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FEED BIRDS ONLY SUITABLE FOODS During winter, many people choose to feed wild birds, either in their own backyards, down at the beach or at a marsh. If you choose to feed the birds, please feed them only food which is good for them. Feeding them the wrong food will harm them more than help them. DO NOT FEED BREAD – bread is often the first kind of food humans give to birds. However, birds receive very little nutrition from bread and may die from a diet high on bread as this can cause malnutrition, especially in the winter when there is little other food available. Also, stale bread with mould can cause Aspergillosis (a lung disease). Do not feed birds bread. It can cause malnutrition and mould on it can cause lung disease. Feeding Birds at Home For those of you who are feeding at home, here are some of the favourite foods of certain birds: Suet Block: Chickadees, Nuthatches, Woodpeckers, Flickers, Creepers (available from most Supermarkets and pet stores) Cracked Nuts: Chickadees, Nuthatches, Towhees, Juncos, Finches Raw Peanuts: Woodpeckers, Sparrows, Grosbeaks, Jays (unsalted, of course) Sunflower Seeds: Chickadees, Nuthatches, Towhees, Juncos, Finches (hulled or whole unsalted- Sparrows, Grosbeaks, Jays) Apples: Robins, Woodpeckers, Flickers, Starlings Soaked Raisins Chopped Grapes Wild Bird Seed: Many varieties of birds, including Towhees, Juncos, Finches, Sparrows, Jays, Pine Siskins Niger Thistle: Goldfinches, Pine Siskins Sugar/Water: Hummingbirds (1 part sugar/4 parts water- keep fresh) DON’T FORGET TO HAVE WATER AVAILABLE TOO! In the winter, when it is freezing outside, wild birds have difficulty finding water so it is important that a constant supply of water is available to them. It has been found that they do not like to have water in deep containers so a shallow dish is preferred. In the summer the birds also like to have a shallow water dish available for bathing. |
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When I was a child in Norway, part of our Christmas tradition was to feed the wild birds....."Julenik"....During the last harvest of grain, sheafs were saved for Christmas.....They are sold all over Scandinavia before Christmas, tied with a big red ribbon. The tradition is to tie it to a long pole and hoist it up to stand before your house.....It's a tribute to kindness and so cheerful.....
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Thank you for posting this....on behalf of Chickadees everywhere.......
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We have several bird feeders in our backyard. It is fun to see them eating the bird seed. We stand at the kitchen window or sit on the back porch and watch them.
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Thank you for posting this....on behalf of Chickadees everywhere.......
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Daylili a very informative post about feeding birds. We have lots of birds year round where I live. The crows have been hanging around my balcony of late. Today I found another peanut shell in one of my pots. My next door neighbor has a hummingbird feeder. Last winter she had some kind of light when it got really cold to keep the sugar water from freezing. Tonight it is going down to -5 C which is at the freezing point so she will have a heater in it again. We have hummingbirds here year round.
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Daylili a very informative post about feeding birds. We have lots of birds year round where I live. The crows have been hanging around my balcony of late. Today I found another peanut shell in one of my pots. My next door neighbor has a hummingbird feeder. Last winter she had some kind of light when it got really cold to keep the sugar water from freezing. Tonight it is going down to -5 C which is at the freezing point so she will have a heater in it again. We have hummingbirds here year round.
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I CANNOT FEED BIRDS BECAUSE HERE ON THE COAST WE ONLY HAVE SEAGULLS, PIGEONS AND MAGPIES PLUS ALTOGETHER TOO NUMEROUS PARROTS. SO WE ARE NOT SUPPOSED TO FEED THEM AND ARE FINED IF WE DO. IT WOULD BE NICE TO HAVE SPECIES WE CAN HELP IN WINTER BUT IT IS NOT GOING TO HAPPEN ANYTIME SOON.
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This is such a nicely done and helpful post! I love the winter birds, I have a giant mountain ash that attracts so many gorgeous birds with its berries. In the summer instead of feeding hummingbirds, I plant flowers they love....bee balm seems to be a favorite for them.
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12/1/2022 5:32 pm |
My wife feeds all the wildlife here. We have one deer that stands on its back legs and eats from a bird feeder. I will post the picture again if I can find it.
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