Garden cleanup is for the birds, which makes it easy

Saturday morning, I noticed a woodpecker fighting the wind at our bird feeders. The poor little guy might have blown away if he hadn’t been inside the cage we use to exclude the grackles. His pathetic struggles made me realize I was behind on one of the most important autumn jobs ­— getting our bird feeders ready for winter.

Long ago, flowers were the most important part of our garden, but today we favor watching the local wildlife over viewing blossoms. Creating safe habitat is part of our effort to support them. So is providing supplemental food for the harsh months when snow-covered lawns aren’t providing any forage.

My first feeder prep job was to remove the protective cages — all birds are welcome in cold weather. I scoured out old seed and dirt, then dried them. Cardinal mix, woodpecker blend, hull-less sunflower — there’s an appropriate seed for each feeder.

One feeder had been getting soaked, so the plastic cover I purchased but never installed was fetched from the garage and installed. Then I rummaged around and found a red plastic cover from a old glass pitcher to replace the missing top of a woodpecker feeder. It has to be replaced before spring or the hummingbirds will be attracted to it. Male hummers are aggressive enough to drive the larger birds away if they think the feeder is theirs.

Our platform feeders have roofs, but that doesn’t mean they don’t have to be cleaned. It’s amazing how many sunflower husks can accumulate, not to mention bird debris. There are feather segments and what I’m sure is poop — doves have absolutely no manners. A putty knife and some bleach took care of them.

Within minutes of replacing the feeders on their poles, birds were checking out the piles of seed. There were birds on all of the feeders within minutes of me retreating into the house.

On cold, windy days like Saturday, it takes a lot of energy to fly around and forage. Reliable sources of food are vital for the birds, especially for youngsters facing their first winters on their own.

This week, we’ll shut down the garden’s fountains for the winter and replace them with two heated bird baths. It’s inconvenient to fill the shallow bowls every day, but the birds use them a lot. For many birds and other animals, water is even harder to find than food in urban environments.

The biggest food source on our lot, however, excluding our faltering spruces, is the garden itself, and that’s the easiest bird feeder to get ready for the cold months. I’ll cut back the peony foliage as soon as it turns brown and the old iris leaves. Anything that blocks the paths or ponds goes, too. That’s the only cleanup we do before winter. I leave the plant debris and leaves on the ground. They’re the natural cover for insects and provide good foraging and cover for the local birds.

I’m not in the mood to do a lot of garden cleanup time of year, so it’s nice to know there’s benefit in leaving the our garden as it is. Cleaning the feeders and filling them isn’t much work considering the pleasure the birds bring. In the spring, I’ll be happy to do all the work that seems overwhelming right now, so it’s a win for all of us.