Going on vacation can be a fun and relaxing experience. However, if you regularly feed wild birds in your backyard, you may be wondering how you can continue providing food for your feathered friends while you’re away. There are several effective strategies for keeping backyard birds fed during vacations. With a little preparation before your trip, you can ensure your regular avian visitors are well cared for in your absence.
Make Extra Food Available Before Leaving
One of the simplest ways to keep birds fed while on vacation is to make sure there is plenty of bird food available in your yard before you leave. Consider filling all of your bird feeders to maximum capacity right before your departure date. This will provide a good stockpile of food that birds can access for at least the first several days you’re gone.
For feeders that allow you to add large volumes of bird seed, like hopper or tube feeders, completely fill the storage compartments. For tray or platform feeders, fully stock the tray. Scatter some extra seed on the ground below the feeders as well. Suet feeders should be packed full with fresh suet cakes before vacation. Having excess food in the yard ahead of time buys birds some extra time until another food source becomes available.
Use Weather-Resistant Feeders
Keep in mind that weather events like rain, snow, or high winds can empty bird feeders more quickly. If possible, use feeders constructed from weather-resistant materials, rather than wood or metal which deteriorates more quickly in the elements. Plastic, recycled polymer, or vinyl feeders will hold up better to precipitation. Use feeders with drainage holes so seed does not get soaked and rot during rainstorms.
Provide Various Feeder Styles
Offering a variety of different feeder styles in your yard will give birds options and make the bird food last longer. Platform feeders allow birds like mourning doves, jays, and cardinals to forage on an open tray of seed mix. Tube feeders with small perches are perfect for finches and chickadees. Suet feeders attract woodpeckers, nuthatches, and wrens. Different birds prefer different styles, so providing diversity increases the chances your yard remains an active bird feeding station while you’re gone.
Ask a Neighbor to Restock Feeders
Enlisting a friend or neighbor to restock your feeders while you’re traveling is one of the best ways to continue feeding birds in your absence without interruption. Ideally, ask someone who lives nearby and is already familiar with your backyard and bird feeding station. Make sure they’re willing and able to visit every few days to top off feeders and replace old suet.
Leave them with clear instructions on how to access your yard, bird food storage area, and any lock boxes for feeders. Tell them what types of birds frequent your yard and have them observe for a few days before you leave so they learn when the feeders empty most quickly. Discuss how often you’d like them to come by and restock. Coordinating with a neighbor takes planning but provides consistent food without disruption.
Offer Payment
Consider offering your neighbor some monetary payment for their feeder maintenance efforts while you’re gone. Even a small amount of $10 or $20 per week you’re away is a thoughtful thank you. This also incentivizes them to maintain a regular schedule of visiting to refill feeders in a timely fashion.
Leave Detailed Instructions
Provide the person with explicit written instructions for accessing and filling your feeders. Include directions to any locked feeder boxes, hooks for hanging suet, and tips for avoiding messes from overflowing feeders. The easier you make their job, the more likely your feeder caretaker will follow through reliably.
Automate Feeders
Another approach is using automated bird feeders that mechanically dispense new seed when volume is low. Look for gravity-fed feeders that draw from a large overhead tank. These can hold up to 20 pounds of birdseed, then distribute it slowly down tubes into the feeding ports. The Perky-Pet and Droll Yankees brands have reliable automated feeder models.
These feeders reduce a neighbor’s workload to simply checking and refilling the huge hopper every 1-2 weeks versus restocking standard feeders every few days. They’re more expensive initially but provide hassle-free nutrition while traveling.
Try Solar Power
Today there are also solar-powered bird feeders that use a photovoltaic cell to move seeds. These feeders rotate or tip to pour out more food when activated by sunlight hitting the solar panel. Look for models like the Flower House Solar Feeder that reload each day automatically using solar energy.
Use Electric Feeders Sparingly
While very convenient, any electrical or battery-powered feeding devices still require occasional cleaning and battery replacement. Use plug-in electric feeders only in covered outlets with GFCI circuit protection. Solar feeders work best in consistently sunny regions. Some automation can relieve a helper’s duties, but most birds still do best with manually filled feeders.
Invest in a Feeder Timer
Another semi-automated option is installing an electrical timer that controls when your feeder ports open to dispense seed. Choose an inexpensive outlet timer that runs 1-2 times per day. Set it so your feeder opens briefly in the morning and afternoon to mimic natural feeding times.
This requires an existing feeder that allows programmed opening of food ports at intervals. Timers work well with tube feeders that have electric motors to expose or cover openings. They can prevent food from becoming waterlogged or moldy in wet weather.
Downsides are that electronics can fail over time and timers don’t sense how much food is left, so you’ll still want someone to check feeder levels occasionally. But it does provide some automation for a fraction of the cost of fully self-feeding feeders.
