A recent call from a Rome school teacher set me on a Google search to find what backyard winter birds will eat from our kitchen pantry.
This lovely lady was doing an online class with her students. They were taking a leftover roll from toilet paper, adding peanut butter, string and possibly birdseed to create a tasty treat for the winter birds.
Concerned that her students would not be able to just run out and purchase bird seed just for this project, she called our office and together we searched and found some wonderful resources.
At Cornell Cooperative Extension, we get all kinds of calls and all kinds of questions. I have learned to become a proficient “Google” searcher, and to understand that the computer only can give me what I’m asking it.
So on this particular day I tried, “What’s in my pantry that I can feed to backyard birds?” Voila’! On the first page of my search I saw, “What Foods to Feed Birds from the Kitchen.”
It was an online article by “Birds & Blooms” a very reputable bird magazine: https://ift.tt/2MGKLOV
Here are some of the foods recommended:
Slice up apples and remove the seeds, hard mold-free cheeses diced into little chunks. Bananas, peeled and halved, as well as, cooked plain pasta and rice, chopped very small.
Other favorites include: melons, pumpkin and squash seeds (roast the seeds in a 300-degree oven for 40 minutes and flip seeds every 5 minutes, let cool) Never serve birds seeds with salt, flavorings or coatings.
I don’t know about you, but I always seem to have an old box of raisins kicking around and the article says the birds love them! Soak raisins in warm water first so they’re soft and easier for birds to bite.
When feeding the birds from your pantry use common sense, never feed items that are full of sugar, salted or coated. Use only whole grain breads, bland and low sugar cereals, and when in doubt, just don’t feed it to the birds.
If you don’t mind the expense of putting up feeders, the best offering is just plain old black oil sunflower seeds. Hang some suet too, the protein is great for many winter birds and will bring in some interesting bird characters like woodpeckers.
Winter birds bring birdsong and activity to your quiet winter landscape. To view some of the birds that visit winter feeders, visit the Cornell Lab “All About Birds” watch the “feeder cam” and other bird video highlights.https://ift.tt/36Tk2FQ
Birds are wonderful creatures to watch. Every February, citizen scientists count birds to help expand our understanding of these amazing creatures. The 24th Annual Great Backyard Bird Count (GBBC) will be held Feb. 12-15. Visit the official website at www.birdcount.org for more information and how you can be part of this year’s GBBC.
Are you interested in learning more about gardening, while enjoying shared tips, tricks, and camaraderie with other gardeners? Consider training to be an Oneida County Master Gardener Volunteer.
For more information call us or visit our website cceoneida.com phone 315-736-3394, Ext 100. Be sure to like us on Facebook (https://ift.tt/2Yi7RhI) and check out our YouTube channel (http://www.youtube.com/user/cceoneida) for great gardening talks.
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February 07, 2021 at 09:00PM
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Feed backyard birds from your pantry | Rome Daily Sentinel - Rome Sentinel
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