Can birds have raisins
What Scraps Can I Feed To Birds? | Feeding Birds
Feeding garden birds doesn't need to be expensive - many of the things you throw away provide suitable food for birds!
Bacon and other fats
You can put out fat from unsalted cuts of meat in large pieces for the birds. Birds, such as tits, can remove morsels from them. Make sure they are well anchored to prevent large birds flying away with the whole piece! This kind of food can attract magpies and gulls, and also neighbourhood cats. If this is likely to be a problem, it's best avoided.
There is a lot of debate about the suitability of bacon rind, since much of it is salted during the curing process. As long as you can be sure the bacon is not salty, you can put it on your bird table. Since bacon can be too tough for many birds to tackle, chopping it finely will allow a wider variety of birds to eat it.
Bread
All types of bread can be digested by birds, but ideally it should only be just one component in a varied diet. Bread does not contain the necessary protein and fat birds need from their diet, and so it can act as an empty filler. Although bread isn't harmful to birds, try not to offer it in large quantities, since its nutritional value is relatively low. A bird that is on a diet of predominantly, or only bread, can suffer from serious vitamin deficiencies, or starve.
Food left on the ground overnight can attract rats. Soaked bread is more easily ingested than stale dry bread, and brown bread is better than white. Crumbled bread is suitable in small quantities, but moisten if it is very dry. During the breeding season, make sure bread is crumbled into tiny pieces so that it is safer to eat. Dry chunks of bread will choke baby birds, and a chick on a diet of bread may not develop into a healthy fledgling.
Other
Fat
Fat, including suet, is particularly welcomed by tits, great spotted woodpeckers, thrushes and wrens. However, please avoid polyunsaturated fats - they don't give the birds the high levels of energy they require in winter.
Cheese
Mild grated cheese is a favourite with robins, dunnocks, blackbirds and song thrushes. It will also help wrens if you place it under hedgerows and other areas in your garden where you've noticed them feeding.
Potatoes
Baked potatoes (cold and opened up), roast and even mashed potatoes with added real fats are all suitable food for birds. Chips are rarely eaten by birds.
Fruit
Dried fruits, such as raisins, sultanas and currants are particularly enjoyed by blackbirds, song thrushes and robins. Soak them during spring and summer.
NOTE: as some dogs and cats react badly to these fruits please do not put them out in areas where these animals might get to them.
Apples, pears and other fruit, including bruised and part rotten ones, cut up, are very popular with all thrushes, tits and starlings.
Pastry
Pastry, cooked or uncooked, is excellent - especially if it has been made with real fats.
Salt
Garden birds are practically unable to metabolise salt. It is toxic to them in high quantities and affects their nervous system. Under normal circumstances in the wild, birds are unlikely to take harmful amounts of salt. Never put out salted food onto the bird table, and never add salt to bird baths to keep water ice-free in the winter.
Hygiene
Remember to keep your garden birds fit, healthy and disease free by keeping feeders, bird tables and bird baths squeaky clean.
Can Birds Eat Raisins? (Is It Safe?)
How many of you enjoy eating raisins? These tiny, dark dried fruits are like nothing but tiny bites of heaven. They’re sweet, nutritious, and mix well with a variety of food items like chocolates, corn flakes, cookies, cakes, and so on.
But are these treats healthy for birds?
Can birds eat raisins? Yes, birds can eat resins. Many wild birds like bluebirds, grosbeaks, and waxwings are all seen enjoying raisins. These dried fruits offer various health benefits to birds. However, you must feed birds raisins in moderation. Otherwise, it will raise their blood sugar levels and make them obese. If you have nestlings that you want to feed, giving them raisins is a bad idea.
In this article, I will attempt to answer all the doubts or queries you might have about feeding raisins to both pet birds and wild birds. Additionally, I will also discuss the nutritional richness of these dried fruits.
Do birds enjoy eating raisins?
If you’re a pet parent to a bird, learning about their food preferences, likes, and dislikes is not a difficult job. It is because birds like parakeets, budgies, chickens, and ducks have lived alongside humans as their pets for a long time. And during this time, we have learned almost everything about their feeding habits and preferences.
