They’re back, they’re back!

Robin Red Breast, Mr. Cardinal and the ugly duckling are back in town and ready to eat.

According to the National Bird-Feeding Society (NBS), springtime can be the most important time to feed birds.

Studies show that some birds dine at bird feeders more often in the spring than in the winter.

Birds need more energy in the spring for defending their territories, courting, building nests, laying eggs and feeding their new families, NBS stated.

However, natural food supplies are lacking in the spring, with nut, seed and berry supplies having been exhausted during the winter and most insects still dormant.

Birds use feeders in the spring to supplement what food they do find.

NBS reports that 63 million Americans feed birds in their backyards. Feeding birds is second only to gardening as a favorite outdoor hobby.

Feeding birds is generally a low maintenance hobby. Each spring, however, bird feeders should be cleaned thoroughly in preparation for the upcoming feeding season.

Small window feeders and suet baskets only need to be run through the dishwasher.

NBS recommends emptying old, caked seed from feeders, using hot, soapy water and a long-handled brush to clean hard-to-reach corners and rinsing and drying the feeder thoroughly before refilling it with fresh seed.

For plastic and metal feeders, NBS recommends using a five-percent bleach solution to disinfect them.

Shaking kernels of raw rice with hot water in hard-to-reach corners of tubes or hummingbird feeders may help.

They also recommend scrubbing bird baths with a stiff brush to remove dirt and algae and keeping bird bath water clean. Also, warmers can be removed from winter bird baths.

Bird baths should be scrubbed every week during warm weather because dirty water can breed diseases.

Another suggestion is putting a ceramic water dish in a garden area for birds to bathe in.

For more information on bird feeding, a bimonthly newsletter and a full-color bird identification and seed preference chart can be sent to NBS members. Annual dues for membership are $15. To sign up, write NBS at P.O. Box 23, Northbrook, IL 60065-0023.