Other Bird Treats

Comfort food that's for the birds

If you're a birdwatcher, you know that birdseed alone doesn't attract a lot of different species to your yard. Although birdseed and suet may be fine for providing the nutrition that birds need, you might want to treat them every now and then to their favorite foods and luscious delicacies. Who knows, you may even find that there are birds coming to your feeders that you didn't know existed in your yard.

Fruit

Every bird loves a nice sweet treat, be it berries, apples or oranges. Orioles especially enjoy a nice fruit snack. You can buy a special feeder that holds fresh slices of fruit firmly so that birds can suck the sweet juices, or you can put out dried oranges or apples on a platform feeder. Birds love berries - they even love berries not fit for human consumption. You can offer these on a table or combine them with suet in a succulent cake. Another idea for orioles is to put out some grape jelly in a small bowl or combine it with water to create thick sweet syrup that will have the birds clamoring for a turn at the feeder. If you are interested in attracting cedar waxwings, you can put out some chopped apple or raisins. You can string the fruit and hang it festively around your yard. Be careful to keep an eye on the fruit to make sure it isn't going bad or getting covered in mold.

Baked Goods

You've probably visited a park in the springtime and fed the ducks and geese bread crusts and crumbs, but what you may not know is that wild birds in your backyard appreciate the taste of bread and baked goods too. Stale bread is a favorite and many birds will snap up any stale pieces from your breadbox. Don't confuse stale with moldy - birds will not eat moldy bread, nor is it good for them. You can put out unsalted pretzels, stale bread and unsalted crackers if you wish. Be wary of giving sugary baked goods, as these do not make suitable bird foods. You can even give birds cooked rice. Just make sure that the food you are giving the birds is not spoiled in any way.

Homemade Suet and Seed Cakes

If you love to cook, then these bird treats will be fun for you and your family to make on a winter afternoon. You can make a cake made of seeds and fruit to put out for the birds, or “glue” made of corn syrup with seeds and fruit to paint on feeders and trees. Lastly, you can make suet treats that will raise your wild birds' spirits. It all depends on how ambitious you are.

Meal Worms and Other Insects

Some birds just love the taste of mealworms, and you can buy them or raise your own. Live mealworms will yield the best results. You can attract many birds, including bluebirds and orioles. Simply place the mealworms in a shallow dish and watch the birds flock to enjoy the tasty snack. Make sure there are raised sides on the dish, though - the mealworms will crawl away, leaving the birds with nothing. You can buy commercially sold dried mealworms, silkworms and insects for your feathered friends if live insects give you the creeps. Either way, the birds will gobble them up and you'll be providing some needed protein and vitamins.

Commercially Sold Bird Treats

If you don't have a lot of time to make bird treats yourself, you can buy them at any pet food or seasonal store. These treats are mostly made up of suet and other seeds or fruit like peanuts or berries, but you can get special treats that will attract only the birds you want to see. A hot pepper treat will squirrel-proof your feeder so that only birds can use it. You can also buy seed ornaments that will look wonderful on a snowy evergreen tree but will also ensure that your wildlife visitors have a nice meal.