7 nutritious things to feed wild birds

Don't make use of random food found in the home you want to get rid of when you need to prioritize only healthy, beneficial bird feed birds can eat yet get value out of it.

Nutritious things you can feed wild birds found in the kitchen or if its wild bird food only must be protein rich bird food options such as seeds, nuts or suet. While food found in the cupboard can be jar of peanut butter. Offer birds food that can be thrown over the lawn or put on a higher surface to be seen.

With a focus of my list prioritizing bird food closely linked to food forage for in the wild, for now I have missed out what can be called kitchen scraps you can feed to wild birds.

I therefore only feature nutritious, energy boosting super bird foods that is protein rich with vitamins made available.

And as its safe to feed birds almost any natural food found in the supermarket, let's stick to what we know best - while forgetting food that is less eaten by backyard birds.

Similarly, all this bird food has some interesting ideas in their for you like peanut butter, with other things we can feed birds in our yard without a bird feeder. To be honest with you, most of this bird food is incompatible in feeders, and so to with most birds.

What I want you to focus your mind on to avoid getting bored at the idea of feeding birds in your yard, is only using easy to handle bird food.

Of which you can grab an handful whenever you like to throw over the lawn, place on a railing of any kind or put on your windowsill to attract birds to your window - so you can witness their behavior up close and personal.

Meanwhile you'd need to remain cautious when feeding wild birds mix bird food as it can attract all kinds of rodents - including squirrels who will scare off birds yet take the bird food all for themselves.

Of the things to feed wild birds in the yard it must serve a purpose with nutritional value, yet it is possible to give wild birds a little bread if you must - to at least bulk up proper nutritional bird food available.

1. Fully loaded seed mixes

What things you can feed wild birds in your yard is protein rich bird food, specifically formulated for hungry songbirds.

To feed more birds with only one type of bird food you'd need to prioritize seed mixes, as they can be eating by seed-eating birds, as well as many other common backyard birds who normally wouldn't in the wild.

Fully loaded seed mixes can contain all kinds of seeds, as well as nut meat for nut-eating birds - along with oats, wheat or cracked corned which also appeals to these birds.

You can't go wrong by offering cheaper wild bird seed mixes to birds, as its no fuss yet a crucial food that is part of their diet in nature.

Bird seeds are commonly used in bird feeders while going further if thrown on top of platform bird feeder - or why not put seeds on the ground - or at least some of it to be sure exclusive ground feeding birds can get a nutritious meal.

Seeds can be offered as is, or are usually added into suet or peanut butter to turn it into a wild bird super food.

2. Crushed up nuts

While remembering many wild birds who eat nuts are also seed-eating birds; where there's seeds you can add nuts along with them.

Not regular salted peanuts mind you as the salt can be deadly to wild birds, thus specialist wild bird peanuts must be used to be sure.

You can keep peanuts whole with no issues at all, although to crush up peanuts while using fewer at a time - can assure no time is wasted as birds linger on bird feeders when they would prefer to go back into trees.

Peanuts in shells can be offered even if its limited to Chickadees and Blue Jays - among others - yet crushed up peanuts can be offered to far more bird species.

Not just peanuts either as you can offer all kinds of nuts to wild birds with no less or more eaten - as they remain a popular choice.

Avoid using a peanut wire bird feeder as it can limit many birds, including Blue Jays and Northern Cardinals. Make use of a platform bird feeder with an option of placing nuts on a porch railing or any similar object in the yard.

3. Bird-safe peanut butter

If you only make use of bird safe peanut butter - meaning none or less salt - then peanut butter directly out of the jar can be fed to wild birds.

Birds can eat peanut butter with many choosing too, however its how you offer the PB to birds rather than with concern over whether it will be eaten or not.

While offering the leftover peanut butter in its own plastic or glass jar, lift up the remaining peanut butter to near the rim - only then can birds reach it whereas PB at the bottom of the jar may be in too deep.

Peanut butter is highly nutritious for wild birds so its a good choice of regular food for humans, yet offered to wild birds in the backyard.

No need to use what is a safe peanut butter bird feeder mounted to a post or tree, when the jar only option is just as effective.

