Date: 2/9/26 9:11 am From: Fredric Kardon <fredrickardon...> Subject: [cayugabirds-l] Fwd: Feeding millet to wild birds
---------- Forwarded message ---------
From: Fredric Kardon <fredrickardon...>
Date: Mon, Feb 9, 2026 at 12:04 PM
Subject: Feeding millet to wild birds
To: CAYUGABIRDS-L <cayugabirds-l...>
I’m sharing my experience feeding birds on the ground for the past 15-20
years. (I got the idea of feeding millet to wild birds from a video clip of
John Fitzpatrick.) From October to April I spread white millet on my
backyard lawn, underneath a large hydrangea bush, on slate/concrete paths, and
(in the past ) on our gravel driveway. I clear snow off of an area of lawn
when necessary so that the millet doesn’t sink in. Birds we see daily
include doves, juncos, white-throats, and cardinals. Occasionally we see
blue jays eating the millet. Very infrequently, depending on the month, we
see white-crowned sparrows and fox sparrows. In the winter we see
tree sparrows, and towards the spring we will see chipping sparrows and
cowbirds. One winter, an Eastern Towhee wintered over eating millet every
day under our hydrangea bush. Very rarely, in the spring indigo buntings
and bluebirds eat the millet. Of course, we also get several squirrels and
sometimes deer. I chase away the deer because they scare off the birds
(the squirrels don't).
Some millet may sprout in the spring, but they are very easy to pull up.
We also have 2 tube feeders and 1 platform feeder with black-oil sunflower
seeds. I buy 40 lb bags of white millet at Agway. They also sell smaller
bags.
