Hello World! Welcome Friends! Pop quiz!
Which location below has the most bird species?
A) Canada
B) Alaska
C) United States
If you guessed the United States, you’re right! Canada has 686 bird species, and Alaska is home to 521 bird species. However, in the U.S. there are 1,107 different types of birds for you to enjoy.
If you love bird watching then this article’s for you! In this short but complete guide, we’ll show you what foods you should put out to attract wild beautiful birds to your yard. Before you know it, your backyard will be a favorite spot for birds to hang out in.
Read on to learn about 11 foods to attract birds.
Photo by Dulcey Lima on Unsplash
1. Black-Oil Sunflower
First, it’s helpful to understand the different types of sunflower seeds that wild birds enjoy. There are 2 types of sunflowers, striped and black oil. The black oil sunflower seeds or oils, have thin shells, making it easy for almost all bird species to crack them open.
The kernels in oilers are high in fat, which is perfect for winter birds. Next, striped sunflower seeds have a thick shell, so it’ll be difficult for blackbirds and house sparrows to open them. However, chickadees, blue jays, woodpeckers, cardinals, and grackles all love striped sunflower seeds.
2. Kitchen Scraps
Instead of throwing away your kitchen scraps, you can start feeding them to the birds! To get the best results, we suggest you put the food on a platform feeder.
You can also use a hanging cage bird feeder for larger scraps. A few of the kitchen scraps birds love include rice, pasta, hard cheese, and eggshells.
3. Nyjer and Thistle
Moving on, Nyjer is another type of seed that birds like and it comes from the African yellow daisy. Sometimes you’ll hear Nyjer called “thistle seed”, even though they are 2 different things.
You’ll find that seed-eating birds, with small, sharp-pointed bills enjoy Nyjer. Bird lovers oftentimes refer to birds that love Nyjer as clinging birds, because of the way they cling to the side of the bird feeder.
4. Feeding Birds Fruit
Did you know that a lot of birds enjoy eating different types of fruit?
Here’s a shortlist of the fruits birds love the most:
- Cherries
- Elderberries
- Plums
- Oranges
- Mulberries
- Crabapples
- Concord grapes
Oranges are a great starting point since they attract so many different birds, such as mockingbirds, and tanagers. Sites like Nature Niche, offer special fruit feeders, so you can keep unwanted critters, like squirrels away from the fruit.
5. Attracting Birds With Suet
Moving on, seeds aren’t the only way to attract birds to your yard! You can also use suet, which is a hard fat derived from beef and mutton. Woodpeckers, chickadees, starlings, and nuthatches are particularly fond of suet. On occasion, cardinals, creepers, kinglets, and warblers will even visit a suet bird feeder.
One of the reasons birds like suet is because animal fat is easy for most bird species to metabolize. You’ll find that birds particularly like suet in the cold weather since it provides them with energy.
6. Cracked Corn
Next, cracked corn is another favorite amongst wild bird species. While cracked corn doesn’t have a high oil content, it is rich in fiber and protein. You can easily find cracked corn at wild bird stores, or other animal feed locations.
7. Sugary Nectar
Are you trying to attract hummingbirds to your backyard? If yes, then you should try making sugary nectar for your hummingbird feeder. All you’ll need is refined white sugar and water, along with the feeder.
First, mix 4 cups of water with 1 cup of sugar. Once the sugar’s dissolved fill up the hummingbird feeder and place it outside. If you have extra sugar water leftover you can store it in your fridge. Finally, you should clean and change the feeders every other day, to prevent mold from growing.
8. Peanuts and Peanut Butter
Next, birds love the protein they can receive from eating peanuts or peanut butter. Woodpeckers, titmice, magpies, sparrows, house finches, and cardinals all love peanuts. However, you must be feeding the birds peanuts that are completely salt-free since the salt doesn’t mix well with their digestive tracts.
You should also clean out peanut feeders every day since leftover peanuts or peanut butter will start to grow mold. Since peanuts can be a bit expensive, we suggest creating a peanut mix with black oil sunflower seeds.
9. Plants That Birds Like
Have you ever thought about attracting birds by updating your landscaping? Consider planting bushes that produce berries, and nectar-rich flowers, to transform your yard into a bird hot spot! Native plants that produce seeds, and attract insects, are also great for birds.
10. White Millet Seed
Are you trying to attract ground-feeding birds to your yard? If yes, then we suggest you try using white millet seed.
Quail, sparrows, doves, juncos, and towhees, all love eating white millet seed off the ground. Since you’ll be attracting ground feeders, it’s best to spread the seeds out on the ground near some type of cover.
For instance, brush piles, shrubs, and low platform bird feeders are all great areas to place the seeds. Be conservative with the number of seeds you scatter. If you put out more seeds than the birds can eat, the leftover seeds can start to grow fungus and bacteria.
11. Seed Mixes
You don’t have to limit yourself to 1 type of seed for your backyard birds. Instead, you can opt for a birdseed mixture, that offers more variety.
Here are some of the best seeds for mixtures:
- Peanut granules
- Flaked maize
- Sunflower seeds
By offering different types of seeds, you’ll be able to enjoy a more diverse bird watching experience.
Have Fun Watching Wild Birds
Which one of the foods are you going to try first to attract wild birds? Are you thinking about setting up a hanging bird feeder with a nice seed mix? Or are you leaning towards attracting ground feeders with some tasty millet seed?
Remember that different types of birds prefer different types of foods. So go ahead and take a moment to write down the different bird species you’re hoping to attract.
Next, go out and get the food you need so you can start birdwatching! For more helpful tips like these, explore the rest of this site.
Click the links below for any posts you have missed:
Benefits of Orthodontic Treatments
A Pantry Refresh & Organization
I’d love for you to join my email list! You’ll receive a notification straight to your inbox once a week which will include links to my latest home project posts! Simply enter your address below.
Thanks for stopping by! Have a wonderful day/night depending on where you are in the world! Go with God and remember to be kind to one another!
Toodles,
[…] 11 Tasty Foods that Wild Birds Flock To […]