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Peanut Butter
Peanut Butter contains Protein, Fat and Oil.
Woodpeckers, Nuthatches, Chickadees,
Titmice, Mourning Doves, Song Sparrows, White-crowned Sparrows, White-throated Sparrows and House
Finches will eat peanut butter.
Safflower
High in protein and fat. Cardinals,
Mourning Doves, Finches, Grosbeaks, Jays, Chickadees, Nuthatches,
Titmice, Song Sparrows, and White-throated Sparrows like Safflower.
Milo, Sorghum
Often used as
filler in mixed blends. Mourning Doves, Pigeons, Bluejays, White-crowned and
White-throated Sparrows, Grackles, Starlings, and Cowbirds eat Milo. Finches,
Cardinals, Grosbeaks, Chickadees, and Titmice will also eat some, but it is not a
preferred seed and attracts unpopular birds.
Millet
Another popular mixed blend filler.
House Finches, Mourning Doves, Cardinals, Buntings, Juncos, Towhees, Blackbirds,
Pigeons, Song Sparrows, White-crowned and White-throated Sparrows, and English Sparrows
like Millet. The white variety is preferred
Corn
Bluejays, Mourning Doves, Juncos, Blackbirds and Sparrows
eat corn. Upland game birds like Pheasants, Turkeys, Partridge and Grouse love corn.
Pigeons, Starlings, cowbirds and squirrels like corn.
Mixed Seed
Good mixed seed will
contain some of most of the above quality seeds. Quality of mixed seed can vary.
If birds select only some seeds in a blend and waste the rest, try another mix.
Peanuts
Feeding shelled unsalted
peanuts isn't messy and they are highly nutritious for the birds that can eat them.
Bluejays, Scrub Jays, House Finches, Cardinals, Woodpeckers, Magpies, Chickadees,
Nuthatches, Titmice, White-crowned and White-throated Sparrows eat peanuts. Most
birds can shell whole (unshelled) peanuts, with varying degrees of effort. Squirrels
love peanuts.
Fruit
Migrating birds and early arrivals regularly encounter
shortages of their usual feeding sources and readily substitute fruit made available for
them. Try halving oranges and apples and fixing on a nail or spike. Feed
grapes, berries, bananas, melons, and raisins.
Robins, Thrushes, Catbirds, Mockingbirds, Orioles,
Tanagers, Waxwings, Bluebirds, Kingbirds, Woodpeckers, Crows, Blackbirds, Sparrows, some
Warblers and more birds than can be listed will eat fruit. See Gilbert H. Trafton's Bird-Fruit Chart based on U.S. Department of Agriculture
studies for a longer list of birds and some of the Fruits they eat. See the section
on Plants, Shrubs and Trees you can plant to provide Fruit, Nectar, Seeds and Cover.
Mealworms
Bluebirds, Wrens, Robins, Cardinals, Woodpeckers,
Chickadees, Nuthatches and Titmice eat mealworms. Offer in a dry cup in the shade.
If you have the stomach, you can raise mealworms (Tenebrio molitor). In a plastic
bucket or pan with a screen mesh cover for plenty of air, place oat bran a few inches
deep. Place mealworms in the pan. Partially bury a halved apple, cut side down in the oat bran for
moisture and replace weekly. Rip paper grocery bags into pieces and place several
layers over the oat bran. Keep at
about 60-65 degrees. The
mealworms will grow into adult beetles, lay eggs, and the eggs will turn into yummy little mealworms which grow to
the size you purchased.
Nectar Producing Plants for Hummingbirds
Trumpet Honeysuckle, Trumpet Vines, Honeysuckle, Monarda,
Coral Bells, Salvia, Fuchsia, Petunia, Corydalis, Impatiens, Firecracker, Lillies,
Belladonnas, Hibiscus, Lantanna, Snapdragon, Ivy Geraniums, Cigar Plant,
Quince...there are many.
Red seems to be their favorite color, but other colored
flowers work too. Plant large thick gardens. They visit lots of flowers to get
a little nectar. Hummingbirds will also eat insects visiting and living in the
plants and even make nests from spider webs. Plant nectar producing flowers in
window boxes and view them from your home.
Birds Eating From Your Hand
Chickadees and Red-breasted Nuthatches will likely eat from
your hand. Other birds documented to have eaten from people's hands include
White-breasted Nuthatches, Tufted Titmice, Bluebirds, Evening Grosbeaks, Redpolls, Jays,
and Chipping Sparrows. Place feed in a cup formed by your palm upturned and fingers
pointing up for a perch. Birds see well from a distance easily notice you are
holding feed.
Water for Birds
Birds need fresh water. Extremely cold or dry
weather may be when water is needed the most. They love to bathe
and people love to watch. Even the sound of running water will
attract birds. And bathing birds attract people!
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