However, when it comes to feeding the wild birds in your yard, the job gets much more difficult. Wild birds are generally elusive and prefer to dwell in regions with little human interruption. Therefore, our knowledge about their lifestyle, including the diet, is very limited.
And while purchasing bird seed mixes for them is not problematic at all, when you’re feeding them something from your own kitchen, you’re bound to wonder if they would like eating it.
So, do these birds enjoy eating raisins? The answer to your question is yes. Many birders have claimed that wild birds like mockingbirds, orioles, waxwings, bluebirds, and grosbeaks often enjoy munching on both grapes and raisins alike.
Therefore, if you’re planning to put out raisins in your bird feeders, go ahead by all means. Your experiment has great chances of success.
What is the nutritional value of raisins?
We’ve already established that if you put out raisins in your feeder, it is bound to attract all the wild frugivore birds into your yard.
But how will you find out whether these dried fruits will benefit their health or not? Well, don’t worry; I’ve got that covered for you.
As you must already know, raisins are nothing but a dried version of grapes. This means that they contain all the diverse nutrients found in grapes, only in smaller quantities. And since birds are tiny creatures, these little quantities can make a major contribution to their health.
Before we discuss the benefits that your feathered friends can gain from eating raisins, let’s first look at the nutritional composition of these dried fruits:
| Nutrient | Quantity |
|---|---|
| Vitamin B1 (Thiamin) | 0.106 mg |
| Vitamin B2 (Riboflavin) | 0.125 mg |
| Vitamin B3 (Niacin) | 0.766 mg |
| Vitamin B5 (Pantothenic acid) | 0.095 mg |
| Vitamin B6 (Pyridoxine) | 0.017 mg |
| Vitamin B9 (Folates) | 5 mcg |
| Vitamin C | 2. 3 mg |
| Vitamin E | 0.12 mg |
| Vitamin K | 3.5 mcg |
| Calcium, Ca | 50 mg |
| Iron, Fe | 1.88 mg |
| Magnesium, Mg | 7 mg |
| Copper, Cu | 0.318 gm |
| Phosphorus, P | 101 mg |
| Manganese, Mn | 0.229 mg |
| Selenium, Se | 00.6 mcg |
| Zinc, Zn | 0.22 mg |
| Sodium, Na | 11 mg |
| Potassium, K | 749 mg |
| Carbohydrates | 79.18 g |
| Fat | 0.46 g |
| Dietary fibers | 3.7 g |
| Sugar | 59.19 g |
| Protein | 3.07 g |
| Calories | 299 kcal |
Serving size: 100 grams
The benefit of B-complex vitamins
As you can see for yourself in the table, raisins contain a bunch of B-complex vitamins, such as folates, niacin, thiamin, pyridoxine, riboflavin, and pantothenic acid.
All these vitamins have individual roles to play, but together, they work to promote birds’ healthy blood flow, enhance their appetite, and improve the production of red and white blood cells.
High levels of Potassium
100 grams of raisins contain about 700 milligrams of potassium, an amount that is quite high for the little birdies. This mineral can help your birds maintain their blood sugar levels and protect them from the possibility of stroke.
In moderation, natural sugar is a great idea
You might have often heard that sugar is a big no-no for all animals and birds. However, the fact that most people are unaware of is, natural sugar is also a great energy source for most birds.
Take the hummers, for instance. These little birdies are primarily nectarivore for a good reason. The sugar present in nectar provides them with the energy they need to stay aerial most of the time.
And since the sugar present in raisins is also natural, these little treats can give the birds bursts of energy.
Carbs and protein: an added bonus
As the table indicates, raisins contain macronutrients like carbs and proteins in large amounts. While carbs are an energy source for birds, protein keeps their feathers and bill healthy.
In conclusion, we can all agree that raisins are not only tasty but also healthy treats for both wild and pet birds alike. The next time you go looking for snack ideas for birds, pick these dried fruits.
Raisins are even more beneficial for wild birds during winters when they have limited food sources and can benefit from a nutrient-dense treat.
Risks involved with feeding raisins to birds
The root of all problems that the birds could face from eating raisins lies in their overconsumption. In moderate amounts, raisins will never impact their health negatively.
However, when you’re feeding the birds more raisins than you should, they will end up paying the price for it.
