When Christmas time comes around, we think about the religious significance of the holiday along with making our love ones happy with those special gifts. However, there is a group that takes a back seat to Christmas every year because they don't get a handout when it is so needed.

It's about our feathered friends, which are looking under and on every bush for a meal. During the growing season, there is no problem -- but because there a shortage of food this winter, their food supply is on the slim side. They will need some help from you.

When it gets cold, they need energy in the form of seeds and fat to keep them warm. You can provide this vital food in specially designed feeders. If you want to, you can locate that feeder, like I do, close to a window so both you and the birds can enjoy the moment.

There are several designs of feeders, but the one you get depends on what type of birds you want to attract to your landscape. There are tube feeders that are great for the smaller birds like wrens, platform feeders for blue jays, little house feeders for cardinals and finches, while a wire feeder with suit is great to attract woodpeckers.

One more hint is to make sure you don't get more squirrels than birds and make sure your kitty can't get to the feeders.