Gray Catbird (1 Viewer)

Looking for information as to what anyone in this forum has successfully fed to a Gray Catbird. I currently have out apple halves, orange halves, grape jelly, mayhaw jelly in hopes of attracting catbirds. I do have a pair that reside in my backyard, so they are already here. I just want to make sure I keep them.

Well, I haven't tried feeding Grey Catbirds in my area (the most I see at any one time is 2 birds). The chances of a catird coming to your feeder are the same as the chances of a Pileated Woodpecker coming to your feeder, which is pretty slim. Pileateds are pretty shy, and are not easy to attract to feeders. This explains why my father has seen one 3 times this year, and I still haven't seen it. The chances of attrating this woodpecker may increase somewhat in the winter.

Grey Catbirds, on the other hand, I have seen them thoughout the warmer months, and for good reason: abundance of it main foods, which are insects, other invertebrates, and berries. So unless you don't mind having live insects crawling around in your table feeder, I wouldn't expect any catbirds at the feeder. I do however, see the local catbirds on my lawn, although this occurs probably more often than I've seen (thrice I've seen them on my lawn). So don't give up hope. If you have berry plants growing around your property, maybe you could attract them by collecting some of the berries, and spreading them around a known catbird hotspot.

Maybe some other members have had more success than I have, and they'll reply soon.

hello, welcome to bird forum!

I keep them in my yard because I do not mow or rake the back part of my yard. There are trees and bushes and a thick layer of oak leaves and the catbirds like to hang out in that stuff.
Have you noticed that you can walk right up to catbirds? You can get pretty close and they won't fly away as long as you don't make any sudden movements...

Masculonius said:

I keep them in my yard because I do not mow or rake the back part of my yard. There are trees and bushes and a thick layer of oak leaves and the catbirds like to hang out in that stuff.
Have you noticed that you can walk right up to catbirds? You can get pretty close and they won't fly away as long as you don't make any sudden movements...

Click to expand...

Yes, I have noticed that they seem to be more people friendly than other birds. Let me ask you this, have you ever got Gray Catbirds to eat grape jelly, I have had out grape jelly for quite some time in a fruit and jelly feeder, but I haven't had any luck. Any tips on what to feed them will be greatly appreciated. Also, if you have AOL, my screen name is DillonFL33