Do Gray Catbirds come to feeders
What you probably don't know is that the common Gray Catbird is in fact a regular bird at feeders, despite their limited ability in an attempt to access awkward feeders.
Gray Catbirds do come to feeders to feed on what must only be dried or live mealworms, provided on top of an open platform bird feeder or suspended tray on a pole or tree branch. Fruits can be offered and so to can mealworm or fruit-filled suet cakes or fat balls, if the suet feeder is stabilized.
Don't make it hard on Catbirds who wish to feed on your particular bird feeder, by only providing difficult to access suspended bird feeders... that also happens to provide bird feed that won't subsidize a Catbirds diet.
Gray Catbirds feed primarily on insects or fruits in the wild - so there, that's all you need to know on what to serve them - now you can replace insects with dried or live mealworms.
Don't ever place dried mealworms in a suspended, enclosed clear tube or wire mesh bird feeder if you can help, because without a ledge or perch, a Catbird will indeed find it hard to access the bird feed.
Suet bird feeders can be made good for Catbirds as they are seen to perch on top of the suet cage, to then eat the suet suspended in the cage below their feet.
If you recognize a Gray Catbird who is visiting your yard to feed - and who may also come to your bird feeder in the meantime - don't waste an opportunity to provide for these wonderful birds.
Simply place mealworms and fruits alongside wild bird seeds or peanuts in an open top platform bird feeder or smaller tray, as you'll guarantee this insect-eating bird won't go without when bird seed is provided in the open.
With Gray Catbirds being a common backyard bird, expect them to come to bird feeders that are within reach of their limited ability at feeders.
Open to all bird feeders will make bird feed accessible to all, while a Catbird will still try to access anything from suet in cages, to nectar in Hummingbird feeders.
Don't focus on what Gray Catbirds shouldn't be eating - like feeding Catbirds kitchen scraps - when you should offer them just mealworms or small fruits out in the elements.
Limited to open top feeders
What you have to know about Gray Catbirds is the species are primarily ground feeding birds, arriving in your yard to forage for insects on the lawn.
Gray Catbirds have indeed stayed loyal to this kind of behavior as its how they survive in the wild.
With that Catbirds can be found on bird feeders that are within their limited range, meaning they will often avoid hard to reach, confined suspended bird feeders - with an open tray or if bird feed is provided in a dish.
Of course Catbirds will occasionally be seen clinging at a side angle on say a suet bird feeder, though they'd mostly be found on top of bird feeder trays or platforms.
What Gray Catbirds primarily feed on at bird feeders will absolutely be mealworms, of the dried or live kind... as they eat all kinds of insects in the wild.
When Catbirds come to your bird feeder you can indeed make it easy on this ground feeding focused bird, with bird feed exposed to the elements in an open tray.
It can be a pole mounted tray, an hanging bird feeder tray or why not pop mealworms in a dish you can position anywhere that is in the best place in the yard.
Can feed Catbirds' Mealworms
With Gray Catbirds mostly eating insects in the wild - with more eaten in early summer time - you can replace this genuine wild bird feed with live or dried mealworms.
How to feed mealworms to Catbirds in particular would rely on an open tray or platform, as oppose to an enclosed fine mesh bird feeder.
Dried mealworms are eaten specifically by ground feeding birds, and as ground eaters mostly eat insects foraged for on lawns or in long grass - it only makes sense to provide mealworms in an accessible environment, familiar to insect-eating wild birds.
How you can feed dried mealworms to Catbirds will hopefully be in a steady, suspended open wooden platform bird feeder tray, that is usually hung off chains.
Despite a Catbirds limited ability on difficult to access feeders - I have seen Catbirds perch on the ledge of a wooden bird feeder tray - with the wind dramatically swinging the tray side to side, as the Catbirds calmly collects several mealworms in its bill.
And that is what could happen when Catbirds are fed dried mealworms in your yard, they will eat some their in your yard; or they could be seen to pick up to four dried mealworms at a time - to take them away into a safe natural environment elsewhere.
Basic ledge over awkward cling
With Catbirds being a common bird feeder bird, they are still accessible to only a few of us in the East and Southeast of the United States.
You'd then what to make the most of Catbirds visitation in your backyard by making the bird feeder accessible to them at all times.
Suspend an open bird feeder tray - made in metal or wood will do the job - and so to will it be a prime focus of all your backyard birds as it happens.
Such open trays, hanging or mounted, provide a way for Catbirds to perch on the ledge on any side, to poke their bills in to grab one or several mealworms at a time.
Catbirds will sometimes use difficult bird feeders but when you think about it - what Catbirds mostly eat at feeders - isn't something commonly found in feeders.
Dried or live mealworms Catbirds do eat are primarily available in trays or put in dishes, but rarely are they put in common mesh or clear plastic tube feeders.
Bird feeders like this are difficult for insect-eating birds like Catbirds to tackle, as they haven't evolved to rely on a device that doesn't provide what they only eat in the wild.
In fact, it would be a good idea to throw some dried mealworms over the lawn, or place mealworms on an elevated surface to avoid cats or other outdoor pests.
Suet if accessible
Extraordinary, Gray Catbirds can also be found on what can be an hard to access suet cake bird feeder, if the suet in use is infused with mealworms or fruits.
