Wild birds eat everything from nuts and berries to animal fat. You can virtually put any kind of food item in the backyard and you'll get at least one kind of bird in your yard for an afternoon snack.
What kind of wild bird food should I use?
There are many many different kinds of wild bird food and as tempting as it may be to buy cheaper wild bird food brands, you should really opt for high quality stuff. High quality birdseed tends to have seeds and pellets that are high in nutritional value. Look at the back of the birdseed bag or container before you purchase the wild bird food to see what kind of birds the mix will attract.
Many birds, including the brightly colored blue bird, love wild bird food that's actually made up of peanut butter and animal fat. Yeah, it sounds disgusting, but birds love this concoction called suet. You can buy suet in a store or you can make it yourself by going to the butcher and asking for beef fat. You have to cook the fat on the stove, strain it and then mix it with peanut butter and seed. Because birds need to eat so much each day (they usually eat between three and four times their weight in food) they need the calories from the fat.
How do I get the birds to eat my wild bird food?
The answer to that question is simple. Put your wild bird food in an appropriate bird feeder and then be patient. If you want to attract smaller birds to your wild bird food, you need to get feeders that are smaller and support small birds. Larger birds need sturdier feeders. Keep a close eye on your bird feeder because birds go through the wild bird food fast and your feeder will constantly need to be filled.
Birds will flock to your bird feeder any time of the year, but will be particularly anxious visitors in the fall and winter, when food is scarce. It's especially important to keep your feeder full of wild bird food in the winter because birds rely on you for their nutrients.
Keeping out squirrels
Unfortunately squirrels love wild bird food and will do what they can to get their hands on the seed. Squirrels are great climbers and jumpers and so it's very difficult to construct a bird feeder that will keep them out. However, you can put your bird feeder at the top of a pole and then cover the pole in PVC pipe because the little rascals can't scale PVC. This is one tactic that will keep the squirrels out of your wild bird food.
