Now every tree can be a birdfeeder. No other food attracts more birds than
Jim's Birdacious Bark Butter.
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Backyard bird feeding stations can really make a difference, especially this month.
Birds with access to feeders:
• can spend less time foraging for food.
• have more time to select good nesting sites and construct higher quality nests.
• will often lay their eggs earlier and typically have better rates of survival and fledging success than later broods.
• have more time to protect their nest, eggs and young from predators.
• can provide more food to their chicks. This extra nutrition increases the nestlings' growth rate and reduces aggression among nest siblings.
Offering the Right Food
As they are establishing territories and attracting mates, birds are also looking for foods high in calcium and protein to bolster their energy supply and help them during nesting and raising their young. Nestlings need increased amounts of calcium and protein for proper body and feather growth.
Calcium-added Food
Calcium promotes stronger eggs and bones for mother birds and their babies, and calcium-added foods help supplement the dietary needs of birds in your yard during nesting season. When given the opportunity, birds often consume concentrated calcium sources, especially in the evening when they are forming eggs to lay the next day. Watch for increased evening feeder activity by female birds during nesting season if you offer calcium-added foods.
Wild Birds Unlimited offers a variety of calcium-added foods, including our Nesting Blend, Calcium Care Suet Dough, PB'n J Suet Dough and Egg Essentials (calcium-added suet snacks).
Protein-rich Mealworms
You can also attract birds, such as wrens, chickadees, bluebirds, titmice, mockingbirds, robins, thrushes, thrashers, catbirds, woodpeckers and occasionally, certain warblers to your yard by offering them protein-rich mealworms.
Some birds change part of their eating habits between seasons. In fact, a great proportion of a Black-capped Chickadee's diet is insects in the spring/summer for breeding season, whereas its fall/winter diet is split evenly between animal and vegetable matter. In addition to mealworms, you can also offer Jim's Birdacious® Bark Butter® and suet to attract birds that are actively seeking insects.
