GMG's Friday Find: For The Birds!

Perky Pet Copper Triple Tube Bird Feeder

If you live in a region where winter settles in with freezing temps, ice and snow, you know how important it can be to feed the birds.  You can certainly go and buy bird feed, or you can make your own!  Here are several ideas for what birds love to eat and some easy homemade treats for your feathered friends.

If you want to buy rather than make, look for: 1) black-oil sunflower seed, (the grandaddy of seed, almost all birds love it), 2) peanuts, 3) suet, 4) thistle seed, 5) safflower seed, 6) cracked corn, 7) mealworms (bluebirds love them), 8) fruit (grapes, apples and banana slices are excellent choices).

For a fun DIY project consider making your feed from your kitchen pantry.  A bagel treat is super easy.  Cut your bagel in half and spread peanut butter or honey on the cut side. Sprinkle the bagel with some birdseed, thread some yarn or cording through the bagel and make a loop, then hang from your deck or tree limb.

What to do with that stale cereal?  Make a cereal garland by stringing dental floss onto a needle and then the cereal.  Drape several garlands over a bush or tree limb and watch the birds enjoy their special treat.

You can feed many of your kitchen scraps to your backyard birds.  They enjoy stale or dry bread, cakes and cookies broken into small pieces.  Hard bits of cheese are good, even leftover plain pasta or rice is a great source of carbohydrates.  After your Sunday dinner gather the leftover peas, corn and baked potatoes to offer to the birds.  You can even toss them cooked eggs after your breakfast for essential nutrients birds need. 

Our feathered friends need a little help in the winter foraging for food.  If you have other ideas for homemade bird feed, comment below, we'd love to hear from you.

~Peggy
Garden Media Group