cleaning up bird food mess

Hello fellow birders:

Greetings. I feed my wild outdoor songbirds with store-bought seeds outside in my bird feeders and pour quite a bit on the ground for the birds that prefer to peck the ground such as doves instead of eating out of the feeders. The problem is that sometimes it is hard to clean up the seed hulls and shells from the ground after the birds have eaten. Raking is not very effective as is scraping with a squeegee or piece of plastic. Is there some other method of picking up the remaining hulls that works better? I am open to suggestions.

Thanks,

Solo-Star

Dear >1 Solo-Star: I was just going to suggest that Nature decays the shells :-)
I am fairly sure that there are some creatures (amoeba, nematodes, "cute little bugs") who will take care of that stuff...
AND... there are certainly some animals who eat the above which again are eaten by BIRDS. (Hey, this is a Bird site)

I'm guessing the only question is How Long?will you wait/wish for you HULLS to disappear :=)

I have never had to wait longer that about 9 months.

Guido.

I mostly feed with black oil sunflower seeds, which leave much less in the way of hulls than the striped sunflowers. I just use a rake to spread them out over the mulch in that part of the garden. They add nicely to the mulch, and I don't have to worry about cleaning them up.

There is grass under my other feeder, and I find that the mess pretty much disappears after a couple of mowings.

Hi Guido:

I read in one of the bird books that leaving the hulls could make the birds sick and they could die from staph or other infections. That's why I was thinking that maybe I should start picking them up. The hulls had been there a few months then I decided to pick them up. Most are black sunflower seeds. Thanks for the info here you shared. I forget sometimes that birds eat insects and worms. I didn't want to start breeding insects in my grass. I try to keep the place clean for the birdies. Thanks for the info. I will give this topic some more research. It may be that the birds are not harmed by what you suggest.

Thank you,

Solo-Star

Hi NorthernStar:

That's an interesting idea you have shared here--to spread the hulls over the mulch. Very interesting idea. Does doing that breed/cause insect problems? Seems like when I leave them on the ground for a few weeks or a few months that insects started appearing in droves. But if the birds eat the insects then maybe that's not such a bad thing. I just do not want to contribute to weakening the species or causing death just because I was too lazy to clean up, if you know what I mean. Perhaps I misunderstood some info I read or need to research the matter further. I'm aiming to help the birds get healthier not sicker. Thank you and feel free to write back,

Solo-Star

>5 Solo-Star: I only feed birds in the winter, and haven't noticed any problem with insects, but that may depend on your climate.

Yes, I think climate is definitely a factor. I did manage to find some info on this topic and I plan on posting my links later in the next week or two. It was useful information.

I feed "our" birds raw rolled oats, available from a bulk food store in 50-pound bags. This eliminates the mess produced by seed hulls. And it's less expensive than conventional bird seed.

Hi NorthernStar:

After investigating, I learned that the author(s) were right about contamination of bird food and transmittal of infections bird-to-bird. Illness/virus outbreaks are more likely occur at tight bird feeding stations such as small bird house feeders where droppings could be mixed into the food or where rodents help themselves to the feeders. This is noted in several bird books, I think one of which is the All-Season Backyard Birdwatchers by Marcus H. Schneck.

But to answer my own question, yes, a bird seed hull catcher helps miniimize spread of infections among birds. Cannot find the books in which this is recommended but a bird seed hull catcher is recommended by various state extension services. Maintaining clean bird feeding areas is very important and Schneck does recommend also using a broom and dustpan too to minimize ground contamination for the birdies. Check out the bird seed hull catcher below. These are attached by hook suspended from the small bird houses. I've never seen one before until I found this yesterday:

http://www.birdfeedersnmore.com/images/products/thumb/SEIA30024.jpg

Hope this helps. I feel a moral responsibility to care for these birds and to care of them, to take care of them since I am feeding them.

Schneck's cleaning recommendations are also found supported and advocated by various state extension services such as one in Pennsylvania.

I think these bird seed hull catchers are a fantastic idea. Let's take care of the birdies!

Solo-Star

PS: I realize every situation is different (we don't all feed in the same ways, etc.) and in TX where I live we have warmer weather and many different types of birds. The more birds I feed/water in my yard the more I feel obligated to care for them by preventing viral outbreaks+infections. Good look with the proper care and feeding of your birdies.

I buy hulled seeds (sunflower, safflower) from a local farm store and mix my own with the little suet pellets--no mess on my lawn.

>9 Solo-Star: - I don't worry too much about infections here because everything is pretty hard frozen all winter, and I quit feeding in spring. I've never noticed any problems or seen any sign of sick birds. I agree that once you start feeding birds, you are taking on a responsibility towards them.

I sure like the look of the seed catcher. It would save a lot of seed that is kicked on the ground and buried by snow, as long as it is strong enough to survive a bit of winter.

I'm sure you have very different conditions in Texas!

Hey that's neat! :-)

Yeah, Me too--thinking about getting a few of those seed catchers. We don't get much snow down here in Texas.

Hi tropics:

I put some rolled oats outside for the birds and neither the squirrels nor the birds touched it. I have the same result with peanuts when I put those out for the birds such as blue jays who are known for liking peanuts. The birds won't touch them.

I may switch to the hulled seeds too. The "no-mess" seeds.