Feeding Birds During Migration

Certain times of the year are more demanding of a bird’s energy and physical resources. Migration is a very energy intensive undertaking that some birds experience twice a year. Here in Ontario Spring migration begins in late February for some species and concludes in early June. The Fall migration begins in August and runs through early November. During migration periods nutrition is extremely important to birds as the food they eat fuels their bodies and is critical for their survival. These periods are also the times that migrants are visiting our feeders.

Migration Adaptations

Researchers have discovered that birds dynamically adjust their physiology during migration periods. To meet the changes in energy demands during migration, hormones from their brain tell birds to start eating more. Their digestive system responds by growing three or four times in size over the next couple of days. This allows birds to consume much more food (fuel) for their journey. The additional calories are stored in the form of fat, so that they can use this fat as fuel (energy) for their journey. While migrating they may fly for several days straight, not stopping for food. So the ability to store the fuel they need for this journey is vital.

What Food Should I Offer During Migration?

To fuel an energy attentive process such as migration, fat and protein are essential. We can offer these foods in our yards through creating habitat with native plants and offering high quality foods at our feeders. At bird feeders offering foods high in fat and protein is key to helping migratory birds.

Insect protein is a great food to offer. Live and dried mealworms can be offered on their own or as a part of a seed blend, cylinder or suet. Birds do enjoy the live mealworms a little more than the dried and these can be offered on their own in a shallow dish or specialty mealworm feeder.

Seeds and nuts including sunflower chips, black oil sunflower seeds, Nyjer®, safflower, NutraSaff, peanuts and tree nuts are all packed with protein and fat due to their high oil content. These seeds can be offered straight in a variety of feeders, or they can be offered as a part of a seed blend or seed cylinder. Sunflower based seed blends are great because they have a number of different seeds combined together to accommodate a wider variety of birds. Try our Wild Birds Unlimited No-Mess CD Blend, Choice Blend, or Choice Plus Blend in your feeders during migration. These blends offer lots of sunflower in combination with nuts to offer birds a high calorie migration feed. Cylinders are also a great choice to offer birds during migration. No food combines more energy packed ingredients than cylinders- including seeds, nuts, tree nuts, dried mealworms and suet nuggets. The birds love our Wild Birds Unlimited seed cylinders and you will too. They last quite a long time between fillings (great to offer while on vacation!), feed a variety of birds and are available in a wide variety of “flavours.” During migration try our Bug, Nut and Berry Seed Cylinder, Cranberry Seed Cylinder, Nutty for Nuts and Woodpecker Seed Cylinder.

Suet is another great option for offering birds fat and protein during migration. Our Wild Birds Unlimited SuperSuet offers more fat and protein than any other suet out there. It’s packed full of mealworms, peanuts, tree nuts and of course the highest quality rendered suet. Wild Birds Unlimited Bark Butter our spreadable suet attracts a wider variety of birds than any food out there, 150 different species and counting! Suet is a food that we traditionally think of for feeding woodpeckers- and of course the woodpeckers do love it; however during migration periods lots of migrants visit suet feeders to fill up on calories including warblers and tanagers.

In summary the top foods for migration are:

Native Plants Are Important for Migration!

Native plants are also vitally important during migration. Not only do they provide a much needed nectar source for migrating hummingbirds (hummingbird feeders are also a great thing to offer during migration), but during the fall they provide key sources of food in the way of seeds, nuts, berries and insects! Insects are a huge part of a bird's diet and they are packed full of protein. Where are those insects found? On native plants. Native plants not only provide a food source for migrants, but they also provide shelter for migrating birds, protection from predators including hawks and cats, as well as protection from inclement weather.

How Else Can I Help Birds During Migration?

There are several other things you can do to assist birds during their migration. Here are a few more suggestions:

  • Offer Water: All birds rely on water and offering a clean safe place to drink and bath will really help them on their journey. Keeping feathers clean and in tip top shape is very important during migration. Offering a place for birds to bathe will help them keep their feathers flight ready. We've got a great selection of birdbaths in store and a few available online. order.wbu.com/newmarket/bird-baths-&-houses/bird-baths-&-water
  • Make Windows Safer: Sadly window collisions are one of the biggest threats to birds. Protect birds from window collisions by installing window decals on the outside surface of your windows. Decals help birds to understand that windows are not something to fly into. Products like Feather Friendly Window Markers help to dramatically decrease window strikes, particularly during migration when more window strikes are occurring.
  • Turn Outdoor Lights Off at Night: Birds are incredible creatures and they use the moon and stars to help navigate at night during their migration journey. Lights that are left on outdoors at night can disrupt their migration. Turning your lights off will help birds avoid confusion during their journey and remain on the right course.
  • Keep Cats Indoors: One of the biggest threats to birds is outdoor cats. While we recommend keeping cats indoors year round- this is particularly important during migration when birds need to conserve energy. Use a catio (outdoor cat enclosure) or keep kitty on a leash while you supervise if you want to give your cat some outside time.
  • Leave the Leaves: During the fall, yard clean up is top of mind. However, birds and other wildlife as well as your garden will benefit if you leave your leaves in place. Invertebrates overwinter in the leaf litter and migrating birds rummage through the leaves in search of insects as a key food source.

Expert Tips

Here are some additional expert tips we’ve put together for feeding birds during migration:

  • Always Ensure Your Feeders are Full: If we went to a restaurant and they were out of food, we probably wouldn’t return. The same concept applies to the birds, but they are probably a little more forgiving. Ensure your feeders always have food in them for the birds to encourage more visits and even visits during future migrations- as they will remember where the best food offerings are.
  • Use Large Capacity Feeders: You don’t want to have to remember to fill your feeder everyday! Instead use feeders that can hold enough food to last 5-7 days and fill on a regular weekly schedule.
  • Squirrel and Critter Proof Your Feeders: It’s not fun when the squirrels eat all the high quality migration foods you're offering. Ensure you are keep them out with properly spaced poles and baffles, squirrel proof feeders, cages and foods that deter them (Hot Pepper foods, Safflower and NutraSaff).
  • Clean Feeders Regularly: Clean your feeders regularly with a 10% bleach and water solution to help mitigate the spread of diseases such as House Finch eye disease.

We hope you enjoy all the fun and excitement of the migration seasons!