Feed Denver's Wild Birds in February

All you have to do is look outside, and you can imagine the challenges faced by wild birds in Denver right now, with their natural food hidden beneath snow and ice. Well, it just so happens that February is National Bird-Feeding Month, a perfect time to get out there and brave the snow drifts in your backyard and fill your feathered friends' feeders. You won't be alone. According to the National Bird Feeding Society, more than 55 million Americans are backyard bird feeders, making bird-feeding the second most popular hobby in the United States behind gardening.


Remember to keep your feeders out in the open, so predators cannot sneak up on distracted, feeding birds. For more information on using feeders or National Bird-Feeding Month, visit www.birdfeeding.org.

If you want to know more about Denver's wild birds and what they love to eat, visit our local Wild Bird Center at 1685 S. Colorado Boulevard. They offer seed mixes designed to appeal to the taste buds of local birds, and their website offers a backyard wild bird field guide. Safeway, Walgreens and King Soopers also carry more generic varieties of wild bird food.

Equally important, please keep in mind that birds have a hard time finding water this time of year. Bird baths can provide a water source and can  be heated to help prevent the whole bath from freezing. The Wild Bird Center has products available to help provide winter water, as does Amazon.com.