Boost Summer Bird Activity in Your Backyard

 Though the summer nature scene is full of colour and bursting with life, it doesn't always show itself at our feeders. The lack of feeder activity is generally due to the busy nesting season when most of our bird species in Ontario switch to a mainly insectivorous diet which there is an abundance of during the summer months. In addition to insects, there are also good crops of seeds and fruits from native plants available which are the preferred diet of wild birds. So how can you entice more birds to visit your yard if they aren't interested in your feeders?

Gray Catbird feeding on Hot Pepper Bark Butter

Offer seasonally savvy foods

There are certain foods that we can offer in the summer months to attract specific species that we may not offer in the winter. Some things to consider including on your bird feeding menu during the warmer months include:

• Fruit: Fruits such as halved or quartered oranges, grapes, blueberries, and blackberries can help attract spring migrants such as Baltimore Orioles, Gray Catbirds, and Scarlet Tanagers. In addition to fruit to attract these species, you can also offer BirdBerry Jelly which is specifically formulated to meet the needs of fruit-eating species.
  
  
• Suet: Many people believe suet should only be offered in the winter, but it is actually a very important source of food for many returning and nesting species. High-quality, high-protein suet like our SuperSuet & Bark Butter are a great source of nutrition for migrating birds, and many species including Brown Thrashers, Rose-breasted Grosbeaks, and warbler species can be found re-fuelling on suet upon their return. For those worried about suet spoiling in the heat of the summer, we carry a variety of No-Melt options to ensure the birds stay healthy and happy. 
  
  
• Live mealworms: Mealworms are high in protein and make an excellent source of food for both growing chicks and tired parent birds. Offering live mealworms can be a game-changer when it comes to feeding birds during nesting season. You are offering birds the closest thing to what they would be searching for in nature, and they quickly learn that you are supplying the goods, some may even tap on your windows looking for more or take them straight from your hand! Species who will visit your feeder for mealworms include Baltimore Orioles, American Robins, Rose-breasted Grosbeaks, Northern Cardinals, Chipping Sparrows, White-breasted and Red-breasted Nuthatches, woodpecker species, and many more. To learn more about offering live mealworms to your backyard birds, click here. 
  
  
• WBU Nesting SuperBlend: This blend is formulated with nesting birds in mind, providing essential protein and calcium to help parent and baby birds develop and thrive. Packed full of freeze-dried mealworms, sunflower chips, peanuts, Bark Butter Bits, tree nuts, and calcium, our Nesting SuperBlend is the perfect mix to offer during this high-stress period. 

It's also important to remember that when we look at the big picture, bird feeders are a relatively new concept. They are not something that birds have evolved with over millions of years, so it would make sense that they would seek out what is known to them - native flora & fauna - before visiting a feeder.

Add a water feature

Providing a consistent source of drinking and bathing water is one of the most important elements you can incorporate in to your regular backyard birding regime. Water is a requirement for all birds year-round, and is a great way to invite a wide variety of species into your yard. If you feed wild birds in your backyard, you may have noticed that there are many species who don't visit feeders. Birds such as warblers (minus a select few who will eat at feeders), vireos, thrushes, and birds of prey, won't be found snacking on the foods you offer, but they may be seen drinking from or splashing in a birdbath. Having a reliable source of water in your yard is a great way to get views of species not often seen in a backyard setting. You may also witness some unique behaviour at your birdbath, often times parent birds will first guide their fledglings to a water source to learn to drink and bathe, before even teaching them how to find food for themselves. Click here to learn more benefits of adding a water feature to your yard.

Ruby-throated Hummingbird feeding from Cardinal Flower

Grow native plants

The best way to feed birds without bird feeders is to grow native plants that they feed on directly and support insect life which make up a large portion of most birds' diets. Why choose native over non-native - a plant's a plant, right? Not quite. Native plants help to stabilize soil, and typically require less water and management in comparison to non-native plants. Native plants know the land. They know our wildlife, and our wildlife knows them. They co-exist with our natural species, rather than compete with them like most non-native plants. Studies have shown that our native bird species will actively seek out native fruit-bearing species to feed on before non-natives. Of course, birds and insects will still visit non-native species, but think of them like fast food. Fills you up, but doesn't offer much sustenance.

• Here is a list of some "bird approved" native plant species:
• Fruit-bearing plants: Staghorn Sumac, Eastern Red Cedar, Mountain Ash, Red Osier Dogwood, Canadian Serviceberry, Chokecherry, Nannyberry, Winterberry, Elderberry, Prickly Ash
  
  
• Perennials: Purple Cone Flower, Black-eyed Susan, Cardinal Flower, Dense Blazing Star, Milkweed species, Aster species, Joe Pye Weed

Keep feeders clean & food fresh
Food issues are one of the main causes of feeder abandonment. The food isn't fresh enough, it's moldy or infested, it's the wrong type of food for the species in your yard, or you've changed the seed blend. To be sure you are offering fresh and safe seed, it is important to maintain clean feeders, and if seed sits in a feeder for 2 weeks or more, it's time to change it out for a fresh batch.

Hairy Woodpecker & Northern Flicker feeding from Suet Cylinder Log Feeder

Sometimes birds will come and go with no rhyme nor reason, despite our best efforts to attract them. Not knowing what to expect from one day to the next is what makes our hobby so exciting! So, if you are experiencing feeder abandonment, don't give up hope. Keep our tips in mind, patience in hand, and you will be rewarded with a plethora of your fine-feathered-friends once again. 


Happy trails!

~ Shayna