Seeding the lawn now is particularly important for helping hungry birds
survive the long cold winter.

I think you are right. Last year, I put grass seeds on the surface of
my lawn in fall without covering them with anything. Sure enough, I
got a large group of black birds in my lawn eating stuff (most likely
the grass seeds); no need to say, I had a poor germination rate. This
year, I have covered the grass seeds with a thin layer of top soil,
and the black birds have not come yet, and the germination rate is
quite good (at least for fine fescue).

Jay Chan