I suppose by now it’s no secret that I’m a teeny, tiny bit obsessed with the feathered creatures that visit my yard. Since a few people have asked me recently what I put out for the birds, I thought I’d do a short post about what goes into the Avian Eatery.
Here’s a picture of my current setup –
I switch between using Royal Wing and Pennington bird seed, depending on what store I’m at. I put out about two cups a day – one in the traditional bird feeder (reddish one on the far left), and one on the white swing (far right). I also have a Mr. Canary Finch Feeder (love their story – check it out HERE) that lasts a good week or two, on average. The large green cage suet feeder is for the meal worm cake (*shudder*), and the two smaller suet feeders hold Royal Wing Hi-Energy Suet. I make my own nectar for the hummingbird feeder (4 parts water, 1 part sugar, boiled for one minute, then cooled overnight), and will occasionally put an orange or a nectarine (Cailli complained about this in her latest vlog – LOL) on the white swing, next to the seed. The water dish on the tree stump is a basic terra cotta plant saucer.
I also put out heels of bread and stale bagels whenever we have them, mostly as a treat for my crows – this is a shot of what I call, “Whale Rock” (far right) with a bit of Peasant Bread on it, hoping to entice Angel back for a visit.
There’s a great chart over at The Old Farmer’s Almanac that popped up in my newsfeed last month. If you’re thinking about feeding birds, take a peek at – Wild Bird Food Preferences – What Do You Feed Wild Birds?. Also, if you’re local, there’s a Facebook group called Bird Watchers of New Hampshire that’s an excellent resource for all bird-related things (click HERE to check it out).
Do you do any backyard feeding? What’s your favorite way to attract winged beauties to your yard? Be sure to shout out in the comment section with any suggestions – I’m always happy to change it up, so I don’t risk bored birds. *grin*
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That looks like a lovely little spot! If I were a bird, I’d definitely stop by for a snack.
I now have a hummingbird feeder but didn’t get around to setting it up right away, and now I’m worried it’s too hot. I may have to wait until the fall.
Thanks, Stephanie!
I did a quick search, and I’m pretty sure you can feed the hummingbirds in your area year round. During heat waves (86 and above), you should change the nectar every day, but if you make small batches (1 cup of water, 1/4 sugar), it’s pretty easy to maintain. Here are a couple sites you might want to peek at – and be sure to share your pictures if you do! 🙂
http://www.hummingbirdmarket.com/hummingbird_articles/hot_weather_faq.html
http://www.wildbirdshop.com/Birding/humfeed.html
The post had useful information for those who wish to attract birds. I live in an apartment and though I would love to have a bird feeder to attract birds, I am doubtful I will get any bird other than pigeons and they create a lot of mess. I am sharing this post for the bird lovers.
Thank you so much, Anamika! I greatly appreciate it!
This is lovely. The only thing I’d be very cautious about is bread. Here: http://erie.wbu.com/content/show/46014
I do love your bird photos. I am in the midst of trying to figure out what to plant to support the wildlife here. As it’s a very different place than the one where I grew up, it’s not second nature to know what to feed/plant. Luckily, there’s a center in the area that deal with that. So much to learn!
Thanks for the tip, Em. I was a bit worried about the bread at first, but since I put out such a small amount at a time, separate from the other bird food, and the Blue Jays, Squirrels, and Crows seem to be the only ones interested, I think it’s okay.
OMG, I didn’t even think of that – of course, things would be different out there than they are here. What a cool thing to be able to learn by doing – pretty soon you’ll be well-versed in wildlife from coast to coast!
Cool! Most of the birds we have around here seem to prefer honey from flowers and fruits.
Thanks, Shail! We do have birds in the area that prefer fruit and jelly, but I haven’t tried to attract them much… this year… *grin*
Lovely setup! I have a suet feeder that gets all kinds of nuthatches, woodpeckers, piggy blue jays, flickers. We have a nyjer (?) bird seed feeder for finches, but no one seems to like it anymore. They loved the purple coneflowers I let go to seedheads far more. I got not one but TWO hummingbird feeders for my birthday, but I have yet to see a hummingbird on one. I see them on the power lines leading to my house though… I love that you feed the crows!
Thanks, Jess! Yep, sounds like pretty much everyone who visits my yard (except the flickers – I’ve only ever seen one in the yard, and it was so cool!). The Mr. Canary yellow feeder is also a nyjer finch feeder, and I found that if I used a small twig instead of the short yellow perch it comes with, the finches go mad for it. Not sure why. What cool birthday gifts! Fingers crossed you see some hummingbirds soon. Oh, and I course I have to feed my crows – they’re the ones that got me interested in the world outside my window in the first place! 🙂
I don’t have a backyard unfortunately, but I do have a front yard where sometimes I see these little brown birds ( I have no idea what they’re called). There’s quite a lot of crows that like to make noise on top of my deck. I would put out a feeder for hummingbirds but we also get a lot of bees and wasps in the summer.
The crows are my favorite. And if we didn’t have some distance between our house and the hummingbird feeder, I wouldn’t put one out either, because of the bees and wasps. Your brown birds sound cute – if you ever snap a picture, be sure to shout out – I’d love to see them!
I don’t feed the birds (and, sadly, usually don’t notice the birds. I think I’m more of a squirrel person), but I always wish I were a bird-er when we’re at Chincoteague. It feels like it would be a fun, purposeful way to spend time on the refuge.
We have greys and reds for squirrels around here (not to mention the ever present chipmunks). This is a recent development for me – this time two years ago, I had no clue about birds and such. Part of the reason I’ve grown to love nature photography so much is I feel the camera gives me a good excuse to stand outside, looking at the trees – being at a refuge would be even more awesome!
I too love the birds that come into our section. We’re on the side of a hill, so birds swoop in an out. A bird sanctuary was established in our city (the first urban bird sanctuary in the world) about 15 years ago, and since then we’ve noticed an explosion in the population of our favourite native birds. I frequently write about the tui that nest in our trees, squawk and sing and click as outside my window as I read and write blogs.
Awesome, Mali! I love hearing about birds that frequent other areas of the world. And there’s nothing like listening to the sounds of nature outside your window. 🙂
Hummingbird feeders! That sounds wonderful. I have never seen a hummingbird, far less a feeder. You have a super bird restaurant!
Thanks so much, Denzil! My restaurant has evolved over the years, and my customers seem to enjoy it!
Hummingbirds are amazing creatures! If you’re interested, I have bunches of hummingbird photos scattered throughout my blog, but some of my favorite shots are on this post – https://www.traciyork.com/ff-heart-foto-friday-26/
Thanks again for dropping by!