If we're lucky, it will be weeks before the first snow flies, but it's definitely time to prepare the backyard bird feeding station. If this is the first year you're feeding backyard birds, you probably have a few questions.

Beginners often wonder which feeders work best. Many people start with an open platform feeder or a traditional hopper-style feeder. These simple, non-exclusive feeders permit access to all birds. Because they are non-exclusive, however, larger birds such as blue jays, grackles, mourning doves and pigeons often dominate these feeders.

To accommodate a greater variety of birds, use a variety of feeders.

A tube feeder filled with oil sunflower seeds attracts everything from cardinals and chickadees to nuthatches and woodpeckers. Nyjer tubes attract finches. Remove the tray at the base of tube feeders to prevent larger birds from monopolizing them. Be sure tube feeders have metal-reinforced feeding ports to prevent squirrels from enlarging the openings. The best tube feeders now have removable bottoms to make cleaning easy. And simple stainless steel wire mesh tubes are great for offering nuts to woodpeckers and nyjer to finches.

A bowl-style feeder covered with a plastic dome to deter squirrels permits only clinging birds such as chickadees, titmice, nuthatches and woodpeckers to feed. Larger birds such as grackles, pigeons and doves require perches and are physically unable to use bowl feeders.

Suet offered in plastic-coated wire baskets appeals to those birds that like a diet high in animal fat -- woodpeckers, chickadees and nuthatches.

The single best food for wild birds is black oil sunflowers seed. Virtually all seed-eating birds prefer it, and it's relatively inexpensive. Other good seeds include striped sunflower seeds, nyjer (often incorrectly called thistle), white and red millet, nuts, and cracked corn. Avoid mixes that contain milo and wheat.

Finally, remember the importance of water. Birds drink water whenever it's available, though standing water is not essential. Birds can extract water from all the foods they eat. But if you fill a small saucer with warm water every morning or install a bird bath heater to keep water from freezing during cold weather, you'll be amazed by the number of birds that use winter water.

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