Northward migration has begun from the tropics to breeding areas in the States for many species, with the prospect of courtship and early nesting. American Bald Eagles are incubating, in the largest tree-nests of all birds of the world [Width: up to 2.9 m. (9.5 ft.) Depth: 6 m. (19.5 ft.)]*. Missouri is home to the largest wintering population of Bald Eagles in the lower 48 States. They come for the plentiful fish in the Mississippi and Missouri Rivers. The river dams keep the water from icing over, making winter feeding easy. Many now stay but are still subject to human predation.

Photo courtesy Terry Weymouth, St. Louis, MO, Ted Shanks NWR.

Bluebirds are nesting this month. Set up your bluebird nest boxes. Raise purple martin houses. It's courtship time for ducks. Put up wood duck houses. Hawks are pairing. Many birds are winging North to seek territory. By the 20th, day and night are equal in length for the first day of Spring/Vernal Equinox.

1. Keep your cats in. They're deadly and in danger themselves.

2. Avoid pesticides and herbicides on your lawn and garden--even some of the comon over-the-counter pesticides are deadly to birds.

3. Mark your picture windows with decals or cut-outs--birds collide with windows and are injured or killed.

4. Make an oasis for your birds by providing a variety of plants, shrubs and trees that produce food through all the seasons. (Check with your local nursery, garden club, nature center, or bird club for your area.)

	Don't stop putting out seeds, suet, and water. Your birds are still dependent upon supplemental feeding. Gardening for birds is not hard. Wild birds need what you need--quiet surroundings, food and water, and safe places to rest at night or raise a family.
Red-bellied Woodpecker. Photo courtesy Bill Dickson.

	Birds	Feeders & Foods	Nesting Places	Favorite Food-bearing Plants
	American Goldfinch	Prefers hanging feeders. Canary seed, nutmeats, peanut butter mixture, suet, sunflower seeds, thistle seeds*	Shrubs and trees, such as blackberry and dogwood; usually near thistles, using thistledown to line the nest	Flowers, trees, and weeds for seeds, especially alder, birch, dandelion, primrose, sunflower, sweet gum, and thistle
	American Robin	Prefers ground feeders. Cheese, currants, cut fruits, peanut butter mixture, rasins,* suet	Shrubs and trees, such as apple, dogwood, and hemlock; also uses roofed shelf 6" x 8" x8" under eaves of building	Fruit producing plants, such as American holly, pyracantha, and red cedar; a lawn for insects and worms
	Bluebirds	Use most feeders. Cheese, chopped unsalted peanuts, currants, fine cracked corn, rasins, small berries,* suet	Birdhouse 5" x 5" x 9.5" with 1.5" opening; place on post in open areas, such as fields or large lawns with trees	Fruit-producing plants, such as American holly, bayberry, pyracantha, red cedar, and sumac
	Chickadees and Titmice	Prefer hanging feeders. Canary seed, nutmeats, pumpkin seeds, suet, sunflower seeds,* unsalted peanuts*	Birdhouse 4" x 4" x 10" with 1 1/8" opening for chickadees; for titmice, 1 1/4" opening; place high in large trees	Fruit-producing plants, such as bayberry, blueberry, and mulberry; birch, elm hemlock, oack, pine, and spruce trees for acorns and seeds
	Dark-eyed Junco	Prefers ground feeders, Canary seed, fine cracked corn,* millet,* suet, sunflower seeds, thistle seeds	On ground under fallen branches or logs, under tree roots, or in ferns, long grasses, and weeds	Flowers, grasses, trees, and weeds for seeds, especially birch, chickweed, hemlock, and thistle
	Evening Grosbeak	Prefers tray feeders. Fine cracked corn, pecan meats, sorghum, sunflower seeds,* unsalted peanuts	High in coniferous trees, such as fir, pine, and spruce; occasionally in deciduous trees, especially ash and maple	Autumn olive, box elder, dogwood, elm, and wild cherry for buds, fruits, and seeds
	House Finch	Uses most feeders. Canary seed, cut fruits, millet, nutmeats, suet, sunflower seeds," thistle seeds	Birdhouse 6" x 6" x 6" with 2" opening; place high on post in semishaded area; also nests on building ledges	Plants and weeds for seeds, especially knotweed, mustard and thistle, cactus, elderberry, and honeysuckle for buds and fruits
	House Wren	Does not frequent feeders but may come for suet	Birdhouse 4" x 4" x 8" with oblong opening 1" x 3"; place on post or side of building, or hang from any tree branch	Plants that attract insects, such as birch, larch, oak, and dead or dying trees
	Hummingbirds	Use hummingbird feeders. Boiled sugar-water solution of one part sugar to four parts water	Cactuses, shrubs, trees, or vines, including alder, beech, hackberry, hemlock, spruce, and wall ivy	Brightly colored, tubular flowers for nectar, especially columbine, trumpet creeper, and other red flowers
	Jays: Blue, Scrub and Steller’s	Prefer ground feeders. Fine cracked corn, nutmeats, rasins, suet, sunflower seeds,* unshelled peanuts*	Shrubs and trees, especially blackberry, fir, hemlock, oak, and spruce	Fruit-producing plants, such as blackberry, elderberry, grape, rasberry, and eild cherry; beech, oak, and pine trees for nuts, acorns and seeds
	Northern Cardinal	Uses most feeders. Barley, fine cracked corn, millet, nutmeats, suet, sunflower seeds,* unsalted peanuts	Dense shrubs, small trees, thickets, or vines, including crab apple, elderberry, hawthorn, and trumpet creeper	Fruit-producing plants, especially American holly, dogwood, grape, pyracantha, and red cedar
	Rufous-sided Towhee	Prefers ground feeders. Barley, canary seed, millet,* nutmeats, rolled oats, suet, sunflower seeds, thistle seeds	On ground under grasses, weeds, or shrubs, or in low bushes, trees, or vines, such as blackberry and viburnum	Fruit-producing plants, such as blackberry, blueberry, and huckleberry; oak and sweet gum trees, grasses, and weeds for acorns and seeds
	Song Sparrow	Uses most feeders. Canary seed, fine cracked corn, millet,* sorghum, sunflower seeds, thistle seeds*	On ground under grasses or shrubs, or in low bushes, trees, or vines, especially barberry, hawthorn, and ivy	Fruit-producing plants, especially autumn olive, dogwood, elderberry, and red cedar; grasses and weeds for seeds
	White-breasted Nuthatch	Uses most feeders. Fine cracked corn, nutmeats, pumpkin seeds, suet, sunflower seeds*	Birdhouse 4" x 4" x 10" with 1.5" opening; prefers shaded areas high in large trees	Plants that attract insects, such as birch, larch, oak, and dead or dying trees; beech, oak, and pine trees for nuts, acorns, and seeds
	Woodpeckers	Prefer tree-trunk feeders. Cheese, cut fruits, meat scraps, nutmeats, peanut butter mixture, suet*	Birdhouse 7" x 7" x 18" with 2.5" opening for flickers. Woodpeckers also nest in old or dead trees.	Plants that attract insects, such as birch, larch, and dead or dying trees; beech and oak trees for nuts and acorns
		*Preferred foods

**National Geographic Society, Washington, D.C., 1983

Click here for advice on successfully planting trees.
Click here for a list of fruiting trees good for birds and people.
Click here for espalier, how to grow trees in very small spaces.
Click here for useful bird garden books.

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