Wild birds become particularly active during spring, competing for territory, searching for a mate and building nests. To help support them, double the number of feeders in your yard and regularly clean and refill them.
Provide nesting birds with protein sources by offering peanut pieces as nesting bird food and providing seed mixes containing millet. Niger thistle can attract juncos and sparrows as well as wintering goldfinches and pine siskins.
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Sunflower Seed
Sunflower seeds (both shelled and unshelled varieties) make an excellent, all-round bird food source, boasting high levels of fats, proteins and numerous essential vitamins and minerals – an irresistibly tasty treat that chickadees and other seed eaters adore!
Black oil sunflower seeds are a staple in most backyard bird feeders. Their soft husks make it easier for small birds to open than their counterparts with stripes; additionally, these cheaper seeds offer less expense compared to hulled seeds which consist of chopped-up pieces of seed stripped of their coats.
Safflower seed, often included in higher-end bird mixes, is popular with Common Redpolls, Dark-eyed Juncos, doves, finches and goldfinches – it even draws Pine Siskins! Niger (also called thistle seed) works better for ground feeders such as quail, sparrows and juncos as it helps prevent “feeder hogging”.
Millet
Millet is an ideal food source for ground-dwelling birds like mourning doves and sparrows, while offering it alone or mixed into seed mixes can attract winter and early spring migrants like indigo buntings.
White millet can significantly expand the diversity of species visiting your feeder when combined with sunflower seeds (as in Pennington Select Birder’s Blend), including quail, native American sparrows, juncos and towhees.
Millet contains less oil than sunflower and safflower oilseeds, making it suitable for weaning birds who are “seed junkies” while providing more variety in their diet. Just be wary not to overfeed it as too much millet may encourage weed growth and rodent activity.
Peanuts
Peanuts offer birds a high-fat source of energy during winter temperatures and breeding seasons, giving them essential sustenance they require to thrive.
Baby birds require plenty of protein for proper development and to lay healthy eggs, and ample calcium to build strong eggshells. Achieving this goal with food like peanuts is one way to support young birds as they flourish.
Blue jays frequently visit peanut feeders to feast on peanuts. They will swoop down and grab one or more, stashing it for later or stuffing it all into their mouth at once! Titmice, chickadees and nuthatches also enjoy eating peanuts; for maximum enjoyment it is best to offer unsalted varieties since salt may harm birds; crushed or kibbled varieties are good options for smaller birds such as wrens and dunnocks.
Suet
Suet (beef fat) attracts woodpeckers, chickadees and titmice year-round and should be offered year-round in either drilled logs or net onion bags suspended five feet off the ground – both are great ways to provide high protein food sources as birds prepare for colder temperatures and mating season. It can also provide essential energy reserves during migration season!
Be certain to use true suet and not the soft beef and pork fats found in many store bought seed mixes mislabeled “suet.” Vegetable oils, bacon drippings and skin fat all have low melt points and could put your birds at risk when searching for ingredients needed to stay warm during winter’s harshest months.
Fruit
Provide songbird species with a range of food sources can attract them and aid their survival during winter. When selecting your meal options, avoid feeding bread or table scraps as this could spoil and foster mold that harms birds. Instead, skewer halved oranges for orioles and scarlet tanagers or mix in blends featuring dried fruits like apple slices, currants and raisins; ground egg shells (rinsed and baked) provide calcium which may benefit songbirds too!
Planting native vines, berry bushes, and fruit trees is an effective way to provide birds with food sources that they’d otherwise lack access to. Note that botanically “fruit” refers to any mature or ripened ovary of a flowering plant which encases seeds for dispersal via animals (see Fruit anatomy). This differs from culinary fruits such as grapes, apples, and pears which fall under culinary fruit categories.
