Feeding notes to decrease conflict/increase variety (1 Viewer)

[radix023]

I've only been at this bird feeding and photographing for a few months. I started with pantry food I didn't want anymore (went mostly keto, didn't have a use for crackers), Ritz crackers. Results were great, I saw Brown Thrashers and Carolina Wrens. Ran out of Ritz, put out saltines. They didn't really like that. So I went and got cheap birdseed that's about 60% red milo which they won't eat either. So I moved on to mealworms. Those are a hit. But they are a hit with the Northern Mockingbirds and they scrap with each other and drive off other birds. I was happy to see a cardinal pop in this morning, it had been a week or so since I had one of them stop by.

I've been using a single heavy plate as a feeder tray for all 4 of my offerings: 1)mealworms 2) cheap bird seed 3) crackers 4) crushed mixed nuts. With the mockingbirds being so aggressive, I'm thinking I should set up different feeding locations/systems in order to have a move diverse group of visitors. There is only one prime space by my WFH window, but that's OK, I'm doing my bird photograpy with remote.

Anyone have tips of what and how I should be feeding so that I don't just have a few pushy visitors?

Thanks in Advance

 

[delia todd]

What about hummingbirds, they need those syrup feeder things?

Do the crackers have salt in them? Birds (apart from a few sea birds) are unable to process salt, and it could kill them, so it's best to steer clear of any food product made for human consumption really, as nearly all have salt in.

 

[Kits]

Could you buy better quality bird seed? Suet balls, peanuts which are for birds, chopped apples and niger seed. Crackers made for humans are not suitable for birds.

 

[tucansam]

I am in southern AZ and have had great success with using a quality store-bought suet cake, that I then melt down to use as a base, to which I add:

• black oil sunflower seeds
• millet (sometimes)
• meal worms
• dried cranberries or raisins
• oats (sometimes)
• peanut butter
• corn/corn meal (sometimes)
• shelled peanuts
• honey or agave (sometimes, and in very small amounts)
• chia seeds
• hemp hearts
• pumpkin seeds (sometimes)

I too went keto/very low carb, and am no longer eating nuts and grains. So I used a lot of leftover stuff from the pantry to see what the birds liked the most. I've probably had 12-16 different species of birds in the yard in the last 12 or so months, and up to about half that all at the same time.

I use hanging feeders in several locations, and either ground feeders or feeding trays a foot or so above the ground on a small stand or table. Some chasing off from food does occur, but there are enough feeders and locations that many species can be in the yard at once without any conflict.