Many people enjoy the delight of feeding wild birds throughout the year. Some set out special meals to attract their favorites, whether the birds are year-round residents or migrate in the summer. There are also certain native plants you can use in your landscape to attract different types of birds. Here are some suggestions from the experts on what to put out for food and what to plant on your property to attract the birds you’re aiming to set your eyes on this year!

BLUEBIRDS:
Bluebirds consume a wide variety of insects, particularly during the nesting season. Avoiding insecticide use is critical for giving these birds a healthy food source.

Photo by Dan West

Feed: Mealworms in ground or platform feeders.
Plant: Berry-producing shrubs. Dogwoods, sumacs, cedars, hawthorns and similar plants provide natural winter foods.

Did You Know?
“Male bluebirds typically teach the young birds how to find food for several days after they leave the nest, while the female repairs and remodels the old nest or constructs a new one for a second nesting attempt during May.” – University of Missouri Extension

HUMMINGBIRDS:
Ruby-throated hummingbirds feed on the nectar of red or orange tubular flowers. They also catch insects in midair or pull them off of spider webs.

Jewelweed photo by Cynthia Bowers

Feed: A nectar of four parts water to one part sugar. Change the nectar weekly or more often if it becomes cloudy.
Plant: Cardinal flower; jewelweed; royal catchfly; red buckeye; columbine.

Did You Know?
The ruby-throated hummingbird beats its wings around 53 times a second.

PURPLE MARTINS:
Purple martins eat flying insects, so no number of birdfeeders or type of birdseed will attract them. Instead, backyard birders should avoid spraying insecticides or pesticides on lawns, trees or shrubs, since doing so will eliminate the single food source these birds require.

An additional note from Innsbrook Director of Horticulture Keith Thompson: “Don’t use any chemical pesticides around a feeding area to avoid contamination. This would also apply to a garden in general; Innsbrook residents benefit from a healthy ecosystem, unlike the relatively sterile environment of the urban and suburban areas where many owners reside fulltime. Innsbrook is loaded with beneficial organisms, insects, birds, and mammals who are interdependent of each other.”

Photo by Henry T. McLin

Did You Know?
Purple martins roost together by the thousands in late summer. They form such dense gatherings that you can easily see them on weather radar!

AMERICAN GOLDFINCHES:
Goldfinches are among the strictest vegetarians in the bird world, selecting an entirely vegetable diet and only inadvertently swallowing an occasional insect.

Photo by the Parrishes

Feed: Thistle, or more accurately, Nyjer seed, is a finch favorite. A specialty food loved by goldfinches, purple finches and even mourning doves.
Plant: Consider planting coneflowers, asters and switchgrass to provide the birds with plenty of seeds.

Did You Know?
American goldfinches breed later than most North American birds, waiting to nest until June or July when milkweed, thistle and other plants have produced their fibrous seeds.

BALTIMORE ORIOLE:
Unlike robins and many other fruit-eating birds, Baltimore orioles seem to prefer only ripe, dark-colored fruit.

Photo: Andy Reago and Chrissy McClarren

Feed: Feeding stations with fruit; orange halves, dishes of grape jelly or specialized nectar. You can use the same nectar for orioles that you do for hummingbirds – four parts water to one part sugar.
Plant: Instead of planting anything, you can put yarn or string out in your yard. Orioles and other backyard songbirds will use it for their nests.

Did You Know?
Baltimore orioles got their name from their bold orange and black plumage: they sport the same colors as the heraldic crest of England’s Baltimore family (who also gave their name to Maryland’s largest city).

TANAGERS:
There are more than 230 species of tanagers, only two of which are regularly seen in Missouri: Summer tanagers and scarlet tanagers. Summer tanagers are bee and wasp specialists. They catch these insects in flight and kill them by beating them against a branch. Before eating a bee, the tanager rubs it on the branch to remove the stinger.

Photo by Rhonda Mannion

Feed: Peanut butter, suet, fruit, sugar water, mealworms, bread, cornmeal
Plant: Shrubs that produce berries.

Did You Know?
Scarlet tanagers often play host to eggs of the brown-headed cowbird, particularly where the forest habitat has been fragmented. When a pair of tanagers notices a female cowbird approaching, they aggressively drive her away. If they don’t notice, the cowbird gets rid of a tanager egg and replaces it with one of her own. The tanagers apparently can’t tell the difference, either before or after the egg hatches (many birds can’t), and they raise the imposter along with the rest of their brood.

A Note About Suet:
Suet is made from beef fat. Suet will be mixed with bird seed, berries, and peanut butter. Some of the birds that enjoy suet are: black capped chickadees, woodpeckers, nuthatches and wrens. Offer suet in a suet feeder – a special wire cage made to hold suet.

Suet is a high-energy food that is especially valuable in cold weather. When suet gets soft, however, it can coat belly feathers, a dangerous situation especially in spring and summer when birds are incubating – tiny pores on the birds’ eggs may get clogged, preventing the developing embryo from getting oxygen.

Here is some additional information on backyard bird feeding from the Missouri Department of Conservation:

“You may have heard that it’s important to continue feeding once you start it. However, no research indicates that, during normal weather, birds will starve if feeding is stopped for a time. Birds often visit many feeding stations in a neighborhood. You will be amazed at how fast birds discover new feeding stations. Their natural curiosity and mobility ensure their success at making the rounds.”

“Songbirds, such as the dark-eyed junco, white-crowned sparrow, and Harris sparrow, prefer to feed directly on the ground. Cardinals and blue jays will feed either on the ground or on a platform. Goldfinch and chickadees also will visit small, plastic feeders that are fixed to the outside of a window by a suction cup.”

“To increase the popularity of your feeding station, furnish water – especially during drought.”

Use this handy chart as a reference on what to feed a variety of birds beyond what was mentioned here.

Do you actively try to attract particular types of birds? What works best for you?

Sources: Missouri Department of Conservation, AllAboutBirds.org, Songbird Essentials and Birds and Blooms.