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Discover Nature (Missouri Department of Conservation)

Discover Nature: Bird Feeding Stations

KBIA | By Kyle Felling
Published November 5, 2019 at 3:06 PM CST
A northern flicker with speckled black and white belly, gray head with black, tan and red patches, and black beak, sits on the edge of a wooden birdfeeder on a winter day.
A northern flicker sits perched on the edge of a birdfeeder. In colder weather, birds need more food to keep up with increased metabolism, making this a great time of year to set-up bird feeding stations and enjoy watching feathered friends.

This week on Discover Nature, set up bird-feeding stations to help keep feathered friends fed through the cold season.

To keep warm in frigid weather, birds must feed almost constantly. A drop of twenty degrees can double their metabolic rate. So, keeping food available can be especially important, and rewarding for birdwatchers when the weather turns cold. 

Feeding stations can be as simple as scattering some seeds on the ground, but more complex approaches can include any combination of covered, enclosed, and elevated feeders. Black, oil-type sunflower seeds and white millet rate best for attracting a wide variety of birds. 

Water and cover are equally important. A complete feeding program includes establishing native trees, shrubs, and plants that produce food and provide cover. 

Birds need places to perch overnight and vantage points from which they may not only view the feeder, but also watch for potential predators. 

Birds lack teeth and need grit in their gizzards to grind up their food. During prolonged periods of ice or snow cover, provide coarse sand or ground shells along with the seed.  

Learn more about bird feeding and bird identification with the Missouri Department of Conservation. 

Discover Nature is sponsored by the Missouri Department of Conservation.
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Kyle Felling
Kyle Felling’s work at KBIA spans more than three decades. In 2025, he became KBIA and KMUC's Station Manager. He began volunteering at the station while he was a Political Science student at the University of Missouri. After being hired as a full-time announcer, he served as the long-time local host of NPR’s All Things Considered on KBIA, and was Music Director for a number of years. Starting in 2010, Kyle became KBIA’s Program Director, overseeing on-air programming and operations while training and supervising the station’s on-air staff. During that period, KBIA regularly ranked among the top stations in the Columbia market, and among the most listened to stations in the country. He was instrumental in the launch of KBIA’s sister station, Classical 90.5 FM in 2015, and helped to build it into a strong community resource for classical music. Kyle has also worked as an instructor in the MU School of Journalism, training the next generation of journalists and strategic communicators. In his spare time, he enjoys playing competitive pinball, reading comic books and Joan Didion, watching the Kansas City Chiefs, and listening to Bruce Springsteen and the legendary E Street Band.
See stories by Kyle Felling
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