We learned how small amounts of natural sugar are a great energy booster for all birds in the last section.
But do you know what happens when they eat sugar-rich foods like raisins in excess? First and foremost, the extra sugar will start getting deposited in their body as fats, making them gain weight.
And while weight gain might not seem so problematic for pet birds in the beginning, to the wild birds, it could risk their survival. Birds look after themselves using their agility. Without it, they will become easy and plump targets for their predators.
And even if predators are out of the picture, obesity will make their hearts weaker, shortening their lifespan and making them vulnerable to cardiac arrest. And all this because you wanted to treat these birds generously. Therefore, the next time you want to over-indulge the birds in your yard, think twice.
Does raisin pose a choking threat for birds?
Raisins are tiny dried fruits that contain no pits or seeds, which is why no birder would expect them to pose a choking threat for birds. However, after being dried, these fruits can get quite tough when stored in an airtight container for a long period.
But can the raisins potentially create a choking threat for wild birds? Well, that depends on the kind of birds that frequent your feeder. In the case of the larger birds, raisins are harmless.
However, if smaller birds like hummers and wrens feed on your feeder, they could face trouble in pushing raisins down their throat.
So, if you notice smaller birds visiting your feeders frequently, here’s something you can do. You can soak the raisins in water overnight. And if you’re in a hurry, you can also soak them in warm water for 10-15 minutes. Your raisins are now softer and, therefore, easier for the birds to peck on and swallow.
Is it okay to feed raisins to nestlings?
If a bird has laid eggs in your birdbox or a different location on your property, you might feel an urge to help raise their babies. However, you must keep in mind that the first step to right parenting lies in understanding the nestlings’ needs.
Nestlings need protein-rich foods (preferably animal protein) that support their healthy growth and development when they’re growing up.
Furthermore, their fragile digestive tracts are not strong enough to digest sugar-rich foods at this point.
Lastly, raisins can also get stuck within their throats and cause them to choke. Therefore, for the nestlings, raisins are undisputedly a bad idea.
Grapes vs. raisins: which one is better for birds?
Individually, both grapes and raisins are healthy treats for the birds. However, when compared, grapes will always be a better choice than raisins, not only for birds but also for us. Wondering why? Let me explain.
First, grapes are fresh fruits and, therefore, more natural to the birds’ diet than raisins. The sugar concentration of grapes is also much lower than that of raisins, and we’ve already established how too much sugar could poison the birds.
Lastly, grapes are soft, supple, and contain water, all of which are missing in the raisins. Therefore, if you have a chance at feeding your birds grapes, always go for the fresh version and not the dried ones.
This is true for all the other fruits as well.
Conclusion: Can birds eat raisins?
With this, we come to the end of this article. Let’s quickly revise everything we’ve learned today. We started by talking about how all frugivore birds, both pet and wild, are drawn to sweet foods and enjoy eating raisins.
We also discussed how raisins are nutrient-dense dried fruits and can benefit the health of your feathered friends greatly if consumed in moderation. However, if they’re eating too many raisins or too often, it can have an adverse effect on their health, too.
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What can and cannot be fed to birds in winter? Products from our table. Photo — Botanichka
Feeding wild wintering birds in your garden or park is not just an act of mercy to our smaller brothers, but also a contribution to the future harvest. According to ornithologists, one tit can save up to 10 trees from pests per season, and one feeder provides food for up to 50 tits! The fact that sunflower seeds are most often poured into the feeder is known even to a child.
But there are many different kitchen wastes that can also become a source of food for birds. Some foods on our table are perfect for birds, while others can do more harm than good. Let's take a closer look at what you can and cannot feed birds.
What is the best food for feeding wild birds?
The high nutritional value and high calorie content of the food will give the birds a lot of energy and provide them with fat reserves that will help the birds survive the cold winter nights. Therefore, you need to feed the birds in your garden with quality food.
Most types of garden birds will enjoy sunflower seeds, nuts, and live or dried mealworms. For convenience, you can use ready-made specialized high-quality mixtures for birds. At the same time, choose a food containing a large amount of sunflower and millet seeds. Mixtures with a lot of unappetizing fillers, such as wheat and corn, are not very attractive to birds.
