Natural Food Sources for Birds and Wildlife

When bird feeder activity declines in the early fall, we usually write it off to the abundance of “natural food sources”. Well, what exactly do we mean by that?

Here’s just a sampling of the natural foods that become plentiful and are available (until covered by snow) to birds and other wildlife in a typical autumn. Some years there’s more of one and less of the other (we hear that acorns are widely available this year) which makes each year different in the amount and type of foods available and thus impacts the bird and wildlife activity in our yards.

• Fruits and berries from trees and shrubs (examples: sumac, mountain ash, chokecherry, crabapple)
• Weed and grass seeds
• Spent flower heads (fading coneflowers, sunflowers, zinnia, nasturtium, goldenrod, etc.)
• Insects that hide in dead wood, in plant stems, in rolled up leaves, in and under bark
• Leftover vegetables in gardens
• Pine cone seeds
• Acorns and other tree nuts (seeds)
• Small insects under leaf litter
• Tent caterpillars
• Crabgrass seeds
• Garden herbs gone to seed
• Insect and spider eggs, casings, larvae, and carcasses

You can have a hand in providing and preserving these great foods for birds and wildlife by choosing natives when you plant and maintaining a “messy” yard and garden.

Comments

[The Zen Birdfeeder]

Samatha - I can’t tell you how much I appreciate your comment. You may even motivate me to write more! Thank you so much.

[The Zen Birdfeeder]

S - probably moving through in migration.

[Samantha Boguarde]

I love this blog and happy to see you back writing again Zen. I agree with what you said in the post and it's very insightful, I actually learned a couple of new things. (Never too old to learn eh, as I'm pushing 62 right now)
I'm glad you're back up and running, I was also using the feather magazine as a resource in the meantime they also had a pretty good article about bird food and feeding wild birds.
However, they didn't really touch on the intricacies that are oh so helpful like you have.
Much appreciated, sending love from your long term reader.
-Sammy
P.S: These are the resources I mentioned:
https://www.feather-magazine.com/
https://www.feather-magazine.com/best-bird-food/

[S]

I'm hearing red-winged blackbirds in Princetown. I don't ever recall hearing them in the fall before. Any idea what's going on?