Food and Water for Backyard Birds This Fall and Winter

When people think about helping birds, they usually picture a feeder. But if you only do one thing for the birds in your yard this fall, make it water.

Here in the Bay Area, fall is often the driest stretch of the year. The summer has used up most of the natural water sources, and the winter rains haven't really arrived yet. At the same time, flowers are fading, insects are getting scarce, and birds are working hard to put on weight for cooler nights. A little help from us goes a long way right now.

On our urban homestead, the birds are part of the whole little ecosystem we try to support, right along with the bees and the hummingbirds. Here's what we've learned about keeping them fed and watered.

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Start With Water

Birds need water every day for drinking and for bathing. Clean feathers keep them warmer and help them fly well, which matters even more as the weather cools.

• Keep it shallow. Most songbirds like water no deeper than 1 to 2 inches. A shallow bird bath is ideal. If yours is deeper, add a few flat stones so smaller birds have somewhere to stand.
• Change it often. Dump and refill every 2 to 3 days. That keeps it clean and stops mosquitoes from breeding.
• Scrub it regularly. Once a week or so, give it a scrub with a stiff brush. If it needs more, use a 1 part white vinegar to 9 parts water mix, then rinse well. Skip soap and bleach residue.
• Put it near cover, but not too near. Birds like a shrub or tree nearby to escape to, but a bath tucked right up against dense bushes makes it easy for a cat to ambush them. About 10 feet from cover is a good balance.
• Try a little movement. A dripper or small solar bird bath fountain makes a sound that draws birds in from a distance.

A shallow water station helps more than birds. Our bees use water all year, too. Here's how to build a bee bath that works for pollinators.

What to Feed

You don't need a fancy setup. A couple of good foods will bring in a lot of birds.

• Black-oil sunflower seed. If you only buy one seed, make it this one. It's high in fat and most seed-eating birds love it. A simple hanging feeder with a roof and a wide perch tray keeps seed dry in the rain and gives finches and cardinals room to land.
• Nyjer (thistle) seed in a finch feeder for goldfinches and other small finches.
• Suet in cooler weather for woodpeckers, nuthatches, and chickadees. Look for no-melt suet, since we can still get warm afternoons.
• Millet sprinkled on a low tray for ground-feeding birds like sparrows, juncos, and towhees.

Skip the cheap filler mixes loaded with red milo and wheat. Most birds kick those seeds to the ground, where they go moldy or attract rodents. And please don't put out bread. It fills birds up without giving them the nutrition they need.

Keep Feeders Clean

Feeders bring birds close together, and that can spread disease if things get dirty.

• Clean feeders every couple of weeks, and more often in wet weather.
• Toss any seed that's clumped, damp, or moldy.
• Rake up the shells and spilled seed under feeders now and then.
• If you see sick-looking birds (fluffed up, lethargic, crusty eyes), take your feeders down for a week or two and give everything a good cleaning.

Let Your Garden Feed Them, Too

The best bird feeder is a garden that's a little less tidy. This time of year, you can help birds by:

• Leaving seed heads standing on sunflowers, coneflowers, and other spent flowers.
• Planting berry shrubs. Natives like toyon and coffeeberry feed birds through fall and winter.
• Leaving some leaf litter. Birds like towhees spend their days scratching through leaves for insects. (More on that in our Leave the Leaves post.)
• Skipping pesticides. Insects are a huge part of many birds' diets, and they're especially important for raising chicks in spring.

Make Your Yard Safer for Birds

• Windows: Put feeders and baths either within 3 feet of a window or more than 10 feet away. Bird-safe window decals or screens on big windows help, too.
• Cats: We love cats, and we care for a lot of them through rescue, fostering, and feral colony care. We also know birds and cats need a little space from each other. Hang feeders up high, keep them away from hiding spots, and keep house cats indoors when you can.
• Shelter: Dense shrubs and evergreens give birds a place to roost on cold, rainy nights.

And Don't Forget the Hummingbirds

Our Bay Area hummingbirds stick around all winter and need a little extra help, too. Here's our guide to feeding hummingbirds in fall and winter, including why we never put honey in the feeder.

Small Things, Big Difference

Fresh water, a little seed, and a garden that isn't too tidy can make your yard a safe stop for birds all season long. Once they find you, they'll keep coming back, and there's nothing quite like a winter morning with a bird bath full of splashing sparrows.

Let your neighbors know your yard is a safe place for wildlife with our Welcome to Our Pollinator Garden flag.