Backyard Birds: A Seasonal How to Guide for What to Feed
Offering food to the feathered friends in your yard does double duty. It lets you connect with nature while offering some much-needed nourishment to local critters.
Seasonal Seasonal needs also depend on birds’ natural behavior. Knowing how and when to feed them can turn your backyard into an all year round sanctuary for these beautiful birds. This guide details the ideal seasonal feeding practices to attract and prop up birds in all seasons.
Spring: The Catalyst for Migration and Reproduction
Warblers and wrens start to migrate in spring, at least by some definitions of that word.
Spring is renewal for birds they migrate, commercials, prepare nests. The high-energy food is there to help them cope with the demands of this busy time of year.
What to Feed:
- Fatty seeds: Black-oil sunflower and safflower dresses are best.
- Meal worms:These high protein treats are specifically important for insect-loving bird’s such as robins and bluebirds.
- Fruit: Fresh or dried fruit — apple slices, oranges, raisins
- Nectar: Feeders with a sugar-water mixture (4-to-1 water-to-sugar; for hummingbirds, orioles.
Additional Tips:
- Regularly clean feeders to avoid condensation and bacteria?!
- Setup feeders in early season slowly to attract migrate birds.
Summer: Assisting both Nesting and Fledging Birds
In the summer birds are nesting, raising young and feeding.
Supplemental feeding can make it easier for birds to survive bad weather conditions (eg: heatwaves or dry spells), though there is plenty of natural food available at the moment.
What to Feed:
- Seed: Keep providing sunflower seeds and millet for seeds-eating bird’s
- Food with protein: Mealworms and suet for bird’s with nestlings.
- Fresh Fruit: Incorporate watermelon or other berries and cover with sugar for increased interest in species that are fond of fruit.
- Freshwater: Provides water for drinking and washing, especially in the summertime.
Additional Tips:
- Feeders should be in the shade to keep food fresh.
- In extreme heat, stay away from foods prone to spoiling like suet.
Fall: Getting Ready to Migrate and for the Cold
This time of year, many bird’s either get ready to migrate for fall or load up on fat reserves to help them survive winter.
Providing them food with vital nutrients gives the energy required for these strenuous activities.
What to Feed:
- Best High-Energy Seed: Black-oil sunflower seeds, peanuts and cracked corn.
- Suet: Packed with calories, it provides essential energy during the winter.
- Fruits and Berries: Provide the odd cut apple or native berries to lure migratory bird’s.
- Nuts: Offer some unsalted peanuts or tree nuts to woodpeckers and nuthatches.
Additional Tips:
- As sources of natural foods dwindle, slowly add more and more food.
- Birds feed naturally on the seed heads of flowers like sunflowers and coneflowers, so leave these in the garden.
Winter: Keeping the birds alive through harsh conditions
The most challenging season for birds is winter, when food and water are difficult to find. Feeding the bird’s will help them survive when temperatures drop and snow sticks around.
supplemental feeding can be lifesaving with lots of frozen precipitation.
What to Feed:
- High-Fat Foods: Black-oil sunflower seeds (great for siting bird’s in winter), suet, and peanuts are all perfect for keeping warm.
- Assortments of Seed: For juncos and chickadees, mix to draw in assorted sorts of seed.
- Dried Fruit: A punch of energy and nutrients from raisins and cranberries.
- Nyjer Seeds: These are tiny seeds full of calories and ideal for finches.
Additional Tips:
- Get feeders that are weatherproof to ensure the food is kept dry.
- Deliver a heated birdbath so that freshwater is always available.
Bird Feeding Tips all year long
- Quality Feeder: Buying birds seed mixtures that are entirely or at least mostly free from unwanted fillers (like milo and wheat) most birds will not eat.
- Wash Feeders: Wash feeders every couple of weeks with soap and hot water to reduce the spread of disease.
- Provide a Variety of Feeders: Provide different styles of feeders (tube, platform, suet cages) to attract many types of birds.
- Ferret Feeding Areas: Clean feeding areas to not attract harmful pests such as rodents.
- Know Your Birds: Understand which birds are in your area and provide what they like
Advantages of feeding Birds by Season
More Birds Come: By providing food that is appropriate for the season, you will ensure many more species will visit your backyard.
- Promotes Avian Wellbeing: Nutrition also means enabling bird’s to flourish through migration, breed in tip-top condition and withstand a tough winter.
- Promotes Biodiversity: Where wildlife is concerned, biodiversity in our back gardens equals more bird’s.
- Birdwatching: This is by far one of the best things about feeding bird’s. They provide you with happiness while watching them come and go from their feeders.
Common Mistakes to Avoid
- Putting out too much food: make sure you never leave out more feed than your pets will eаt in few hours as that wіll only gо rancid and attract unwanted pests.
- Using Expired Food: Regularly check for spoiled food and throw out rotten or stale items.
- Missing those Water Sources: Not only do bird’s require water in the summertime… but also year-round.
Final Thoughts
Seasonal backyard bird feeding is an easy way to help local wildlife! There are numerous birds that can be drawn into your garden during the year.
If you provide your feathered friends with the right food and at the right time of good. From the colourful spring migrants to the joyful soft sounds of winter visitors, you will be able to enjoy bird’s in your gardening in return for all your efforts.
Bird feeding is a joy of any season, so begin your seasonal bird feeding journey today and experience the sights and sounds of nature all year round!