Use Surge Protectors
Use a surge protector outlet specifically designed for outdoor use to supply power and prevent electrical hazards. Also ensure feeder motors are made to get wet. Never run standard indoor timers or outlets outdoors.
Consider Limiting Feeder Capacity
Rather than completely filling up all your feeders before a long trip, consider partially filling some to a lower capacity and leaving others empty. This can slow down the rate at which birds deplete the seed and give them continued access for longer.
For example, fill larger tube feeders only halfway, or three-quarters full at most. Use smaller one-pound capacity finch feeders instead of five pound feeders for some slots on your pole. Limiting volume per feeder location extends the time until everything is empty.
The downside is that partially full feeders or small capacity feeders will empty faster with frequent bird visiting. But alternating some partially full and some empty feeders can help calibrate the right balance for longer coverage.
Remove Feeders Entirely
Another option is removing some feeders altogether before leaving. For example, keep your platform feeder for mourning doves but take down the tube feeder for smaller birds. The birds will move to natural food sources sooner without as many artificial feeders available. But some access is retained for species that rely on platform feeders more heavily.
Use Long-Lasting Seed
Stocking feeders with long-lasting seed varieties can extend the time feeders provide nutrition in your absence. Look for seed mixes labeled “No-Mess” or “No-Waste.” These contain oily sunflower varieties with thin shells, so less seed gets discarded as hulls.
Choosing black oil sunflower seeds over standard sunflower hearts reduces mess and waste. Hulled seeds like nuts and fruit blends also retain volume longer. Striped sunflower and safflower are other good low-mess options. Avoid cheap seed mixes with fillers like milo and wheat that birds don’t prefer and that go bad quickly.
Add Suet
Including suet cakes or kibbled suet mixes can provide lasting nutrition on vacation. These compacted or pelleted cakes of fat and protein are enjoyed by woodpeckers, nuthatches, chickadees, and wrens. Suet has a long shelf life and lasts over a week in feeders, making it ideal for travel periods. It provides lots of quick energy for birds in cold months too.
Use Yard Art or Scatter Food
For shorter vacations under a week, consider scattering bird food around your yard or situating it in platform feeders disguised as decorative yard art. These allow access by birds but blend in as accents in your landscape. Placing food casually around the yard or in faux elements makes the feeding less regimented.
Platform feeders can mimic statues, birdbaths, or flower pots with food ports. Place seed or suet blends inside. Using 2-3 dispersed sources prevents starvation if one empties and mimics wild food sources. Just don’t scatter near bushes where cats can hide and ambush.
Elevate Feed Above Snow
In winter, elevate feeder poles or yard-art feeders at least 5 feet off the ground so birds can access seed even if snow piles up. Sprinkling seed on top of elevated surfaces also provides winter foraging spots. Yard accents with food ports should be positioned high enough for winter accessibility.
Plant Natural Food Sources
The most sustainable way to ensure birds have food on vacation is providing diverse natural food sources in your landscape. This shifts backyard habitat away from artificial feeders long-term. The right plant choices can offer year-round nutrition.
Native berry bushes like serviceberry, elderberry, and blueberry support over 40 bird species with fruit and seeds. Evergreen trees supply seeds and shelter in winter. Flowering plants like asters, sunflowers, and goldenrod provide nectar and seeds. Maintaining a balanced birdscape means fewer worries about feeder dependency.
Leave Seed Heads and Leaves
Allowing spent ornamental flowers and seed heads to remain through winter gives birds other feeding options besides feeders. Cut back perennials in spring instead of fall. Leaving fallen leaves provides insects and nesting material too.
Add Water Features
Install a small backyard pond or water feature if possible. Moving water gives birds a fresh drinking source and attracts more insects they feed on. Even a suspended bird bath with a slow drip keeps water from freezing as solidly in winter.
Use Multiple Strategies
The best approach is combining several of these tactics before vacationing. For example, top off some feeders, leave others partially filled, enlist a helper to replenish weekly, set up automated distribution, and also expand natural food plants.
Diversifying feeding strategies will maximize birds’ access to balanced nutrition whether you’re gone a week or a month. They’ll appreciate the variety!
Strategy | Pros | Cons |
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Fill feeders to maximum before leaving |
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Ask neighbor to refill |
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Use automated feeders |
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Install feeder timers |
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Limit feeder capacity |
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Use long-lasting seed |
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Add yard art feeders |
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Plant natural food sources |
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Conclusion
Birds bring joy, activity, and beneficial services to backyards when home. Finding ways to care for them in your absence rewards their presence the rest of the year. Combining multiple strategies like enlisting neighbors, automating distribution, limiting feeder capacity, and expanding natural food plants can cover trips of any duration.
The most high-effort tactics provide the most reliable and nutritious solutions. But even small steps make a difference to birds who come to depend on your feeders. Just be sure to take action before packing your bags. Your bird friends will be grateful for the food left behind while you relax and enjoy your vacation!