Now is the time to put out the bird feeder

George Raye is talking about the win-win of feeding the birds.

"They need the nutrition in the winter and we get to watch and appreciate them at the seed buffett," said the manager of the Buckerfield's farm and feed stores in Kelowna and West Kelowna.

"There's going to be a lot of happy birds in BC."

As winter nears and temperatures are steadily colder, natural sources of food for birds become scarce.

So, now is the time to put out a bird feeder and top it up with seeds and-or suet.

Feeding the birds is not complicated -- just put that feeder out and fill it with food and the hungry birds will fly in.

Heck, you can even toss seed on the ground and birds will congregate.

We're talking about all kinds of feathered friends from chickadees, sparrows, finches, siskins, grosbeaks and juncos to mourning doves, jays, quail and even the odd woodpecker.

Most of these are songbirds, so it's enchanting to watch them feast at the feeder, flutter around and twitter a tune.

If you're putting out a feeder for the first time, it may take a week or two for birds to discover it.

Don't get inpatient and give up, they will arrive eventually.

If you feed the birds annually or your backyard has a lot of trees and birds already, they'll probably wing in in a matter of hours and repeatedly show up all season long as you keep the seed flowing.

"Bird feeders and wild bird food is our No. 1 fastest growing sales area," said Raye.

"People love to attract birds to their yards and decks."

As such, the nine Buckerfield's stores across the province in Kelowna, West Kelowna, Salmon Arm, Abbotsford, Duncan, Nanaimo, Parksville, Saanich and Langford stock a myriad of different bird feeders and wild bird food.

You can get overwhelmed with feeder and food choices, so don't overthink it.

Raye recommends starting with one of those basic gravity-fed tube feeders with holes and footholds that allows the birds to perch and peck out seeds.

Hang such tube feeders from a tree branch or the eaves of your house

They range in price from $25 to $60, depending on capacity and design.

Or, you can opt for a platform feeder that you can attach to a post or tree.

They range in price from $16 to $80, again depending on how big and fancy.

The Buckerfield's in West Kelowna has a special on now where the store will throw in a two-kilogram bag of wild finch seed for free (a $14 value) when you buy a bird feeder.

Other wild bird foods range from an 11-ounce pack of suet for $3.29 to a 16-kilogram bag of Buckerfield's Best Buy Wild Bird Seed for $35.

Seed mixes tend to have small black sunflower seeds, cracked corn, white and red millet, milo, peanuts and canary seed.

Only put out an amount of food the birds will eat in a day or two to avoid the seeds getting wet and mouldy.

Clean the feeder periodically, especially if it gets wet and dirty.

And, finally, fill up your feeder consistently from now until the spring and the birds will also consistently show up to delight you.