- Bird Accessories, Bird Feeders, Birding Accessories, Bluebird Feeders, Fruit, Jelly & Mealworm Feeders, Mealworm Feeder, Uncategorized, Wild Bird Feeders
The dish style mealworm feeder offers various feed options
Hey lady! What’s up with the Mealworm Feeder?This little plexiglass dish get big traffic in our yard! When live mealworms are placed in it (most times twice a day) all bets are off. The bird traffic is fast and furious, first come, first served!
Originally meant for our Bluebirds – the Chickadees and Titmice quickly learned of the treasure. So, the Bluebirds soon received their own enclosed mealworm feeder, although Carolina Wrens have since figured that out as well!
Feeding live worms can get expensive when everybody’s in on the coveted treat, and I mean everybody! Even the Robins get a few worms in a glass dish that’s left on the ground. And I can’t stand when the crows get to them first!
Unless you have the time and patience to cultivate your own worms, ordering in bulk quantities is easier on the wallet. The worms really aren’t that expensive… it’s the shipping that gets ya! Since they’re live, overnight delivery is required for warmer temperatures. For a few months out of the year (depending on your location) a second-day delivery works fine.
Gradually decreasing the amount of worms, and adding a home-made suet mixture in this meal worm feeder landed a “so-so” reaction from most of our beaked buddies. This Pine Warbler has a mouthful of the stuff, (which is why his beak looks fat & white) but just look at that expression! It’s like “excuse me, where are my worms?”
This mealworm dish actually has drainage, but many similar styles do not, making them perfect for offering water too. In summer, fresh fruit is a great choice for migratory birds, while suet mixtures & crumbles, and shelled peanuts are good options for cold weather feeding.
Offering live worms has created a whole new dimension to our backyard birding experiences. Definitely worth giving it a try if you’ve never fed them before, especially if bluebirds are in the area. And Robins adore them too! But if you don’t want the birds eating you out of house and home… a more traditional, or enclosed mealworm feeder may be your better choice.
-
Keep that mealworm feeder filled
For all the moms out there raising babies on their own… Happy Mothers Day!A Gilbertson nest box was their preference, and soon 5 Bluebird eggs sat in the nest. A pair of Eastern Bluebirds who braved a harsh winter in North Georgia found their perfect nest site. It wasn’t long at all before the eggs hatched and five babies slept comfortably in the pine straw nest. I’m not sure when the eggs were laid, but the next time the box was checked it contained the cutest naked babies.
Then some trouble for our Bluebird pair 🙁 Nothing had gotten into the box or killed the babies, it’s dad who had disappeared. With babies fully feathered now and overflowing their nest, dad had been missing for two days, at this crucial fledge time too.
The next box check revealed that mom had managed to fledge all five babies, so this gave me hope for at least a partially successfully brood. I supplemented the the worms with calcium carbonate powder to help build strong bones, and doubled the number of worms being offered in the mealworm feeder.
When raising bluebirds, both parents will feed the chicks for thirty days. Even second or third broods receive help from older siblings. Super mom was on her own, and the nasty storms during their first few nights out in the world didn’t help at all. I was like the worrisome mother. Sometimes another mate is found and the new male may or may not help to care for her brood. About two weeks after fledging, a new male was spotted gorging himself at the mealworm feeder. My only hope was that some of the worms were for the babies.
Two days ago I spotted one of the babies perched on the pole above the mealworm feeder… yellow mouth wide open and screaming his little head off! It was truly a terrific site and gave me hope that more of the five are thriving.
So, in honor of Mother’s Day… here’s to you Mrs. Bluebird! Raising babies on your own out in a tough and cold world, we wish you the best.
-
A Mealworm Dish That Does More
Versatile enough for year round use, this mealworm dish looks great in any setting. With a vibrant cobalt blue that demands attention, the thick, durable plexi-glass is maintenance free. You’ll entice more feathered friends by changing foods according to season, and this one feeder lets you do just that.Add jelly in summer months to attract Orioles, grape jelly is their favorite, along with orange halves. Mealworms in spring to attract Bluebirds – it’s simple with this convenient mealworm dish. In winter months suet may be placed in the dish, or any seed mix you’d like to offer resident birds. The feeder shown is a hanging one, but it’s also available as staked feeder with two dishes, and a pole-mount version with two dishes. Vibrant, and versatile to entice and attract more species for a better backyard birding
experience!
Birding Tips, Information & News
