Most rural Kansans are part of the estimated 55 million Americans who enjoy watching wildlife, especially birds at winter feeders.

Few things are as relaxing as drinking a morning cup of coffee and watching the steady procession of feathered guests coming to breakfast on a cold, snowy morning.

Few places have viewing as good as it is in Kansas. Hundreds of species winter here. That includes common species that may seldom leave your yard — like the popular cardinals — to birds that come from the Arctic to feed in Kansas fields and at feeders.

Here are some tips on how to get even more birds into your yard. Thanks to Max Thompson, retired biology professor at Southwestern College in Winfield, for much of the advice. Thompson is also recognized as one of Kansas’ top ornithologists.

Feeders

Not all birds like their table set the same way. The more types of feeders in your yard, the more species of birds you’ll attract:

Vertical feeders. Vertical feeders, with perches and tiny, open feeding areas, are important for many popular birds, like finches. Ones that come wrapped in a cage allow smaller birds, like finches, not to be bullied away by bigger birds.

Trough feeders. Trough feeders will feed about any species that will also feed from a vertical feeder. Whether good or bad, most trough feeders allow birds to scatter a lot of food on the ground.

Ground scatters. Speaking of ground-feeding birds, juncos and some sparrows greatly prefer to get their goodies from the ground or a flat surface. The top of an old stump can be a good place to scatter some food, as can a tray attached to a deck or fence. A little food scattered on the ground always helps.

Suet feeder. A suet feeder, which is a cage that holds slabs of fatty suet blocks, will attract more woodpeckers than any other style of feeder. One downside is that they’re magnets for flocks of starlings — nasty birds that may take over your entire feeding area.

Food choices

Sunflower seed. Black oil sunflower seeds are the choice of most serious feeders. Most birds love them, they’re not terribly expensive if purchased in large bags and they’ll work in most styles of feeders. Many Kansans are blessed with the ability to buy sunflower seeds directly from Kansas farmers. That usually saves the buyer money — and creates a little extra income for local farmers, too.

Sunflower chips. Crushed sunflower chips are gaining in popularity. They can be more popular with birds than seeds in the hull because they’re easier for small birds to handle. Homeowners like them because there’s never a pile of empty hulls under a feeder all winter, or the sprouts of volunteer sunflowers in the spring.

Grain sorghum and wheat are less desirable. Despite the opinion of the millions of blackbirds that can decimate a field of Kansas grain sorghum (milo), locally grown crops like grain sorghum and wheat aren’t great for winter bird feeding. A major reason is the seeds are too big and hard for many small species of birds to eat.

Check ingredients in premixed birdseed. Always be sure to check the ingredients before buying premixed bags of birdseed. As well as grain sorghum (milo), some can contain cracked corn that may have been diverted from livestock feed because it has alpha-toxins. Those toxins can kill songbirds.

Consider proso or thistle seed. Proso, a white millet, can be an excellent food that birds love and most squirrels won’t eat. Nyjer (thistle) seeds, from the right feeder, are especially popular with finches. Spillage won’t sprout if it hits the ground, but it is expensive enough to warrant a special feeder.

Other considerations

Add ground cover. Adding ground cover around feeders will help attract species that prefer not to feed from perches.

Provide protection. A few cedar limbs, or outdated Christmas trees, work great. Many birds like it when seed is sprinkled through the boughs. Even things like livestock panels leaned against a fence give songbirds a place protected from predators like Cooper’s hawks or sharp-shinned hawks.

Provide water. Birdbaths are as important in the winter as the summer, especially when it’s well below freezing. Inexpensive submergible heaters made for the purpose work well at the end of an extension cord. You’ll be amazed at how many birds bathe in such water, even with freezing temperatures.

Refill often. Don’t stop refilling feeders too soon.

Remember when food for birds is scarce. Natural foods, like seeds and insects, are at low points in early spring — but it’s when birds most need nutrition for migration and nesting.

Hens need nutrition. The healthier a hen songbird is when she’s forming and laying eggs, the healthier her chicks will be. That can translate into more wonderful birds at your feeders next winter.

Pearce writes from Lawrence, Kan.