Turns Out, We’ve Been Filling up Food in Bird Feeders All Wrong — Expert Reveals a Surprising Truth

Just like the starlit night sky, birds, too, embody a beauty that can only be observed in the night.  When these feathery beauties retire for the night, they don’t just sleep. Unlike humans, birds carry out a lot of hard work during the night. Some of them exhaust the energy stores of their muscles as they tuck their head inside their feathers for protection. Certain sleeping postures also make birds expend tremendous amounts of energy, according to Current Biology. Add to it, the birds like garden warblers, who travel in long-distance flights through the night and end up hungry and jaded.

When these birds wake up in the mornings, what they need the most is a delicious platter of food that will replenish their energy stores with calories and satisfy their appetite. This is a primary reason why birders should fill up the bird feeders at night instead of in the morning, unless, of course, their garden is frequented by nocturnal predators or unwelcome, creepy critters. In an interview with House Digest, Doctor Charles van Rees urged homeowners to stock up their feeders during the night, so birds can have their food ready when they wake up to the rooster’s call in the morning.

"Birds are most active for feeding early in the morning. So, you'll want to make sure that feeders contain food first thing when the birds are getting very active. If you are not an early riser, I recommend filling feeders late at night before bed; that way, the seeds are available for the early birds while you're still snoozing," Doctor van Rees, who’s also a conservation scientist, naturalist, and owner of Gulo in Nature, told the magazine. The reason, he explained, is not just to restore the energy reserves of birds, but also to synchronize the feeder with their eating and foraging routines, which typically start early in the morning.

"Early morning is the typical heavy-duty foraging time for most birds year-round, although they spend more time feeding and looking for food during the breeding season (spring and summer)," the doctor said. He added that the seeds and nuts one puts in their feeder are just “snacks” for adult birds. So, ultimately, it doesn’t make much of a difference which timing one employs to stock up their feeder. But there’s one time that should be avoided at all costs if one desires to fulfil the birds’ needs without harming them: afternoon. Midday feeding, the doctor emphasized, can be dangerous to the health of the birds.

"If you consistently fill up your feeders in, say, the afternoon, then potentially a more limited group of birds might have access to the seeds. You might also force the birds to spend more time foraging during broad daylight hours, when they are at greater risk of getting snapped up by an accipiter (bird-eating hawk) or a housecat," he explained. And once you crack the timing code for your bird feeder, your garden will inevitably be springing with lush flocks of black-capped chickadees, jewel-throated hummingbirds, white-breasted nuthatches, goldfinches, peanut-loving blue tits, and what not!