• Local Birding Email Newsletter Signup
• Local Nature/Birding Information & Events
• • How to Prevent Squirrels at Your Feeders
  • How to Attract Flickers/Woodpeckers
  • Hummingbirds, Orioles, Tanagers Oh My!
  • How to Help Your Birds During Winter
  • Attract More Ground-feeding Birds to Your Yard
  • Woodpecker Leaving Nest YouTube
  • Attract, Feed & House Bluebirds
  • How to Keep Your Birds Warm
  • Bird Feeding Tricks and Tips
  • Providing Food Now Will Help Later
  • The Future of Bird Feeding Starts Here
  • Making Time (and Birds) Stand Still
  • Creating a Productive Bird Habitat
• Local Birds To Look For Now
• • Bird-of-the-Month: Bullocks Oriole
  • American Robin
  • Western Scrub, Steller's & Pinyon Jays
  • Yellow-rumped Warbler
  • Oregon Junco
  • Northern Flicker Woodpecker
  • Red-tailed Hawk
  • Nuthatch
  • Goldfinches
  • Owls
  • Downy Woodpecker
  • California Quail
  • Wrens
  • Rufous Hummingbird
  • Mourning Dove
  • Western Bluebird
  • Spotted Towhee
  • Mockingbird
  • House Finch
  • Mountain Chickadee
  • Grosbeaks
  • Cooper's Hawk
  • White-crowned Sparrow
  • Local Bird Pictures
  • What Bird Is That?
• See Newest Products
• • See Squirrel Proof Feeder
  • Owl Seed Cylinder Video
  • Snowman Seed Cylinder Video
  • Penguin Seed Cylinder Video
  • New Birdacious System
  • Easy Installation ... Bird Perfect Pole
• Rewards Program: WBU Too
• This Could Be Your Backyard
• • Dinner Time
  • Classic, Tough Bird Feeder
• Watching Birds
• • How To Better Identify Birds
  • Canada Geese
• Where Do Birds Go At Night?
• No Squirrels Allowed
• Bird Wallpaper for Your Computer
• • All Seasons Hobby Guide
• Get Email News

Providing Food Now Will Help Later

During fall and winter, chickadees, nuthatches and titmice will hide food to retrieve and eat at a later time. This behavior is called "caching." Caching helps birds survive during bad weather and when food sources are low.

These birds store hundreds of seeds a day, and each seed is placed in a different location and they remember where each one is. They can find each site accurately even a month later.

By providing an easily accessible food source, you can help your chickadees, nuthatches and titmice with their caching needs. Below is a little more detail on some of your favorite birds' caching behaviors.

	Chickadees Cache seeds (in the shell and out), nuts, insects and other invertebrate prey Food is typically cached about 100 feet (30 m) from feeders Cache more during the middle of the day May carry off several seeds at a time, but each item is stored in a separate location Store food in knotholes, bark, under shingles, in the ground and on the underside of small branches
	Nuthatches Prefer to cache hulled sunflower seeds, because they are easier and faster to cache; occasionally mealworms Choose heavier seeds (because they are larger or have a higher oil content) Food is typically cached about 45 feet (13.5 m) from feeders Most active caching time is early in the day Store food in bark crevices on large tree trunks and on the underside of branches
	Titmice Cache sunflower, peanuts and safflower Food is typically cached about 130 feet (40 m) from feeders Cache one seed at a time and typically choose the largest seeds available Often remove seeds from their shell (80% of the time) before hiding them

Copyright © 2013 Wild Birds Unlimited, Inc. All Rights Reserved. Franchise Web Development by The Franchise Builders