Feeding birds should be...For The Birds! The following tips apply specifically in Georgetown, Texas, but much more broadly in a general sense.
​Important: first ensure that birds will not collide with your windows! Huge numbers of birds die this way!
Close blinds or curtains when you’re not actually looking through your windows at birds. Better yet, go to the following link and read more about bird collisions, then order one of the products like “Bird Crash Preventers”:
https://abcbirds.org/get-involved/bird-smart-glass/
If you desire to attract birds to your yard, please consider a few things. First and foremost, natural foods, i.e., fruits and nectar from native plants and wildflowers, as well as the insects attracted to these native plants, are the best ways to bring in birds and support our native wildlife. I have over 150 species of native annuals, perennials, shrubs, vines, and trees in my yard, and hopefully at some point these will be sufficient to provide for all of my birds.
A fresh water source, especially if it involves moving water, will attract birds even if you are not feeding them. If you plan to provide supplemental food, some options are better than others at attracting desirable species while not attracting undesired ones.

If you’re going to be feeding birds, you have to make the decision; Are you doing this in the birds’ best interest, first and foremost? Feeders should be less than 4 feet or more than 15 feet from windows, and you should purchase decorative window stickers, keep your blinds closed when not viewing the birds, or use other methods of preventing window collisions. Foods should be chosen according to which species you wish to attract, and you should never use products like corn and milo (sorghum) or other cheap fillers in a seed mix. Using such products attracts other (some would say nuisance) species like deer, squirrels, and raccoons, for example, that will at the very least eat up your birdseed, if not make a mess...or even worse, destroy your feeders! Doves can hog the food and discourage the smaller, colorful songbirds. Weight sensitive feeders are the best bet at discouraging unwanted species. Suet is especially attractive to birds in winter months, and will attract species that other foods won’t.
Especially in winter weather but throughout the year, providing suet or “ bark butter” is beneficial to birds because they’re looking for extra calories during that time. Also, it is a great way to attract species like woodpeckers that might not come to birdseed. My favorite among these is a product sold by Wild Birds Unlimited called “Birdacious Bark Butter”. Be sure to buy the type with hot pepper in it! Birds don’t taste the heat and the hot pepper keeps squirrels, raccoons, deer, and other mammals from messing with your feeders and robbing your food!
The best foods include black oil sunflower seeds, nyjer (for goldfinches and siskins), safflower, and millet (if you live near grassy areas and wish to attract Painted Buntings). Birdseed and suet that contain hot pepper will discourage squirrels and other mammals.
A lot of our birds are insectivores and won’t come to birdseed. These include Bluebirds, wrens, and most warblers. A great option to supplement the diet for the species is to use meal worms. Fresh live worms are better of course, but I use freeze dried mealworms that I order in large quantity from Amazon.
To attract hummingbirds, flowers like trumpet vine, crossvine, coral honeysuckle, turks cap, Salvias, and many others, are better than sugar water, but if you do have hummer feeders, keep them SCRUPULOUSLY clean, change the fluid regularly, and only use 1 part sugar to 4 parts water (no dyes, etc.) Most people take down their feeders in colder months, when only a few hardy Rufous Hummingbirds stick around.
We are lucky to have an excellent source of bird foods, feeders, bird houses, books, and accessories near us in Georgetown. The folks at WildBirds Unlimited in Wolf Ranch can provide anything you need and plenty of advice. If you have any further questions about birds, feel free to contact me (Martin Byhower) at avitropic@sbcglobal.net.