Winter isn’t the only season when birds need help with food and survival. And while bird feeders are a great way to attract birds to your yard, they often aren’t enough to help birds survive throughout the year. Giving birds the right food to survive throughout particular times of the year can help their population and ensure that they make it through to the next season. To help, this article will review what to feed wild birds throughout the seasons so you can birdwatch throughout the year.
Winter
In order to survive snowy conditions with less sun, wild birds need high-calorie foods right with beneficial oils. This is because some birds go into temporary migration and can struggle to find food in the snow. Suet, peanuts, and black oil sunflower seeds are high-calorie foods that can help birds last throughout the winter. To help them feed and make fewer treks out in the snow, fill large covered feeders.
Spring
During spring, most birds are starting to return from their migration and are going to be trying to feed their children. This means that birds are going to need a lot of the right sugars and nutrients to feed themselves and their babies. Leaving out mealworms and hulled sunflower seeds are great sources of calories and nutrition. You can also leave out sugar water for hummingbirds and slices of fruit like blueberries, juniper, currant, and beautyberries for sugar content.
Summer
In the summer, you can feed the same things to birds that you’d feed them in the spring. However, in the summer, they’re going to need a lot more water than usual. It’s the perfect time to whip out that bird bath and get some fresh water out. However, you may want to add perches or rocks for birds to perch on while they drink, as some birds prefer not to get wet.
Fall
Much like in the winter, birds are going to need high-calorie food in order to make their migratory flight. During this time of year, you’re going to see a lot of different birds coming and going, so you’ll want a wide variety of food for the different types of birds. Suet, white pros millet, cracked corn, and black oil sunflower seeds are all good choices, but you may also want to leave out a hummingbird feeder with nectar for migratory hummingbirds.
Knowing what to feed birds throughout the seasons can help attract a myriad of wild birds and other beautiful creatures to your backyard, so don’t be afraid to help out wildlife no matter what time of year it is.
