What to put on a bird table
What the wonderful thing is about open to all bird tables is it can invite all kinds of birds, who would otherwise struggle to use a conventional hanging bird feeder.
What do you put on a bird table to attract as many bird species as possible, is to add a mix of bird seeds - which include their favorite sunflower seeds. More birds can be invited if fed dried or live mealworms, with fresh or old fruits offered alongside the seed mix. Some scraps can included like meat fat plus little bread.
Why a bird table exists is to allow you to cater to mostly seed or insect-eating birds who can feed on top of a table, but for their own reasons refuse to use a hanging bird feeders.
Bird tables are good for birds because they're open to all, meaning all size birds can perch around the rim, meaning little bird food is going to waste in the process.
You only have your imagination with what you can put on a bird table, but do prioritize all kinds of wild bird seed mixes.
Do use as much or little as you can to avoid waste, while prioritizing dried mealworms added to the mix, to be sure the same birds plus new faces who show up will be happy to eat your mealworms, if they aren't just seed-eating birds.
Best platform bird feeders you can buy are the open to all type, and with no roof there's no restrictions on what you can put on the table top.
Along with seeds making up 80% of the bird food on the table, add dried or live mealworms if you like, along with fruit to cater to fruit-eating birds.
Bear in mind specialty wild bird food can withstand the elements, even in wet conditions, thus additional food you use out of the home like bread or cereal will have a far shorter shelf life - thus its vital to only use this random food for a single day.
Its unlikely you'd be able to pick bird seeds in the wild but you could bring home mix fruits like berries which can be put on the table; with the berries still attached to the branch this can be an inviting prospect for visiting fruit-eating birds.
What I haven't gone over but you must put on top of your bird table, is a mix of suet pellets, or just add fat balls or a single suet cake.
Mostly wild bird seed mix
With the likelihood of your bird table attracting a varied range of wild bird species, why not cater to most of them by spreading on a mix of bird seeds.
Most birds who visit our yard, and therefore our bird feeders, do so in hope of feeding on seeds held in a hanging seed bird feeder. Bird seeds placed on top of an open bird table is all you'll need then - starting with a cheap packet of wild bird seeds.
Within the bird seed mix will be corn or wheat, possibly crushed peanuts and various size seeds.
Moreover, don't hesitate in offering seed-eating birds all kinds of nuts on the table, along with the popular peanuts in their shell [as pictured above] in addition to out of shell.
If your bird seed mix you intend to buy comes with sunflower seeds, then proceed to use this mix as sunflower seeds are a favorite with most common backyard birds.
Sunflower seed-eating birds can include Finches, Woodpeckers, Blue Jay's, Sparrows, Indigo Buntings, Grosbeaks, Titmouse and Nuthatches.
As a bird table platform is open to the elements with plenty of room for all size birds to feed, all birds listed plus many others are sure to stop by to eat your sunflower seeds, with smaller seeds following suite.
As a rule, never use too many bird seeds on the table at any one time, due to not enough eaten before they rot into your wooden bird table surface.
Only use what you know will be eaten with seeds pushed over around the border of the platform table, to at least discourage birds trampling all over the seed mix.
Interspersed with mealworms
What must be used in addition to a mix of wild bird seeds, why not cater to insect-eating birds who will make mealworms their favorite on top of the table.
Bonus of a bird table of course it that unlike a confined, hanging bird feeder; bird tables can allow you to scatter dried or live mealworms on the bird table, without worrying about compatibility issues.
With mostly seed-eating birds gobbling up most of them, your average insect-eating bird will happily feed on mealworms in all their forms.
Birds who eat dried or live mealworms will include Orioles, Robins, Chickadees, Warblers, Wren's, Grackles, Woodpeckers, Starlings, Bluebirds and also Gray Catbirds who're less seen on bird feeders, but will manage on a table.
In regards to birds like Bluebirds and Robins who tend to avoid hanging bird feeders, once again your bird table can feed any bird who comes calling.
Try to use only a handful of your mealworms at a time to avoid waste as usual, with mealworms dropped on top of the bird seed mix with no issues at all.