Avoid seed mixtures containing beans, peas, rice and lentils.
Only large species of birds can eat them in a dry form, but these very rarely fly to the feeders. But prepared bird food and sunflower seeds are not the only suitable foods you can feed birds with.
By using kitchen waste as bird feed, you are using excess food for a good cause. But you could just throw them away! By turning waste into bird food, you have nothing to lose. And the birds at the same time enjoy a wide variety of food, flying to the feeders again and again.
Attention: do not forget that specialized mixtures or sunflower seeds should serve as the basis of the diet when feeding birds. If birds didn't eat anything other than kitchen waste, they wouldn't be able to get enough nutrients for healthy growth and energy. At the same time, malnutrition can lead to health problems, such as obesity or deformed feathers. To avoid harm, offer food waste in limited quantities.
The most frequent visitor to the feeders is the common great tit, which is able to eat a variety of types of food.
© Ludmila Svetlitskaya The best products for birds from our table
Fruits and berries without seeds or stones
Many fruits, berries, raisins, fresh grapes and even bananas and oranges can be used to feed birds. They are sure to love this meal. While many birds will enjoy fruits in hot countries, those birds that stay with us for the winter will also get the opportunity to feast on a vitamin supplement.
Arrange sliced apples, tangerine slices, banana slices, grape halves and melon peels inside feeders, hang them on thorns or thin tree branches, and the birds will certainly appreciate the treat. Crushed or dried fruits and berries (such as cranberries) can be strung on a string to create a garland that will not only feed the birds, but also decorate the garden.
Boiled Rice
Remains of cooked brown or white rice often end up in the kitchen, and wild birds in your garden will also enjoy rice porridge. Some species of birds, such as pigeons and turtledoves, are able to eat both raw brown and polished rice.
However, other species are unlikely to enjoy it, as the grains will seem too hard to them.
Pasta
Leftover cooked pasta can also go into the feeder. In this case, the pasta should be soft, and before serving, they should be cut into small enough pieces so that the birds can hold them in their beaks. However, never give birds pasta that has been seasoned with rich sauces, hot spices, or melted sticky cheeses.
Vegetables
In the wild, birds eat a wide variety of plant foods, and sliced vegetables can also be a welcome treat for birds. Birds can be offered pumpkin, frozen green peas or corn (before putting them in the feeder, they should first be thawed). Pieces of canned vegetables from vegetable mixtures can also be occasionally offered to birds.
Lard
Due to its very high calorie content, lard is one of the best products on our table that can be offered to birds. This is an excellent winter food for birds! Lard is found in bird treats combined with a variety of ingredients, allowing it to be used to attract different types of birds.
Seeds, nuts, seeds and melted bacon treats can be shaped into various shapes such as balls, bells and rings to enhance your bird feeding experience. You can also cut the lard into sticks or grate so that even more birds can taste it. Attention! Only unsalted lard is used to feed the birds!
Lard as a top dressing should be unsalted. © Lyudmila SvetlitskayaRead also our article Flower garden for birds.
Boiled potatoes
It may seem implausible, but not only people, but also birds like to eat potatoes. You can feed the birds leftover fried potatoes from your table, offer them mashed potatoes or a whole boiled potato. These dishes are guaranteed to be popular with your feathered friends. However, avoid processed potatoes such as potato chips.
Peanuts and various nuts
Peanuts are a high-calorie, high-fat food that attracts many wild birds, including jays, sparrows, and tits. Because nuts don't freeze to become hard, they're perfect for winter feeding, whether you offer shelled or shelled peanuts.
But never offer birds peanuts with any additives, or with chocolate or other coatings. Also be aware that peanuts can contain large amounts of a natural toxin that causes bird deaths. Therefore, it is ideal to buy a peanut that is designed specifically for feeding birds (can be found at a pet store). Other nuts such as almonds, walnuts and pecans are also attractive to birds. All nuts must be raw (not fried).
Oatmeal and flakes
Oatmeal is also great for many birds. Oatmeal can be a good source of nutritious food for the birds in your garden. Moreover, such top dressing is easily available and is often available in our kitchen. But still, it is best to use raw oats, including oatmeal, for feeding birds, as boiled oatmeal can harden around the bird's beak.
