9 Easy DIY Snacks That Will Attract Birds to Your Garden​​​​​​​

With all the stress and uncertainty in the world right now cultivating simple activities that bring joy is a really great idea. Feeding birds and learning about the bird species that are local to your area is a great activity and exciting for kids as well as adults. Learning about what food will attract specific birds is also interesting, especially the first time you spot a new bird species feeding on food you’ve put out for him! And best of all, you really don’t need a garden to feed birds, you just need a place to hang a bird feeder, or a DIY bird snack, preferably near a window so you can witness your little visitors. Plus, adding outdoor wall fountains will also serve as their source for drinking water and will add more aesthetic value to your garden. Birds have to look for food every day regardless of the season, so you can quite easily attract them to your garden by offering them a little something! With the right DIY snack in your bird feeder; you can attract a wide range of colorful and interesting birds to your garden, so lets learn how to prepare a variety of delicious bird snacks to feed the birds in your neck of the woods, it may just become your favorite hobby!

9 Easy DIY Bird Snacks That Can Attract Birds to Your Garden

1. Birdseed Cakes
Putting birdseed cakes or balls in your bird feeder is one of the best methods for attracting birds to your garden. According to The Crazy Pet Guy, birdseed cakes can come in handy in the winter when food is scarce, and rather than purchasing birdseed cakes, you can prepare it in your kitchen using a few simple ingredients and tools. To attract a specific type of bird, you can customize your cake by adding particular kinds of seeds that appeal to that bird.

Some of the seeds that can be used as the main ingredient are wheat, millet, sunflower, oatmeal, and thistle seeds. Other ingredients include cereals, raisins, dried fruit, bread crumbs, and raw nuts. A cake consisting of the aforementioned ingredients is made by binding the mix with melted lard or suet and by mixing it all together. The mix is then pressed into a muffin tin (for example) and allowed to solidify.

2. Mixed Seeds Bird Snack
All birds love snacks, so the best way to attract a certain bird species in your garden is by simply using their favorite seeds. You will need stiff paper plates, string, a hole punch, and a pair of scissors to prepare this snack. Find out which seeds the birds in your area love to eat and then buy them. Make hanging plate bird feeders with the stiff paper plates and string, and then hang them on lower tree branches in your backyard. But, make sure it’s not too low for cats to easily catch the birds. A cat food guide in Friendly Claws states that our feline pals are responsible for killing over 1.4 billion birds per year in the US.

3. Garland Galore Snack
This type of snack is quite decorative and can easily attract a variety of birds to your yard. You will need yarn, yarn needle, knife, stale bread, and oranges. To prepare the garland, slice the slices of bread into 4 pieces, and then slice your orange and cut each slice into quarters. Finally, string the pieces of oranges and bread into the yarn, making sure they are well spaced out. Decorate a bush or tree in your garden with this fun bird snack garland.

4. Suet Bell Snack
The suet bell snack is a simple but delicious bird snack made using suet, bread crumbs, dried fruit, lard drippings, and dried fruit. Start by gathering all your fillers (dried fruit, bread crumbs, and birdseed) and then get some suet or lard. Melt the suet or lard and add the fillers. Cut a small hole at the bottom of a paper coffee cup and then insert your string before tying a knot at the end. Bring the string to the top of the cup and wrap it around a pencil or skewer to hold it in place. Pour the mixture into the cup and allow it to solidify overnight. In the morning, you can remove the cup, trim the bottom of the string, and then hang the suet bell on a tree in your backyard. So much fun!

5. Pine-Cone Bird Snack or TP Tube Bird Snack
Pine-cones are a natural snack for birds, so you can upgrade them by adding peanut butter. All you have to do is smear peanut butter all over cones and then roll them in bird seed. Once seeds have stuck onto the cone, you can hang it from a branch in your garden and allow the birds to feed. Alternately, make a cute miniature wind sock from a tp roll, and some crepe paper. Spread peanut butter on the tp roll with a knife, and then roll in bird seed. Not everyone has pine cones available to them, so this is a great alternative, not to mention cute as can be! Just don’t leave them out in the rain as they will become soggy and fall off the strings (we learned that lesson!)

6. Star Shaped Snack
Would you like to decorate all the trees in your garden with beautiful star-shaped nutritious snacks? These snacks are made using birdseed, peanut butter, and bread. Start by cutting the star shapes out of the bread with a star cookie cutter. Spread peanut butter all over the bread before pressing some seeds onto them. Let the bread stars dry and then hang them on the trees in your garden by attaching a string to the star with a yarn needle.

7.  Winter Bird Snack
This winter snack can come in handy when the temperature drops below zero degrees celsius. The main ingredients used to prepare this snack are birdseed, ground suet, cornmeal, peanut butter, whole wheat flour, and water. Boil ground suet in a huge pan and add water. Let it simmer until the fat melts before straining it and placing the fat in the fridge overnight. Melt it again in the morning and add bird seeds. Pour the mixture into small bowls that have been lines with aluminum foil. Once hardened remove from bowl and hang using mesh onion sacks.

8. Eggshells
Bake some eggshells for 15 minutes at 250 degrees celsius in your oven. After 15 minutes, you can allow them to cool down and then crush them and mix with bird seed. Pour this snack into your feeder, as crushed eggshells can be an excellent source of calcium for all laying birds.

9. Apples
Fresh apples can attract different bird species to your garden. All you have to do is cut your apples into small slices and get rid of the core and seeds. You can hang the pieces of apple on your feeders to attract birds. You can also make a hole in a piece of apple that can hold sugar water to attract hummingbirds.

The presence of colorful birds not only brings your garden to life, as wild birds have numerous benefits. Birds can help with bug control, as they love eating spiders, aphids, and other insects that can destroy your backyard plantings. Birds also help with pollination and weeding. And given the fact that you can attract a certain species using the appropriate snacks means that you can populate your garden with the bird species of your choice. Make sure they are well fed, and they will continue to bring you joy year round!