Feeding Wild Birds Fruit
fruit bird feeders
A Fruit Feeder provides food in your backyard habitat which appeals to those birds who eat primarily or only fruits and berries. Some birds will not visit your bird feeder for seeds at all, but will stop by to enjoy an apple or orange. Fruit eating birds such as robins, waxwings, bluebirds, and mockingbirds rarely will eat birdseed, but you may be able to attract them to stay and nest in your backyard by including a food source designed just for them.
There are specially designed fruit feeders which will hold chunks of fruit such as halved apples, pears or oranges, or you may use a platform feeder to include smaller bits like raisins, currents, cherries, blueberries or pieces of cut up fruit.
One of our favorite fruits to leave out for the birds is raisins and currants soaked in water overnight. Place them on a table feeder or Hanging Platform Feeder and see what shows up. You may also blends with a dried fruit mixture. Another option is to use a dehydrator to make your own dried fruit mixes which is particularly effective in the summer months when the weather is too hot to leave fresh fruit out at your feeding stations because it may spoil too quickly.
Oranges are another effective fruit to attract songbirds with. To attract orioles and tanagers, skewer halved oranges on a spike near your other feeders or provide nectar feeders. Feeders made specifically for this purpose are handy because they allow fruit eating birds a separate area to feed from which is away from activity of seed eating birds.
Birds will also eat vegetables like tomatoes, green peppers, squash and green beans.
Melon rinds or scraped insides of cantaloupe or honeydew is also a treat. Be sure to put out the seeds! Shop for fruit bird food at Fruit Bird Foods or a large selection of fruit feeders at Fruit and Berry Wild Bird Feeders.