Birds also use grit to aid digestion - provide dirt, sand or ground eggshells separate from the other food for this purpose. The bird species attracted to a feeder will depend on factors such as geographic region, type of food offered, habitat of the area, habits of the species and the weather. An area with trees and shrubs will be most successful in appealing to birds. It is important to start feeding early in the fall before birds set their winter feeding patterns . A yard with plants such as saskatoon, elderberry, mountain ash, nannyberry, crabapple or vines such as wild grape or Virginia creepers will attract birds that eat fruit and are rarely found at feeders.
Chickadees are some of the most familiar birds that visit feeders.
They travel around a small area stopping in woodlots where they look for insects and their eggs, and then come to feeders for sunflower seeds and suet. Chickadees will take sunflower seeds from an outstretched hand. Blue Jays store food in the fall, sometimes carrying away many sunflower seeds in their cheeks. You may want to feed the Blue Jay some whole corn. Several species have changed their range of travel due to bird feeding.