With seeds attracting seed-eating birds and mealworms attract insect-eating birds, bear in mind species could eat both types of wild bird food, plus additional food you put on the table once in a while.
Additional healthy options
Notwithstanding safe kitchen scraps you can offer wild birds on top of a bird table - to discourage insects or ground pests - additional healthy bird food can be used with help of your bird table.
With a mix of common bird seeds on the bird table it is sure to attract most common birds to your yard, followed by dried or live mealworms to substitute for insects usually foraged for in the wild.
Some of these bird species plus others also have fruit as part of their diet in the wild.
Birds who eat fruit in the wild who will feed on fruit on your table will include the following: Orioles, Robins, Chickadees, Blue Jays, Bluebirds, Gray Catbirds, Finches, Cardinals, Warblers and Grosbeaks.
Not a great deal of new faces that show up on your bird table, although it can be possible to keep the interest up with their favorites always available to them.
Bear in mind birds do tend to favorite fruit more in wintertime, thus to prioritize fruit in the off season could see little interest, thus more fruit could waste.
Why not then open up your bird table to seeds which also means mix nuts for nut-eating birds, along with mealworms to now serving up all kinds of mixed fruit.
Fruits can be plucked from nature to put on your bird table while still on the vine, yet fruits found in the supermarket like apples, grapes, oranges for Orioles in season plus dried fruits like currants, apricots and raisins can be offered to wild birds.
In order to protect your wooden bird table top soaking up natural sugary fruits - which does risk staining the wood - play it safe by placing fresh fruits in a bowl, with the bowl then placed among your mix bird food on the table top.
Few safe scraps possible
What is so great about an open to the elements bird table, is that anything from nuts to seeds can be spotted by birds as they pass overhead; confined bird feeder food however can otherwise be missed out on a regular basis.
With the possibility of feeding all kinds of bird species now your feeding area is open to them all, there's certainly no harm in experimenting with safe only alternatives.
What you can use instead of bird seeds for example could be a mix of nuts which you'd usually consume yourself, though must be salt-free.
And while I don't recommend junk food like potato chips or cakes - because it will invite unwelcome guests - you could offer bread to birds, or if not bread crumbs can be offered to sparrows of all the visiting wild birds to the table.
Although instead of offering wild birds unhealthy bread, I would substitute it for healthier pasta or even fatty pastry in winter.
Remember a bird table can invite pests who will be attracted to people food, thus rats can be attracted to tables if the food is allowed to rot - or its allowed to stay on the bird table top for too long.
When using people food its imperative you only offer it to birds for a day only, before it goes bad while its left out in the elements.
Do continue to use all kinds of kitchen scraps if you like then including cereal if its the unsalted original kind, plus old or fresh fruits, meat fat, cooked baked potatoes, some mild cheeses and even cat food - plus all kinds of less fat dog food.
It can get messy in due course thus its vital you clean your bird table on a regular basis. Failing too will only see your bird table surface begin to discolor with rotten food seeping deep into the open grain.
Summarize
Anyone who uses a classic bird table or open platform bird feeder will know the best kind of bird food you can put on the table, is a mix of bird seeds.
Mix bird seeds only because wild birds eat a varied mix, thus along with inferior seeds do offer their favorite sunflower seeds, scattered among the mix. Seed mixes you can buy will often include sunflower seeds, thus its vital to check the ingredients.
You could add your own mix nuts usually safe to eat yourself, although safe wild bird peanuts in or out of the shell can be used on a table.
Interspersed among your varied seed mix must include dried or live mealworms, to feed insect only-eating birds - despite seed-eating birds also feeding on mealworms.
With seeds and mealworms offered, you can be sure to cater to 99.9% of a common backyard birds diet, by finally offering all kinds of fruit.
Exotic fruits like oranges can be offered to Orioles while sliced apples or pears would be a favorite of Robins, for example.
In additional to that you can think about plucking berries off their branches to bring home to add on top of your bird table.
Anything can be put on your bird table although in using random food out of your kitchen, preferably old fruit, meat fat, and some cereal, buy with as little bread products as you can, as it few birds will eat it.
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