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The Art of Attracting Birds: February is National Bird Feeding Month
February 01, 2026
Did you know that February is National Bird Feeding Month?
Birds in North America have a hard time finding food and other resources in the winter, especially in places like Michigan, where snow often covers the ground and trees. Most insects are dormant or dead, seeds are beginning to rot, and worms are too deep in the frozen ground to extract. Finding shelter and warmth is hard enough, so wild birds can use an extra caring hand to help them with food.
But National Bird Feeding Month isn’t just for the birds- it also gives humans some backyard entertainment during the cold winter months as well! Bird feeding can be traced to ancient civilization where people would leave offerings to the birds as a gesture of goodwill or spirituality. Studying the diversity of birds became popular in the 19th and 20th centuries, as did the invention of different types of bird feeders.
In 1994, Congressman John Porter established National Bird Feeding Month to raise awareness for birds during the winter months. Both the Wild Bird Feeding Institute (WBFI) and the National Bird Feeding Month websites offer resources on the best types of food, feeders, and bird houses for helping wild birds over winter.
Next time you look out your window and things look a little bleak and boring, consider adding a birdfeeder to your backyard and help feed the birds!
The GVSU Art Museum collection has a wide range of birds represented in the collection. Some can be found in your own Michigan backyard….others not so much!
Explore birds in the Collection
Matt Maniscanco, Paper Plover, oil on canvas, 2009, 2009.104.1.
Tim Nowakowski, Bird and Flowers, oil on canvas, 1995, 1998.300.1.
Ladislav R. Hanka, Bobolink, etching, 2001, 2002.450.1.
Stephen Rosselet, Blue Grosbeak, print, circa 2011, 2011.105.3.
Robert Koropp, Dove, photograph, ca. 1960, 2010.54.30.