And where you don't want to use the jar you can spoon out the peanut butter if you must.

What you can do with the spoonfuls of peanut butter is spread it onto tree bark where birds frequent in your yard, mix it into seeds or more peanuts - or why not stuff the peanut butter into what is usually a seed-filled pine cone found in nature.

Peanut butter is really good for wild birds even in the summertime. With that in mind I do recommend prioritizing peanut butter more in the winter as birds need a high proportion of protein at this time of year.

4. Suet in pellet form

Of the things to feed wild birds you can't forget the always popular bird suet that fattens up birds due to any weight loss in winter, along with other ingredients mixed in to provide birds an energy boost as they forage.

I can tell you to make use of suet cakes as a popular option with people, but I won't. That isn't to say you can't put suet cakes in a bird feeder or leave them out on a platform for all size birds to feed on.

What else you can use in suet form is fat balls of course yet a bird feeder can stop them rolling around.

With all that said and done, the only form of wild bird suet you need for wild birds with as less fuss as possible, is suet pellets - also known as suet nuggets.

I recommend suet pellets or nuggets for a few reasons, among them no bird feeder is needed as pellets can be placed anywhere wild birds occupy in the yard.

Suet pellets can be put on tree branches, on the ground, on top of bird feeders rather than inside a restricted to most birds' feeder. With pellets also going on the apartment balcony if that applies to you - or any deck railing if made available.

5. Dried fruit mixes

Fresh fruits too of course but what better way to feed fruits to birds than in dried form, as to be sure they last longer while fed to birds out in the elements.

You can feed wild birds dried fruits that may include raisins of all things; plus dried apricot, dried banana chips and apple slices - along with hydrated orange wedges favored by Orioles.

No shortage of fruit-eating birds in your yard thus these of the bird species likely to feed on dried fruits.

Don't isolate dried fruits for wild birds all on their own as they may go unnoticed; I ask you then to mix in dried fruits with seeds, nuts or near to suet pellets as to cater to fruit-eating birds who arrive.

Who this applies to is Thrashers, Mockingbirds, Tanagers and especially American Robins who can be seen to eat fruit 60% of the year.

Don't use salted mix fruit and nut mixes as high amount of salt is present.

Whereas specialist healthy dried fruit can be used which is made available for people rather than our backyard pals.

6. Fresh fruits & berries

While seeds or nuts found in nature can be heavily consumed on by birds throughout the year, all kinds of fruits can be fed on, especially in summertime.

What fruits birds normally eat in the wild are berries, so unless you have a berry shrub for wild birds to feed on - we can reply on the always available fresh fruits purchased at the grocery store.

Berries can be substituted with strawberries, blackberries and raspberries among others - to insure wild birds are fed on something close to what the eat in the wild.

Birds can forage for wild fruits yet can eat small fruits that are usually grown in fields or in vineyards.

Apple slices can be supplied to backyard birds yet orange wedges can be offered if you have Orioles in your yard.

What backyard birds eat fruits will be the same birds who feed on any dried fruits.

I believe you can expect Chickadees, Robins, Thrashers, Mockingbirds, Warblers, Blue Jays, Wrens, Grosbeaks, Gray Catbirds, Finches, Woodpeckers and Cardinals to name only a few fruit-eating birds.

7. Dried or live mealworms

And let's not forget the often exclusive insect-eating birds in the wild, such as Bluebirds who can be fed on things like dried or live mealworms.

Dried mealworms as its less icky so you'd be more willing, yet live mealworms can be avoided if you don't wish to handle them. With that you can expect many insect-eating birds to feed on live mealworms thrown over the lawn.

How you feed feed mealworms to wild birds in your yard is on the ground, with the lawn or a muddy area better still.

On the ground because insect-eating birds tend to be ground feeding birds, thus will only notice mealworms where they frequent mostly on the lawn.

Protein rich died or live mealworms can be fed to birds all year with their diet prioritizing mealworms in summer or wintertime - which is what they do as they feed in the wild.

I recommend dried or live mealworms to offer wild birds because they are easy to handle yet fed to many bird species. And with that in mind they can be placed anywhere, including on deck or balcony railings, garden furniture or on tree branches.

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