Of course the flip side to feeding wild birds is that there are ways to go wrong. Poorly designed or poorly placed feeders will not get the activity you want. Inferior seed will end up on the ground where its primary beneficiary will be mice and rats — or pigeons.
Here are five easy steps to filling your yard with color and animation this winter.
1. To increase the number and diversity of birds; increase the number and diversity of feeders.
Birds come in various shapes and sizes. They feed upon different things and are designed to feed in different ways. Different feeders cater to these food and foraging specializations. Some feeders and seeds are generic, catering to a variety of birds. Some are very specialized and in turn are attractive to birds that don't necessarily fly with the crowd.
The most basic of feeders, the corner stone of any backyard feeding operation, is the hopper feeder – a platform feeder mated to a seed dispensing reservoir. Hopper feeders are attractive to a number of species. Depending upon size they can accommodate several hungry minions at once. They are easy to maintain and the reservoir keeps you from having to refill constantly.
The downside to the hopper feeder is that often a single, large bird (like a blue jay) or a single large mammal (like a squirrel) can monopolize the feeder, keeping smaller birds away. Also, depending upon placement, the seed reservoir may block the view of birds landing on the back side.
Exclusionary feeders, like the very popular tube feeders or dome-topped feeders, offer smaller and more acrobatic species more opportunity to feed (and less competition from larger species). Chickadees, titmice, and finches are particularly attracted to these feeder-types – particularly if they are filled with black oil sunflower — the top choice seed for most bird species.
Some tube feeders are specifically designed to dispense niger or thistle seed. Thistle is to goldfinches and siskins what oxygen is to combustion. Once seduced by thistle-lust, these species will want nothing but.
A single tube feeder filled with black-oil sunflower seed and another one filled with thistle will augment your hopper feeder and anchor your bird feeding flanks.
Oh, put black oil sunflower seed in the hopper feeder too – either that or a good mix that includes black oil sunflower seed as the primary ingredient.
A mesh feeder that dispenses peanuts is very attractive to nuthatches, red-bellied woodpeckers and blue jays. A suet feeder, designed to hold a block of suet, will make downy and hairy woodpeckers backyard regulars.
Ground feeding species, like sparrows, towhees, and juncos prefer not to get far from terra firma. A screened platform feeder, elevated slightly above the ground, is ideal for these species. Seed just scattered on the ground is apt to get sodden in the rain and gets lost among the pile of shelled husks making it difficult to know when more is needed. Raised seed dries quicker, is easy to monitor, and is more hygienic.

Feeding stations bring birds in close contact facilitating the transmission of avian diseases. Accumulated seed and seed husks are a potential reservoir for bacteria, but screened platform feeders are easily cleaned, greatly reducing the risks to visiting birds.
2. Place your feeders where they will be most attractive to birds.
Birds want to be comfortable and they want to be safe. You can have the best bird feeder on the market but unless it is positioned with the needs of birds in mind it will not be attractive to birds.
In general, in cold weather, the south facing side of a house (or hedge or woodlot) is best. Not only does the sun strike and warm a southern exposure best, but south facing structures and vegetation also block northerly winds, the winds that carry energy sapping cold right to the hearts of living things.
Small birds must always be alert for predators like hawks. Getting too far from the protection of woods and shrubbery makes birds nervous. Feeders should be placed eight to 10 feet from protective cover (rose bushes, hedge, brushy edge).
3. Put up a brush pile
Piling brush close to your feeder will offer birds the safety and protection they need. Discarded Christmas trees are a great foundation for a brush pile (in fact provide great cover in and of themselves). You may find (much to your embarrassment) that your brush pile will be the most popular bird attracting mechanism in your yard. So don't place it where it cannot be viewed (at least by you).
4. Just add water
A very few species of birds get their moisture needs from the seed they eat. Most birds, including your birds, need water. Finding open water in winter when most H2O is locked up in the form of ice can be challenging for birds. Commercial heating elements seated in a birdbath will beat back the ice and invite a host of thirsty birds.
Do not under any circumstances add antifreeze in your birdbath.
5. All birdseed is not created equal. Some commercial mixes contain vast amounts of seed types that most birds do not want. There are several ways to tell whether the seed you are buying is quality stuff.
First look at the ingredients listed on the bag. Listed in order of content percent, the first seed type in any quality mix should be black oil sunflower seed. White proso millet should also be high up in the ranking. Canary seed, rape seed, cracked corn — these are known as "filler seed." They are cheap and they are shunned by the majority of birds.
You can also look under your feeder. If there is a lot of unused seed sitting on the ground, that's the stuff the birds don't want (whether you paid for it or not).
Your best source for further information is your closest New Jersey Audubon Society center. Ask the staff. They have the information you need and the products, too.