For avid birders, December is the meaningful start of bird feeding season because it’s at this time when natural food is scarce and birds could use this supplemental feeding. It’s especially important during periods of extreme weather such as a heavy snow cover.

Winter feeding is a great way to observe and learn about our year-round birds and perhaps some new arrivals that haven’t been seen during summer months.

The Birding Wire suggests making a feeding mixture to maximize the number of species visiting your backyard feeders such as goldfinches, chickadees, siskins and nuthatches to eat. But larger birds like cardinals, woodpeckers and jays will also feast on them as they provide the highest level of food value or any seeds.

Since black oil sunflower seed is a favorite of many birds, you may want to splurge a bit and get shelled sunflower kernels, which eliminates the mess of empty shells that are spread around the ground and pile up beneath feeders. They also eliminate the need to rake and shovel and bag the sunflower shells that accumulate around your feeder(s). The shelled version creates a mess so don’t buy them.

Another advantage of the shelled version is that birds will eat every crumb of seeds contained in a bag of shelled seeds. And you’re not paying for the shells which saves you money says the Birding Wire as you don’t need to buy as many bags as shells take up a lot of space in a bag of sunflower seeds and they take up a lot of space in your feeder. This also means you don’t have to refill your feeder as often. You may also want to sprinkle in some safflower seeds as squirrels don’t like them if you don’t have a squirrel-proof feeder.

Peanut halves or chips are another good option many birds prefer, but so do squirrels

Suet is a premium year-round feeding station staple and there’s a brand that sells no-melt suet that squirrels and other mammals distain. And it’s offered as a Hot Pepper Suet blend that birds relish including woodpeckers, nuthatches, jays and ground feeding birds like juncos, native sparrows and other that feed on small pieces that fall below the suet feeder. You can also a crush-up a bit of suet into crumbs for the ground foraging birds.

Don’t forget water. Fresh water attracts a greater variety of birds than any given food offered at a feeding station. Every bird needs water in some form. The sound of moving water will alert migrating birds to take a stopover break for water. However, with freezing winter temperatures, you’ll need a heated bird bath of some form. There’s even a solar-heated bird bath that eliminates the need for an AC plug and cord. Most of all, it’s recommended to keep the water fresh and don’t let your vessel to go dry.

As winter sets in, and you’ve had you feeders filled, it’s time to sit back in the warmth of your home and watch the birds visiting. It’s an opportunity to identify new species, see that they prefer to eat and a way to learn more about the lives of birds around you. You may get to see some new, colorful surprises. And keep your bird identification book nearby.