Birds require lots of energy for flying, staying warm, and other daily tasks. You can help them by offering high-energy foods.
Offer berries and nuts in open dish or tray feeders, or use hopper or tube feeders with wide feeding ports. Avoid feeding any foods that have become moldy or otherwise compromised – such as those from supermarket produce departments.
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Nuts and Berries
Nuts are energy-rich foods that provide essential nutrition for birds. Their attractive taste draws woodpeckers and other songbirds to feeders for food. Sunflower seeds, cranberries, apples and apricots also offer ample nourishment to bird populations.
Provide both whole and shelled nuts to your feeders to attract a variety of nut-eating birds, which will benefit from being able to break open hard outer shells with their strong bills and extract tasty nut meats, or store unspent nuts away for use during lean winter months2.
Install nut-producing shrubs and trees in your yard to provide a natural source of nut nutrition, drawing birds from near and far throughout autumn and winter to your garden and feeding stations; squirrels will find plenty of sustenance here too!
Feeding Birds
Many people take great pleasure in watching wild birds visit their home and feeders. Nearly 59 million Americans do this each year and there is a wide range of sizes and styles of feeders designed to attract all types of backyard birds.
Provide natural nesting materials during spring and summer such as twigs, small sticks, pine needles and grass or plant trimmings (provided they are pesticide-free) as nesting materials for wildlife. Remove any fallen fruit that might attract unwanted insects such as fallen, rotting or decayed fruits that could attract more than they can handle.
Fall and winter are great times of year to provide songbirds with clean water to enjoy. Avoid offering bread, crackers or popcorn as these do not contain adequate nutrition for them.
Choosing the Right Bird Food
Assuring your feeder contains the ideal mix of birds will lead to optimal success in attracting wild species. Steer clear of seed mixes that contain non-bird friendly seeds like fillers that could germinate under your feeder and deter songbirds from visiting.
Black oil sunflower seeds provide birds with energy needed for winter survival. Other popular choices are traditional sunflower seeds with lower fat contents or peanuts – crushed peanuts may especially appeal to goldfinches, siskins, house sparrows and titmice; cracked or grated peanuts will draw in robins, dunnocks, wrens and nuthatches.
During summer months, most breeding birds focus on raising young and feeding them insects; however, you can provide nectar and seed for goldfinches with your offerings of hummingbird nectar or nyjer seed to attract goldfinches. Also planting berry or nut-producing plants provides wild birds with natural food sources to forage on their own in areas lacking enough mature trees or shrubs that provide food throughout winter months.
Getting Started
No matter your level of birding expertise, watching birds at your feeders with premium wild bird seed mixes and feeder accessories will bring joy. They attract an assortment of species while helping keep them healthy and safe, giving you the chance to observe them up close!
Try the Kaytee Ultra Waste Free Nut & Fruit Blend to attract woodpeckers, juncos, cardinals, chickadees and other species with predominantly nut and berry diets to your yard. This nutritious mix features hulled sunflower seeds, peanuts, pistachios and cranberries as well as shell-free nuts to reduce mess at your feeders – plus purple finches will love them while starlings, grackles and crows won’t.
Menards Niger Seed Wild Bird Feeder Cake features black oil sunflower seed, niger seed and millet to attract finches and other songbirds while its gelatin construction helps it last longer and reduce waste.