Cereals
Millet attracts mainly house sparrows, pigeons, finches and buntings (if they winter in your area). However, many ornithologists do not recommend feeding birds with millet, as it has few nutrients and quickly oxidizes in the open air, which is not good for birds.
In its raw form, millet and wheat are suitable for birds. And almost any cereal boiled without salt can be used, including buckwheat.
Eggs and egg shells
Boiled chicken eggs can be added to the feeder as they contain many important nutrients for birds. Crushed eggshells are also good for birds, as they are an important source of calcium for all kinds of birds and help the digestion process well.
Pumpkin seeds
When cutting pumpkins, we often end up with a whole mountain of seeds, why not offer them to birds? Pumpkin seeds are very nutritious for birds, especially in autumn when they need more energy to migrate, molt and store fat to withstand the cold. Pumpkin seeds are high in carbohydrates and fats. They are a good source of protein, various micronutrients and nutrients that are essential for a complete diet for wild birds.
Raw seeds, freshly removed from the pumpkin, can be immediately poured into the feeder, or pre-dried. It is not necessary to grind the seeds, the birds themselves will cope with this task, tearing off pieces of the peel to get the pulp.
What should not be fed to birds?
Fruit pits or pome seeds
As mentioned above, most fruits are suitable for feeding birds, but it is important to avoid fruits that contain seeds or pits. If you are going to feed the birds in your garden with apples, pears, apricots, peaches, nectarines, or plums, be sure to completely remove any pits or seeds beforehand. The seeds and pits of these crops contain the toxic compound cyanide, but the seeded fruit is absolutely safe for birds to eat.
Dairy products
The digestive system of birds is not designed to properly digest milk. Eating dairy products can lead to stomach upset or even more serious health problems for birds, so never put a saucer of milk in the feeder.
Bread
Although bread is generally not harmful to birds, it is better not to feed them with bakery products in large quantities.
Not only do they have a very low nutritional value, but they can also ferment in the digestive system of birds. This can lead to digestive problems up to the death of birds.
A small amount of dried crumbs will not bring any harm to birds. But it is better to use whole grain or white bread, while it should not contain spices and sweet additives. Moldy bread should never be offered to birds!
Chocolate
Just like us, birds can find it hard to resist chocolate or chocolate-containing products. However, even in very small amounts, chocolate can be toxic to birds. This is because chocolate contains theobromine and caffeine, which can cause birds to vomit, diarrhea, increase heart rate, leading to hyperactivity, seizures, and sometimes even death.
Salt
Salt is an important mineral for many birds. But just as an excess of salt is not good for humans, it is also bad for birds. And even just a little salt is potentially toxic to a small bird. For example, just one salty cracker or cracker can upset the water and electrolyte balance in the tiny body of a bird.
This can lead to severe thirst, dehydration, kidney failure, and ultimately death of the bird.
Onions and garlic
Many people think that onions and garlic, like other vegetables, are good for birds. However, both raw and cooked, they are toxic to many animals and birds. Onions contain sulfur compounds that can irritate the mucous membrane of the mouth and esophagus of birds, causing ulcers. Garlic contains allicin, another chemical that causes anemia and weakness in birds. So from spicy it is better to treat the bird with a small piece of pepper, rich in vitamin A.
Raw meat
Many birds are carnivores, but do not offer them raw meat in any form, including ground meat or meat scraps. The fact is that these products deteriorate very quickly, and very dangerous bacteria multiply on them, which can kill birds. In addition, meat top dressing can attract unwanted guests to the garden in the form of mice and rats.
Store-bought snacks
Bread and crackers, any chips or crackers, biscuits, corn flakes, gozinaki, popcorn or puffed rice are poisonous to birds and should never be used to feed birds.
How and what to feed city birds - KUST
Text: Masha Teacher Photo: Eugene Schneider
12/12/2021
In Home Alone 2, Kevin befriends a woman who feeds pigeons. He fed them biscuits and she fed them grains. In Good Omens, the demon Crowley and the angel Aziraphale meet in St. James's Park, which has "always been the best secret meeting place in London". As they say in the series, "secret agents fed the ducks here so often that they developed a conditioned reflex: more picky ducks prefer rye bread from the Russian cultural attache."
