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| Photo Credit: Stephanie Avett |
| A Carolina Chickadee perches on the “cone” of a tuliptree. |
It’s nice to admire the crisp outdoors of autumn or a peaceful winter wonderland from the warm indoor comforts of home. But as we stare out the back windows from our heated houses, our animal-loving hearts easily go out to our feathered friends and other wildlife left out in the cold, searching for food.
Wish you could do more for our flying creatures – and admire nature-in-action at the same time? Provide winter food for the birds in your garden by doing … nothing. (You read that right – nothing!) Whether they’re year-round residents, winter guests or those just passing through, birds will enjoy a nutritious feast right in your back yard, provided there’s good seed to be found. All you have to do is leave the seed heads on your plants, allowing them to dry and mature. Then nature will do the rest. | Add Photo to Journal |  | | Photo Credit: Stephanie Avett | | Mature seed heads of many summer- and fall-blooming plants provide a natural food source for birds throughout winter. |
It’s as easy as it sounds. Small seed-eating birds, like goldfinches and chickadees, feed straight from the plant, choosing the ones that are easy for them to perch. Finches are fond of the seed from composites (daisylike flowers) of every kind – from large sunflowers to small asters and coreopsis. Other plant favorites include coneflowers, black-eyed Susans, salvias, phlox, goldenrod, thistles and ironweed.
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