Can Wild Birds Eat Human Foods?

By Kirsten Alvarez

Instructions

Beef Suet

Step 1:
Suet is raw fat. It might not sound like a suitable meal for a bird but it actually makes for a simple substitute for insects. Insectivorous birds, such as woodpeckers, are attracted to beef suet. During the fall, grounds are covered with leaves, rain and snow and insects are harder to find. A feeder with suet will become especially appetizing to insectivores at this time. Mix suet and bird seed and shape into big blocks for easy pickings.

Apples and Oranges

Step 1:
Brightly colored fruits, such as oranges and apples, attract a variety of birds by their colors alone. Trashers, robins and orioles are just a few of the flying fellows that would enjoy these fruits from a feeder. Make it easier on them by placing pieces on a skewer attached to a feeder.

Raisins

Step 1:
Raisins are nature's candy for humans and birds love them too. Soak them in water before feeding to soften them and then mix them with suet or bird feed for a tasty bird snack. Thrushes, redwings, blackbirds, starlings and fieldfares all enjoy raisins. Be careful, as some uninvited guests may arrive, such as squirrels or hedgehogs.

Sunflower Seeds

Step 1:
Sunflower seeds are not only popular with baseball fans, but shelled and unshelled alike are great for bird feeding. Black-oil sunflower seeds are the most popular among feathered species, especially cardinals. These red flyers will use their beak to shell the seeds, spitting out the hull and swallowing the seed in a matter of seconds. Birds prefer black-oil sunflower seeds because the shells are easier to crack. I's not only cardinals who will enjoy them; almost any bird who comes to visit your feeder will enjoy these snacks. Just remember, humans may like them salted but birds prefer unsalted.

Peanuts

Step 1:
Another baseball favorite, the peanut, also makes a popular filler for bird feeders. But, unlike the sunflower seed, birds need the unshelled variety. Birds of good size, like jay birds and woodpeckers, enjoy peanuts (dry-roasted and unsalted, preferably) almost as much as you do. Their high protein equals high energy for birds. Others who enjoy them are nuthatches, titmice, chickadees and even smaller birds like finches and cardinals.

Bread Crumbs

Step 1:
Feeding ducks at the lake may be a popular scene in the movies, but it happens everyday. And, it's not just ducks that enjoy bread; creepers, pigeons, nuthatches, sparrows and starlings all enjoy bread that you might think is old or stale. It may seem convenient to feed birds your sandwich bread, but be sure to avoid breads that are basic white (such as Wonderbread). These breads contain sugar and no nutritional value for birds. Also, only feeding bread is not giving birds enough of what they need, which is fat and protein (especially in the winter). Instead, mix bread crumbs with bird seed or soak bread in melted suel. The combination is tasty and nutritional for birds.

Resources

Wild Bird Seed & Food

Photo/Video Credit

Public Domain Photo

More Puppy Pages

How to Get Blackbirds Away From a Birdfeeder

Large birds like blackbirds can rapidly deplete feeders, putting a dent in your birdseed budget and discouraging the smaller, colorful birds you love to see from visiting your yard. It is not that you have anything against the large, hungry birds. You...

How to Keep the Starlings From Eating All of My Bird Seed

Starlings were introduced to North America by Eugene Schieffelin, a fan of English literature whose organization, the "American Acclimatization Society," attempted to introduce every bird mentioned in the works of William Shakespeare to the United States...

Suet is a high-fat, high-energy food that attracts insect-eating birds. It's traditionally put out in the winter when insects are scarce, but suet products available today can be used year-round.

Bird feeders will attract a variety of birds to your garden throughout the year. In winter, birds visit a feeder when natural foods are not available. During the spring and fall, migrating birds use feeders as a fuel stop, and in the summer feeders...

Wild finches are prevalent in many mountainous areas around the world. The two most common variations of wild finch, the house finch and the wild zebra finch, travel in small flocks from southern Canada to southern Mexico. Small and normally gray or...