DECATUR - Did you know it's more important to provide water to birds in the winter than it is food?

"Birds can find food behind bark on trees or in leaf litter," said Vickie Warner, who operates the Backyard Birds store on Mount Zion Road. "Birds have to drink water to keep hydrated. They also need a bath to keep the oils spread around in the down feathers to keep them warm. If the water is frozen, they can't drink."

You can offer a pan of water several times a day, Warner said. Other options are a heated bird bath or a heater that you can lay in your birdbath. Look for thermostatically controlled heaters with 150 watts or more.

"The other day, I had six house finches drinking at the same time," she said.

In addition to house finches, as many as 17 varieties of birds are liable to show up in your yard this winter: goldfinches, blue jays, blackbirds, bluebirds, cardinals, chickadees, doves, grackles and juncos, grosbeaks, hummingbirds, orioles, robins, titmice, towhees, woodpeckers and wrens.

Richard Wilkins sees many of these birds every day at his home in Mount Zion. "I have a morning feeding and an afternoon feeding," he said. "Any bird is welcome."

He said the pastime is fun and satisfying. "I enjoy watching the birds," he said.

"About a year and a half ago, a bird was in my fireplace. Starlings had packed the chimney with straw. I found this small bird, fed him and he became my friend. I called him Robin. He'd sit on my hand. It turned out to be a starling, but I didn't mind. Finally, one day he took off."

Marilyn Oftedal of Decatur sits in her dining room before a picture window and watches the birds congregate on six feeders, "I've been feeding birds for years," she said. "Thirty years? Maybe 40. Put out a variety of food, and the birds will come. I can look out the window at the birds and think everything's right with the world."

Watching also suits Rayleen Luttrell of Oakley. "I have eight feeders," she said. "I've been feeding for 15 years. All kinds of birds."

What kind of feed is best? "I urge people to buy the best they can afford," Vickie Warner said. "You should buy from someone who cleans the mix of filler like milo, wheat and grain byproducts. There's less waste. Bird seed prices have doubled. I try to teach people what to buy."

Warner worked at Kmart 25 years before deciding to open a bird store.

"It was a leap of faith," she said. "I love it. It's wonderful. The first thing I do in the morning is check my 20 bird feeders. It brings me lots of joy.

"Birds are the best stress relievers in the world. I'm the mentor of a stroke group. I advocate watching birds for less stress."

So how many birds are flying around looking for a feeder? Norm Jensen of the Decatur Audubon Society was in charge of the Christmas bird count Dec. 20. Although final figures are not in, he estimates that more than 14,300 birds and 45 species were counted - lots of starlings and gulls. Ten people drove 124 miles and counted for 13 hours to 14 hours each. "Someone spotted a rare hybrid white-fronted goose," he said.

The tabulation was from a 15-mile radius from a center point in Decatur. The statistics will be forwarded to the National Audubon Society to be included in a book.

bfallstrom@herald-review.com|421-7981

TYPES OF FEEDERS

Tube feeders: Long tubes with seed portals. Better to hang instead of pole-mounting.

Hoppers: Mostly wooden; can be post-mounted. Holds larger quantity of seed.

Nectar feeders: Hold liquid nectar sugar water. Best if hung from tree or pole.

Suet feeders: Can double as a baked goods or fruit feeder. Wire construction.

Platform feeder: Post or ground. Versatile. Wooden or screen bottom.

Bag/sock feeder: Used for thistle, sunflower seeds. Much like onion or orange bags.