If you are thinking about feeding wild birds peanuts, you’ve come to the right place. Here are some common garden birds that love peanuts, as well as tips on how to provide them with a nutritious meal. Peanuts are one of the best sources of energy for wild birds, so try offering them to different kinds of wildlife in your backyard. Here are some other options to suet during the winter. You can also consider offering them other kinds of seeds, nuts, or fruit.
Common garden birds that will eat peanuts
Peanuts are one of the cheapest, easiest to replace snacks for most birds. Most common garden visitors eat peanuts. A few species, such as the house sparrow and some members of the tit family, don’t eat peanuts at all. Corvids, such as crows, will often eat peanuts in the shell, but smaller birds like robins and jays will pass up the whole peanut in order to get to the nuts.
Insect-eating birds may also eat peanuts. This includes the Yellow-rumped Warbler, Carolina Wren, and Ruby-crowned Kinglet. Moreover, suet, a mixture of rendered fat and lard, is a favorite among many birds. Although suet comes in many varieties, peanuts are often mixed with it. A few varieties are particularly tasty for birds.
If you are looking for a food that can provide hours of entertainment, peanuts are a great choice. Peanuts are relatively easy to find and are an excellent source of protein and fat. You can buy them in many varieties, including shelled and unsalted. Historically, peanuts were grown for human consumption and for animal feed. These days, peanuts are grown for birds all over the world. China, India, Nigeria, and Indonesia are just a few of the countries that grow peanuts for human consumption. There are also peanuts in varying sizes and shapes, so you can choose the one that suits your needs best.
Alternatives to suet for winter
During the winter months, suet cakes are an ideal replacement for insects. Hang a suet cake around your plants and remove it as soon as spring bulbs begin to sprout. Birds aren’t likely to leave your suet cakes, as they’re already busy nesting and raising their families. And once the winter season ends, they’ll move on to their insect foes. If you want to encourage nesting and egg laying, you need to provide the right food.
Suet is readily available as commercial blocks in most grocery stores. Alternatively, raw suet is available at the butcher’s counter or in the meat isle of your local supermarket. However, raw suet is more prone to rancidity than commercial blocks. In either case, you can purchase it in mesh onion bags and feed it to your backyard birds. You can also render raw suet yourself to make long-lasting blocks.
Homemade suet is best when used for winter feeding. However, suet is notoriously softening in warm weather, and in hot weather, it can go rancid. While rendering the meat helps it maintain its freshness longer, it still has the risk of spoilage and can attract bears. Fortunately, ready-to-use suet cakes are a healthier choice. Unlike fresh suet, these products are rendered and cooked, and are safer to use even in temperatures as high as 100deg F.
Cost of offering peanuts to wildlife
There are many ways to provide peanuts to wildlife in your yard. One way is to scatter them on the ground. This is convenient for larger birds such as jackdaws, magpies, and jays, but smaller birds may find it easier to eat shelled peanuts. Peanuts can be put into tray feeders or small dishes. Squirrels, chipmunks, and raccoons all enjoy peanuts.
Another great benefit of peanuts is their affordability. They are widely available, cheap, and fast to provide. They also are a good source of protein and fat for many types of wildlife, particularly winter birds. Many of these birds remain in their preferred ranges year-round, but in the colder months, a high-fat, protein-rich peanut meal is a welcome treat. This is especially important for birds that migrate from warmer areas to colder ones.