The intelligibility of ducks is questionable - in fact, it is not recommended to feed birds with bread, especially rye. Together with ornithologists, we figure out what and how to feed them properly.
1
Why feed birds at all?
Birds have a fast metabolism, cold is not as terrible for them as hunger. With the onset of cold weather, insects die or fall into hibernation, their share in the diet of birds is greatly reduced, and the birds switch mainly to grains and fruits, until this food runs out.
Birds that are fed regularly are more likely to survive until spring and hatch new offspring.
But not all city birds need feeding.
2
Which birds can be fed in winter?
Birds of those species whose existence depends on people (they are called synanthropic species). These are, for example, gray pigeons, sparrows, urban mallard ducks.
Small garden and forest birds. Tits, nuthatches, greenfinches, woodpeckers can survive without people, but feeders will help them a lot. Tits are very useful for gardens, they destroy even more pests in winter than in warm weather. If you feed them, some birds may stay with you after wintering, especially if you install a titmouse (tit house) at the end of winter.
There are some birds that you don't want to feed. For example, an increase in the number of crows and magpies can be harmful to other birds.
Other species forage for food on their own and rarely come to feeders on our territory - bullfinches, fieldfare thrushes, waxwings, goldfinches, buntings, siskins, tap dances, pikas, kinglets.
3
Suddenly the birds get used to feeding, is it not dangerous for them?
Some ornithologists say that birds get used to the feeder and can forget how to get food themselves. Others – that they prefer natural food when it is available and do not depend on feeders. We advise feeding birds only when they really need it (more on that later).
Birds of different species may fight each other on the feeder. To avoid this, you can focus on a few favorite species and choose the appropriate food.
By "accidental" feeding on beaches or open areas of cafes, birds can become more aggressive towards humans: just look at how crows, pigeons and sparrows demand treats.
The biggest danger to birds is if you start feeding and then stop. Bird flocks already in autumn begin to notice their feeding places, in winter the "zones of influence" are relatively distributed.
If the bird does not find food in the usual feeder, it may simply not have the strength to fly far in search of food. Therefore, if you started doing this, continue all winter, especially on snowy frosty days. Don't start if you're not sure.
Feeding birds is dangerous if you choose the wrong food or place the feeder incorrectly.
4
So that the bird can fly freely towards it.
But do not hang or place it in places accessible to predators. In the middle of an empty clearing, it is accessible to birds of prey, and if it is placed over thick low branches, on a tree trunk, near a fence, among low bushes or on a pole, it can attract cats.
If there are bushes or thickets near the feeder, the birds can quickly hide in case of danger.
The hanging feeder can be placed at a height of one and a half meters. It should be convenient for you to serve it every day or every other day.
Feeders should not be placed where cars, cyclists and people walk all the time.
Hanging the feeder on the windowsill is good for watching, but not very good for the birds: they can get used to people. And there is also a risk that the bird will hit the window, which reflects the sky. If you live in a high-rise building, food and droppings can fall on the windowsill of your neighbors from the lower floors.
If the feeder is on the edge of a clearing in a park or forest park, birds less common in the city, which have a harder time in winter, will be able to drop by.
The type of feeder depends on which birds you want to attract. You can read about it here.
5
How to care for the feeder?
1. Keep clean - regularly remove old feed and droppings. Rotten or wet food must be thrown away; mold is dangerous for birds, as well as for us.
2. Wash every two weeks with soapy water and dry.
3. It is advisable to decontaminate every 4-5 weeks in order not to spread bird infections.
4. Feed is best added in the morning.
6
When to hang the feeder?
It is believed that it is possible to start in the autumn so that the birds have time to notice a new feeding place. But feeding is most necessary for birds with the onset of stable frosts (-10 ° C) and with the appearance of deep snow and ice on branches and ground.
They won't start arriving at the feeder right away, and that's normal: the birds need to find a new place and get used to it.
Feeding is especially important in the second half of winter, when natural food has run out, and during bad weather.
7
Which food is harmful to birds?
Never pour into the feeder:
2.
Salty.
