Downy woodpeckers look for food beyond the trees. Goldenrod Stalks Offer a Sweet Treat in Winter

Question : Feeding the birds brings me pleasure when I watch them in the garden. But my neighbor’s cat wanders outside and catches and kills songbirds in my yard. I talked to her about it, but she thinks cats can kill birds. Any ideas to stop this?

A: I also have cats, but I don’t allow them outside because of the terrible toll cats take on wildlife. A conservation organization called the American Bird Conservancy has been promoting its Cats Indoors campaign for several years and claims that outdoor cats in the United States kill 2.4 billion birds a year. This is horrible and unsustainable, as many bird populations are threatened by a variety of threats, not just cats. Many cat owners believe that cats should be free to hunt, but might be open to a gentle training campaign. There are other ways for cats to enjoy the outdoors, including indoors from home windows, on a leash, or in an outdoor catio. In the meantime, place your feeders away from shrubs where cats might hide and place a fence around the birdbath so they can’t hide underneath. And I would continue talking to that neighbor, pointing out the toll that cats, a non-native species, take on birds.

Question : I put sunflower seeds and suet in winter for the birds. Is this enough?

A: You offer two of the most popular foods on the winter bird menu. Black oily sunflower seeds, with their fairly soft shell and high oil content, are favored by many backyard birds, including cardinals, chickadees, nuthatches, woodpeckers, finches and blue jays. And suet is an excellent source of energy for many of these birds (although cardinals are generally excluded from suet cages because of their large beaks). Because house sparrows can be a problem, some people replace sunflower seeds with safflower seeds. And if you offer peanuts in their shells to blue jays, you’ll spend many fun minutes observing their antics while they carry off their favorite food.

Question : I love watching mallards in winter, one of the few ducks you can find. But why do they do this weird thing of lowering their necks and looking at each other?

A: You have a good eye for bird behavior and you’re right, there aren’t many other duck species around in winter. What you see is courtship behavior, with a male mallard lowering his neck when facing a female, and she, in turn, does the same. They may do this occasionally several times a day, helping to strengthen their bond as a couple. In spring, this courtship behavior leads to mating.