, it should be rendered, that is,
cooked so that the impurities can be strained off. Suet cakes sold in stores have been
rendered and are usually okay for summer feeding during mild weather.