Absolutely can an occasional Catbird be seen clinging awkwardly to the side of this cage to peck at the suet, but it isn't easy with the feeder often unused if the loosely hung suet cage feeder can't provide for Catbirds as it should.
Instead, if you want Gray Catbirds to come to your fat ball or suet cake feeder, you'd want to steady it more in a suspended position - for Catbirds to perch on top - as they feed on the suet in the cage sitting below them.
What will be a better option when providing a suet bird feeder in the yard, is to stabilize it in a way its mounted to a pole or tree branch.
You could also place the suet cakes or fat balls within the feeder still,by placing the suet feeder on its side so Catbirds can feed, unobstructed.
When offering Catbirds or other common songbirds a mix of dried mealworms or berries which a Catbird will eat, just place a fat ball or an whole suet cake on top of it.
To assist wild birds eating suet what will start out as an hard texture, you can think about crumbling up the suet cake as it will expose the tempting ingredients to Catbirds.
May find available fruit
Interestingly, Gray Catbirds are a common fruit-eating wild bird too, with their diet consisting of equal parts insects to berries.
You don't have to provide just berries mind but if you do a Catbird will want to feed on fruit when supplied on top of a platform bird feeder, or a suspended open tray.
Berries can include anything from cherries to strawberries if you like, along with a wide range of bird feed you'd normally provide to Orioles when in season.
You can expect Catbirds to peck at cut open oranges if impaled on a branch or added on top of an Oriole feeder. And with that, Catbirds will be seen raiding an Orioles' jelly pots for what is the Orioles favorite grape jelly.
If accessible a Catbird can also be seen drinking sugary water in a nectar-filled oriole feeders.
Fruits you can provide for Catbirds will have limited time spent outside before they go bad, thus its vital to only use fruits when Catbirds or other fruit-eating birds are present, to avoid your old or fresh fruits going to waste.
Nectar-filled bird feeders
Incredibly there are many kinds of wild birds who can be attracted to a Hummingbird feeder, including an Oriole nectar-filled bird feeder.
Catbirds are one of these Hummingbird raiding birds, but they only have a 99% success rate - due to a Catbirds limited ability at clinging precariously - thus a wide ledge or flat top Hummingbird or Oriole feeder could be made accessible.
In fact, if your Hummingbird feeder is hung just above a tray or surface sat below with only a few inches to spare: Catbirds will crook their necks in such a way as to access nectar at the nectar port wells, as Catbirds perch under this nectar-filled feeder.
WARNING: It is advisable to avoid other species accessing a Hummingbird or Oriole nectar feeder due to cross-contamination.
With their limited ability at feeders, we don't often see Catbirds take full advantage of such difficult bird feed devices, but often that is for the best.
Open to eating common scraps
With a Gray Catbirds primary focus on eating their favorite dried or live mealworms at feeders, including some fruits on top of a platform or tray, Catbirds can be seen eating on a strange concoction of what you'd call kitchen scraps.
What kitchen scraps Catbirds will eat could be baked goods like bread or doughnuts, but of course these types of foods must be avoided at all costs.
What you could think about providing a little bit of at this time for Catbirds, are cereals like original Cheerios or even Corn Flakes.
Gray Catbirds can be fed on cereal once in a while mind with no milk, sugar and with absolutely zero salt content in sight.
Other scraps that can be fed to Catbirds - preferably in a bowl to protect the bird feeder surface - can include cooked peeled potatoes and some mild cheeses.
With Catbirds open to eating scraps in your yard, this isn't a habit you'd want to get them into as most scraps cooked up in the home provide little nutritional value to wild birds, and therefore is just a temporary filler.
Summary
While not at all a common backyard bird for most of us in the United States, but a reliable bird feeder bird all the same, be prepared as Catbirds will come to feeders to feed on a strange concoction of wild bird feed and human scraps.
Bear in mind a Catbird isn't quite the athletic, feeding upside or at a precarious angle bird when attempting to eat on a suspended suet or mealworm feeder.
Catbirds are in fact a ground feeding bird who spend their days foraging on lawns in short or long grass, eating available insects.
Catbirds have never developed the need to use bird feeders as much as you think, because often what they eat in the wild isn't replaced in a suspended bird feeder - like insects replaced with dried or live mealworms.
Well, now you know Gray Catbirds will come to feeders if you provide mealworms to them in any form, they can be attracting to your yard in the process.
Do feed Catbirds in an open top platform bird feeder or tray, that is steadily suspended on bird feeder pole, or what could be a mounted dish.
Catbirds won't mind feeding out of a moving tray providing they can perch anywhere around the ledge to eat mealworms - as seen to take multiple dried mealworms away at a time - as Catbirds can line up to four mealworms in their bill at one time.
On top of this bird feeder platform or tray, you'd also want to provide fruits to what are fruit-eating birds too, with cherries, grapes or strawberries eaten.
Catbirds can also be found to eat an Oriole intended orange or grape jelly, with an Oriole nectar-filled feeder also being a target of Catbirds if only accessible.
Catbirds can be seen drinking sweat sugary water out of any Oriole or Hummingbird feeder, whenever its made accessible, and it is rare.
Suet bird feeders are a prime focus of Catbirds too with mealworms or fruit-filled suet cakes or fat balls preferred.
Share this article:
