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PB & J in Your Glass Bird Feeder?
Who doesn’t love a good ol’ PB & J sandwich?Peanut butter’s pretty good for bird and squirrels in winter too, the extra fat and protein provide calories to stay warm. It’s the base for many types of commercially made suet cakes, and you can easily make your own!
We smear some peanut butter on squirrel corn and right on tree trunks during frigid weather. Nuthatches, woodpeckers and warblers love it! But when spring migration rolls around, it’s all about the grape jelly, plus living in Hotlanta, the peanut butter will melt too quickly!
Orioles and cat birds adore grape jelly… but don’t try and get away with the cheap stuff, they seem to prefer Welch’s!
Because it has a glass, and for all intent purposes, this fun oriole feeder is posing as a glass bird feeder for today. The cup holds enough for a few days of food, depending on your bird traffic. One really cool thing we’ve discovered with this feeder is that it can be used year-round, when migratory friends are long gone.
Swap peanut butter for jelly, and suet for the orange halves… you’ll have some very happy resident birds! Lots of online recipes for making your own suet, including no-melt varieties for warm weather feeding, find a few quick suet recipes on our site too. Form suet balls and simply cut them in half to use with this feeder in cold weather!
Check out these orioles up close, chowing down on their favorite food!
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Add Fruit Bird Feeders in Summer
Summer time is when migrating, tropical songbirds with vibrant colors head our way to North America. These gorgeous birds with sweet songs will grace your backyard if offerings are right. A birdbath is a must, as a fresh water source will attract more species any time of year. Most fruit bird feeders are versatile enough to use year round, by placing suet balls on them in winter. Nectar feeders, sans the lid may be filled with seed mixes, suet or mealworms in winter too. Some fruit feeders accommodate nectar and jelly, or nectar and fruit to entice a wider variety of birds.
And Orioles aren’t the only birds who enjoy fruit. Woodpeckers are attracted to apples and melon, while hummingbirds covet their nectar feeders. You’ll also attract Catbirds, Flickers, Cactus Wrens and even Chickadees by having fruit or jelly feeders in your yard. Butterflies enjoy fruit as well, a bit over ripe-but definitely not moldy. Try bananas, oranges, berries and melon to entice butterflies too. Many of the new fruit bird feeders are made of recycled plastics, with a much longer lifespan, they’re guaranteed to never crack, split or fade. So, before summer passes you by, place one of these versatile feeders in the garden and see who comes around to visit!
Birding Tips, Information & News
