It's that time of year again — time to get ready for winter. As our gardens prepare to go dormant for the winter, we can think ahead to the joy that bird feeding will bring. Fall is a good time to wash bird feeders and stock up on seed.

There are a few things to know in response to myths about bird feeding. First, birds will not become dependent on your feeder as a source of food. Even when they eat at feeders, birds eat at many other sources of natural food each day. Feeders do help some birds find a reliable source of food during heavy snow or ice storms, so you may want to keep your feeder full during those times (or have someone keep it full when you are not available).

Second, uncooked rice will not expand in the birds' stomachs and kill them. Many species of birds eat rice and other grains and are not harmed. Additionally, peanut butter does not stick in the birds' throats and choke them. You can mix cornmeal, oatmeal, grit or birdseed with peanut butter to make it less sticky. Mixing vegetable shortening and peanut butter in about a 50/50 ratio and then adding cornmeal or birdseed makes a very appetizing and inexpensive suet substitute that many birds love.

Third, a bird's feet will not stick to a metal bird-feeder perch. Birds do not have sweat glands in their feet. In fact, the feet are covered in scales made from material like your fingernails. Just think of all the metal fences and telephone wires they sit on all day long and don't stick to.

This is also the time of year when those who feed birds can join the 15,000 others who are a part of the largest and longest-running citizen science project. Project FeederWatch is managed by the Cornell University Laboratory of Ornithology. It is a winter-long survey of birds that visit feeders in backyards, nature centers and other locales in North America. FeederWatch volunteers periodically count the highest numbers of each species they see at their feeders from November through April. The project helps scientists track movements of winter-bird populations and long-term trends in bird distribution and abundance.

All you have to do is count all the birds in your yard at one time, and then report the numbers to the Lab. The data collected shows which bird species visit feeders at thousands of locations across the continent every winter. It also indicates how many individuals of each species are seen.

Learn more on the Project FeederWatch website, where you can see maps, trend graphs and other results generated from FeederWatch data. FeederWatchers receive a Research Kit that includes the FeederWatch Handbook (a guide to feeding birds), a full-color identification poster of common feeder birds, a calendar featuring photographs taken by participants, and paper data forms and/or access to the online data entry system.

Since the Lab is a nonprofit organization, there is an $18 annual participation fee ($15 for Cornell Lab members) that covers your materials and newsletter subscription, staff support, website support and data analysis. Visit the website or call 800-843-2473.

Email questions to Jeff Rugg at [email protected]. To find out more about Jeff Rugg and read features by other Creators Syndicate writers and cartoonists, visit the Creators Syndicate website at www.creators.com.