Feeding Birds

Birds eat many different types of food and it all really depends on the type of bird, the environment, and what time of year it is. If you want to cater to certain birds in your area or entice specific kinds to visit your backyard there are certain types of foods you can feed them that will encourage them to pay you a visit. There are also certain types of feeders and various locations that you can keep feeders in that will encourage your birds to come and eat and keep predators away.

Most birds love sunflower seeds and there is a  smaller brand that is very meaty and easy to crack open for little birds that is very popular with most feeder birds. The larger brand of sunflower seeds works well too and in general these seeds will appeal to most of the birds that will be coming to your feeders. Most local outdoor stores will stock a mix of sunflower seeds with other various types of seed for birds and many times they’ll have a good mix that will attract a variety of birds so that you can see lots of different kinds at your feeders. Many birds also like suet which is a meaty fat that birds enjoy. It’s very inexpensive and most local meat counters can supply you with it. You can also experiment with corn, millet, safflower and other types of seed to see what the birds in your area prefer. It’s also a good idea to mix in some ground up egg shells or some small gravel in an area near your feeder but in a separate container because birds use these types of materials to form “grit” in their stomach to help them digest their food.

You may also want to provide food for hummingbirds which drink nectar. You can make your own nectar by mixing one part sugar to four parts boiling water and stirring it up well. Hummingbirds will love this and the nectar doesn’t need to be died red to make it attractive to the birds - in fact just having it in a red feeder or having some red ribbon tied around it will make it attractive enough to keep your hummingbirds feeding from it. You can keep this sugar water mixture around in the fridge for about a week and in your feeder for about three days but any longer and the mixture will begin to get moldy which is very dangerous to your birds so be careful to switch it out regularly and to discard any  old mixture in a way where it wont sit and get drunk by any birds or animals.

You may also want to have some water available to your birds to bathe and drink in and this can come in the form of a little water dripper or a bird bath. Birth baths are really fun to have around and it can be great to watch your birds splash and play in the water. For a bird bath all you really need is a small bowl or a shallow dish that water can sit in. A couple inches is usually more than enough and it’s also helpful to place some rocks or branches in or near the water so that your birds have something to sit on without getting wet. The rim of the dish is helpful for this too so try to make sure it doesn’t have any broken edges or chips on it that may hurt the feet of little birds. Having dripping water also makes your bird bath more interesting to birds and makes them more likely to come pay it a visit.

You can also leave bits of fruit like oranges and raisins as well as some vegetable seeds and different types of nuts around as well to attract birds just be wary of where you put them otherwise you may end up attracting other animals than the little birds that you want and they could be the kind that like to eat your little birds too.

Experiment with different kinds of food, water, and seeds and soon you’ll know just what the birds in your area like and you may even be able to get them to eat out of your hands!