Making Your Own Wild Bird Food
There is something exciting about watching wild birds flit outside your window. Whether they are feasting at your spring garden, frolicking in a bird bath during the warm days of summer, or finding the sustaining nutrition of wild bird food in the coldest days of winter, wild birds are a welcome addition to your yard. If you are interested in bringing feathered friends to your yard year round, learn how to make wild bird food.
Why Do Wild Birds Need Food?
Birds may be small, but they are complex creatures. Wild birds need a balanced diet of fats, grains, and even proteins. During many parts of the year a wild bird's food consumption is easily maintained by gardens and foliage that grows naturally in their home environment. Sunflower seeds growing by a busy road provide a quick buffet of protein and fat for passing birds. Bugs that invade your garden are a ready supply of protein and even the seeds being dropped by trees and flowers are nature's way of providing nourishment for its feathered occupants.
When winter comes, the supply of food drops along with the temperature. In an effort to conserve energy, most birds stay relatively inactive during the winter. Most of their few and far between calories go into the effort of keeping their bodies warm. If you want to help the birds in your area survive and thrive through the winter months, concoct a batch of wild bird food.
A Recipe For Wild Bird Food
When you make up a batch of wild bird food for the birds that visit your yard, it is important to include the right balance of seeds and nuts to meet the birds' nutritional needs. You can add specific kinds of seeds, fruits, or nuts, if you know that a particular type of bird is partial to certain flavors, but a good all purpose wild bird food will sustain most of the birds that visit your yard.
To make up a good mixture of wild bird food, simply mix together a combination of rolled oats, sunflower seeds, and dried fruit in small pieces. For variety you can add thistle seeds, peanuts and even bread crumbs or croutons.
Remember, presentation is important. You can fill a commercial feeder with your seed mix or you can serve it in a metal pie plate. One creative way to serve wild bird food is to coat a pinecone with peanut butter and then roll it in your seed mixture. However you serve your wild bird food always make sure you leave a source of water to help your birds wash down their food.
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