In Denver I'd put up thistle, sunflower, and mixed seed feeders. The thistle should bring Pine Siskins, Am. Goldfinch. The sunflower Evening Grosbeaks, Purple Finches, siskins, goldfinch, and chickadees. The mixed seed sparrows etc. As the snows get deeper in the mountains many birds head for the lowlands for the winter. I'd start hanging the feeders in October. And the above is just a short list of species, so get yourself a decent field guide, you'll need it.

If you go to BirdSource and look under Christmas Bird Counts you can find lists of Denvers birds for each years count. You'll have to experiment a little with the site, but the information is there. Denver's count takes place within a week or two of Christmas, so you'll have your winter birds. And higher the numbers reported, the more likely you are to see the species.

Cat,
I have all kinds of feeders up all year. I know they don't need it all year, but I love seeing birds in my yard. I can't imagine my yard without feeders and birds! So far this year, we've had over 60 different kinds of birds in and around our yard and it's been wonderful!

glo

This will be my first winter doing serious birdwatching so I don't really know what to expect. I have been keeping a record of whats here and the date I last saw it , also when something new shows up. I will have all my feeders up and will have a heated bird bath as my pond gets covered and freezes. I plan on participating in the Christmas Bird Count. We feed the deer, rabbits, squirrels and the turkeys and the MODOs, crows and bluejays love the corn. Last year when it snowed we put bird seed on our deck railing and had tons of birds. I am going to do this again and really concentraite on learning the different sparrows and such. There are so many that look similar. I learned all the migrating birds this season, now it's time to name all my overwinter birds. I have a good field guide and a book that explains what to look for, wing and eye bars,shape, flight patterns, behavior etc. I should be much smarter next year! LOL
Lisa

I keep up a thistle seed bag, a peanut feeder (very popular!) a mixed seed feeder caged for the smaller birds and a double suet feeder for the woodies - this spring I had a lot of parents bringing their children to my one over worked dogwood tree - and a hummer light bulb feeder! I used to have hanging platform feeders, but the squirrels and the grackles kept knocking them down, so this winter I will ground feed in a big plastic bowl so that the cardinals will come back. I am going to have to break down and give the squirrels their food elswhere. And I will only feed the birds in the evening when I can watch them.

Cheers, Ellery

I put out seed during the winter months. I have 3 feeders. I don't really know what birds I have. I just enjoy watching them.

We love watching the birds all year long. In the colder months we put up the suet cages in addition to the thistle seed, black oil sun flower seeds and mixed bird seed. Want to add peanuts to the mix this year too. We too gave up on the platform feeders and went to the tube feeders. The squirrels and big fat crows can't sit on them and forecast the seed. Those guys can empty a feeder in minutes doing that.

I feed the birds all year also. I mix my own seed of blackoil sunflower, white millet, safflower, and cracked corn. I also have a separate nyger feeder for the finches. Usually in the winter I add suet feeders, pinecone peanut butter feeders, and peanut feeders. This year I continued with the peanut feeders all summer because the woodpeckers just kept coming and coming. I use shelled as well as whole peanuts. Luckily, I do not have too many squirrels or chipmunks to contend with, but I do have a squirrel feeder that I fill with the dried corn from the corn stalks I use to decorate with in the Fall. That ususally lasts me all winter. We also have a ground feeder with cracked corn that we use to feed the Mallard Ducks and I noticed that it has attracted Blue Jays as well. They are so pretty, and don't seem to bother the other birds at all, as expected, and they seem to keep the grackles and crows away...go figure.

I normally hang out one tube feeder with oil-type sunflower seeds. Some suet for the woodpeckers. I throw out some inexpensive mixed seed on the ground for the sparrows. I particularly try to attract chickadees, titmice, cardinals, Carolina wrens, song sparrows and goldfinches.

Catwhiskas, I'm curious as to what part of Denver you live in that you are able to attract hummingbirds. In the City, we usually only see them in migration. People up close to the foothills have them, but this is the first I have heard of them in the City of Denver. I live out in Aurora.

Hi CatLady, I am in East Denver in an older very, very quiet neighborhood. I have been here 11 years and have seen only very few HB's in my old yard - but I never really tried to attract them. We moved a few blocks away over this summer and put up a few HB feeders and attracted probably over 10 or so by summers end. By next summer I will have planted all the goodies they are fond of and hopefully have lots more.

FYI: I have heard that the people that live close to Denver Botanical Gardens have tons of HB's in their yards - that is in Metro Denver.

That's interesting. I don't know anyone who lives near the Botanic. I visit the Botanic frequently and have never seen any hummers there in the Summer. I grew up in Park Hill. Hummingbirds nested in the City when I was a child, but they were long gone by the time I was in High School. If you can attract them in East Denver, I should be able to. I have nectar feeders up all season for my orioles. I always see a few hummers in migration, in late July and early August, but they don't stick around. When do they start coming through in the Spring and what might I do to attract them? Most of the plants I have that they are attracted to are Summer bloomers, ie crocosmia,ipomopsis rubra etc. Thanks for any suggestions. We are near I-70 and Chambers Road in a very rural area south of the highway.
Karen

Hi Karen, I didn't notice them until about July 7th, but they might have been here sooner. I did have one HB feeder up since April though. I don't have any flowers to attract them yet as we just moved into this house in the spring and haven't planted any flowers yet this year. However, we are loaded with Lilacs! We also have lots of neighbors on this block that have beautiful gardens w/lots of trumpet vine.

From July 7th until about the end of August they came steadily - they were Broadtails, and we could tell we were seeing the same visitors everyday. There might have been 4 or 5 - they looked like females. Everyday we had a show we could watch right from the table in the kitchen window.

Early August we noticed lots of dive-bombing going on which is when we had 3 or 4 Rufous arrive and they seem to be very obnoxious!! This is when we added 3 more feeders. We placed the feeders outside each window around the house so we could get a good view. One of my cats sat propped in one of the windows all summer, because a Rufous came nose to nose with him checking him out thru the window...he he he.

By the last week in August we noticed some strangers...many adult male stragglers wandered thru but didn't stay. They were all probably on their way to migrate. We loved to sit outside at the picnic table in the backyard at this time because they would come up and fly very close to our heads!

We have one friend and also a family member who live near Denver Botanic Gardens and they both get HB's...more than I had. I hope the HB's we had remember to come back to visit me next year...with their families!

I am not sure why you haven't gotten any ... perhaps you did but just didn't see them??? I am very new to this - it all took me by surprise. I will be planting trumpet vine, penstemon, morning glory, salvia, bee balm any many, many other trumpet shaped, tubular type flowers for next season...especially RED ones I hear.

Happy Humming!

We asked the guy at Wild Birds Unlimited this morning about the Denver area. Your report is consistent with what he told us. He said we're not likely to see them in the Spring when they are heading for their nesting areas at higher elevations. He said we won't see them in the City until July when they are looking for food sources in preparation for their migration back South. I will usually see at least one bird in late July or early August. I always have feeders up, but the ones I see don't stick around. I have a very large garden, more than an acre, so it's entirely conceivable that we have visitors that we never see. I plan to make an extra effort next year now that I know there is potential for getting them to stay a while. The guy at WBU lives in Montbello which is North of us and he gets them in July and August.

I have quite a few plants in my garden that they like. All are Summer bloomers. Be careful about planting that Trumpet Creeper. It can be kind of a thug. If you are interested in trying some Crocosmia, I have some in gallon pots that I'm willing to share. Your email address is not available on garden web, so email me at jadiscats@earthlink.net if you're interested and I'll give you my phone number.
Karen