Bird Food Facts
Bird feeding has become a popular hobby in the United States, fueling a need for quality feed for wild birds. Bird feeding ranks second among backyard pastimes, coming in behind only gardening, according to BirdWatchersDigest.com. Birds eat different types of feed, but sticking with the most popular makes it easy to feed and enjoy watching backyard birds.
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Basics
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Hummingbirds are one bird that will come to a feeder. Black-oil sunflower seed is a favorite of many small, wild birds. Birds with larger beaks will also go for striped sunflower seed, but more bird species eat hulled sunflower seeds, including jays, finches, cardinals, grosbeaks, chickadees, grackles, woodpeckers and titmice, according to Audubon.org. Other basic seeds favored by many birds include thistle, cracked corn, red milo, safflower, white proso millet and peanuts. Blends of these are easy to find. Offering more than one variety increases the chances of attracting more birds.
Alternatives
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Other examples of wild bird food include suet, or beef fat, a favorite of woodpeckers, and nectar for hummingbirds. Orioles love oranges and grape jelly, and bluebirds will be attracted to mealworms. Birds also need a good source of water.
Bird pudding, a mix of suet and seed, is popular with wrens, woodpeckers, nuthatches, titmice and chickadees. Waxwings, bluebirds, robins and mockingbirds go for fruits like soaked raisins.
Birds also need grit for digesting their food, and Project Feeder Watch at Cornell University in Ithaca, New York, recommends crushed egg shells that have been baked for 20 minutes at 250 degrees Fahrenheit.
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Nutrition
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Each type of feed provides a particular nutritional benefit, says Project Feeder Watch. Black-oil sunflower seed has lots of seed meat and fat. Birds that eat insects also will eat suet, a source of fat. Hummingbird nectar provides sugar the birds need for energy to maintain their metabolism, according to Hummingbirds.net. Eggshells provide the grit and calcium birds need for laying their own eggs, the experts at Project Feeder Watch noted.
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The type of feeder and how it's maintained matters in getting wild birds to eat what people put out. Project Feeder Watch notes that birds are suspicious of new foods, so always put out feed in the same place. Clean feeders regularly to prevent disease. Small birds use most kinds of feeders, while larger ones choose hopper or platform models over tube-type feeders. Specialty feeders are needed for hummingbird nectar and mealworms, according to the National Bird-Feeding Society.
Seasons
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The species of birds that visit a feeding station in summer will change in the winter. Bird experts at the National Bird-Feeding Society recommend tailoring your feeding station to make sure you are feeding the birds that will be at your feeder in a given season.
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References
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- Photo Credit feeding finches image by Ray Kasprzak from Fotolia.com hummingbird feeding image by Clarence Alford from Fotolia.com
