How to Feed Wild Birds in the Summer

Bird feeders can be as entertaining as your afternoon soap operas, once you get to know the cast of characters. Conventional wisdom states that one should not feed birds in the summer, but the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds and U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service beg to differ. Both have stated that feeding birds in summer does not lead to fat, dependent birds. In fact, summer bird feeding can save newborn birds from starvation during summer droughts, or torrential rains. That is only one reason why summer bird food should be a little different from winter fare.

Things You'll Need

  • Apples
  • Bananas
  • Grapes
  • Oranges
  • Pears
  • Watermelon
  • Wooden skewers
  • Currants, raisins and sultanas
  • Pinhead oatmeal
  • Beetle larvae
  • Grubs
  • Waxworms
  • Peanut-free seed mixtures
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Instructions

    • 1

      Set out very ripe fresh fruit like apples, bananas, grapes, oranges, pears and watermelon on wooden skewers, and you may attract catbirds, grosbeaks, mockingbirds, tanagers, thrashers and orioles. You will also attract fruit flies, which are a delicacy for hummingbirds. Dried fruits like sultanas, raisins and currants are also good, as long as you soak them in water to soften them.

    • 2

      Place shallow trays of live food such as beetle larvae, grubs and waxworms on a windowsill. Birds need protein when they are molting, but beef suet can get rancid in hot weather.

    • 3

      Fill bird feeders with pinhead oatmeal and sunflower seeds, along with a nutritious, peanut-free commercial summer seed mix.