3. Roasted (including salted or roasted nuts).
4. Sour.
5. Acute.
6. Citrus.
7. Rye bread.
8. Oatmeal (it is sticky and can dry on the beak of a small bird). You can put dry oatmeal.
9. Barley and buckwheat (swell in the stomach).
Do not use:
1. Millet (it does not have a protective shell, it forms mold and substances harmful to birds).
3. Raw meat or bones (may attract cats to the feeder or cause disease).
8
We have been feeding bread to ducks all our lives. Why suddenly not?
Rye bread begins to ferment in the stomach and can lead to the death of the bird. White bread is less dangerous: it swells and creates a feeling of satiety, while in fact the bird is malnourished. This does not necessarily lead to serious consequences, but no expert will advise specifically giving bread to birds .
9
Then what feed the swans and ducks in the parks?
They don't actually need to be fed.
There is an opinion that the mass feeding of urban ducks and swans, which in nature eat aquatic plants, disrupts migration, and they remain wintering in the wrong place.
In nature, swans and ducks feed on algae, grass, sometimes molluscs, worms and even frogs. In water bodies, they have enough natural food.
They need to be supported only if they obviously stayed for the winter, and the pond was covered with ice. Then you can give them compound feed, wheat or corn grain, lightly boiled barley, barley porridge, potatoes, sunflower seeds, lettuce or spinach.
Do not lure them to land: there may be not only good birdwatchers, but also people with other intentions, dogs, cars.
10
What do other birds like?
If you don't get attached to the species, here's what you can feed the birds with:
1.
Raw sunflower seeds.
2. Raw peanuts and other nuts (you probably don't want to put almonds in the feeder, but if you do, remember that they are poisonous to squirrels).
3. Various seeds: pumpkin, melon, watermelon, burdock, hemp, linseed.
4. A small amount of wheat and barley (only crushed!)
5. Millet.
6. Crushed corn.
7. Lard and butter (without salt and spices).
8. Raisin.
9. Pieces of dried or fresh apples, pumpkins, carrots, plums and various berries.
10. Boiled rice without salt.
Many human wastes can be harmless bird food if you remember not to eat salty or fried foods. You can use the remnants of bacon, bone marrow, the remnants of melted fat, crumbs from cookies and pies, boiled or baked potatoes.
Here's what you need, to attract certain types of birds :
1. Sunflower, pumpkin, watermelon, melon seeds - for tits, sparrows and many other birds.
2. "Bird pie" from bacon and seeds - for tits, sparrows, woodpeckers and greenfinches.
3. Fat (butter) and lard - for tits, thrushes, wrens, nuthatches, woodpeckers, jays.
4. Dry crumbs of white bread are eaten by sparrows, pigeons and tits.
5. Laid out on the ground or on the snow, fresh or dry fruits and berries suspended on branches will attract thrushes, waxwings, robins, tits, starlings.
6. Bullfinches eat berry bones.
7. Whole peanuts are loved by tits, greenfinches, sparrows, nuthatches, woodpeckers, jays, and crushed peanuts are loved by robins and wrens.
8. Hard cheese - robins, blackbirds.
9. Potatoes can be fed to small passerine birds, wild ducks, geese, swans, pheasants.
10. Thrushes love carrots, corn and pumpkin.
11. Bullfinches and goldfinches in our territory feed exclusively on natural food. Goldfinches love the heads of burdock seeds, and bullfinches love the "wings" of ash and maple.
12. Jays, grosbeaks and woodpeckers love unroasted unsalted peanuts, pumpkin seeds, pine cones.
13. Siskins and greenfinches love poppy in small quantities.
14. Rapeseed is eaten by greenfinches, linnets and other finches.
11
How to make a bird pie?
"Bird Pie" is made with unsalted lard, beef fat (but not from cooking!) or gelatin.
Pour fat or gelatin into cake molds or plastic yogurt cups, top with grain mixture (millet, sunflower seeds, apple and carrot pieces, crushed pumpkin seeds, barley) and freeze. While the mixture hardens, make a through hole in each mold for the rope. The figurine is taken out of the mold, hung on a string, and then on a tree.
Do not use vegetable fats or margarine as this makes the feathers less resistant to moisture in birds.
All these tips apply only to feeding wild birds in urban areas
If you are looking for information on how to feed an injured bird at home write to the specialists.
