In the late fall and winter, heavy snow will bury natural sources of wild bird food.
Most of the vegetation of spring and summer has withered and blown away, and most insect species are either dead or dormant. I like to place a brightly colored feeder like the one to the right in the fall so it is easier for the birds to see.
Fill your feeders every day in the fall and winter, but put out only a quantity of seed that the birds can eat before sundown, especially where other critters are a problem and steal the seed.
For the fall and winter, consider adding suet feeders. Suet cakes are made of rendered beef fat, seeds and grains. The high-energy diet of suet cakes is especially important in colder zones where a bird’s metabolism has to work hard to keep warm.
There are bird feeders designed to hold one or more suet cakes.
Stamp down the snow underneath the feeders to help ground-feeding birds, such as juncos, cardinal and doves.