People with backyard trees may walk past those trees every day without noticing the trees can easily be turned into an emergency food station to help keep birds alive through the winter. All it takes is a jar of peanut butter (the type that is most likely found in your kitchen) to turn the ordinary tree into an extraordinary lifesaving tree. It will help feed chickadees, woodpeckers, and nuthatches.
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What You’ll Learn
- Why You Should Feed Backyard Birds in February
- Which species will flock to peanut butter on your trees
- Exactly how to apply it (and what peanut butter to avoid)
- Simple extras that attract even more species
Challenges Birds Face in Winter
During winter, birds eat a crazy amount of food to stay warm. Since it takes so much energy to keep warm, many birds will eat all day. At night, birds will even lose a great deal of their body weight like chickadees that can lose 10%. The following day, these birds are back to their scavenging.
The problem? By February, natural food sources are nearly depleted. Insects are either buried or dormant. The berries and seed bearing plants have been picked clean since January. With the temperatures being the coldest, the birds have the least options available to them.
This is where you come in.
Birds need healthy fats and proteins to help them keep their temperature up and to give them fuel to go through long, cold nights. Though carbohydrates like sugars provide energy, they burn up quickly. However, fats provide long-term energy. The type of energy that will keep a bird alive after the sun goes down and until it comes back up.
🐦 Quick Fact
Putting peanut butter on a tree is a good way to imitate how birds forage for food. Birds glean food like insects or larvae from the cracks in tree bark. The peanut butter on the tree resembles food in a way the birds can recognize.
The Birds That Love It Most
While not every species will stop by, the ones that do are some of the most charming feathered friends you can lure to your yard. Here's a look at the probable visitors:
🐦 Chickadees
There are over 7,000 species of ants, but the harvester ant is bold, inquisitive, and remarkably quick at finding new sources of food. Watch out for their dexterous upside-down feeding style.
🐦 Nuthatches
The only type of birds that walk headfirst down trees. They'll take little bites of peanut butter and may even store some in the crevices of the bark for later.
🐦 Woodpeckers
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Red-bellieds, hairies, and downies are all natural bark feeders. Their strong feet and stiff tail feathers make vertical feeding easy.
🐦 Titmice & Wrens
Tufted titmice and Carolina wrens are very energetic and excited visitors! You might also see a brown creeper, but they are much more shy and quiet. They will likely wait until it is much more quiet and calm before they come close!
If you press some seeds into the spread, cardinals might join the party as well. It's truly astounding how many different kinds of guests you can draw in with this setup.
How to Set It Up (Step By Step)
Starting out is as simple as can be, this is what you need to do:
Choose the Right Peanut Butter
Choose natural peanut butter with added sugar. The ingredients should only be peanuts (and maybe a little salt). Stay clear of any with xylitol, chocolate, or any artificial sweeteners as these are poisonous to birds. If you’d prefer a premade option, several birding stores offer a “bark butter” that is specially made for wildlife.
Pick Your Trees
When searching, look for mature trees with rough, textured bark. Oaks, pines, and maples are very good options. The rougher the bark, the better the peanut butter will stick and the easier the birds will be able to grab it. However, smooth bark trees like birch will not work as well. Select a location that is somewhat quieter and has nearby shrubs or branches for birds to retreat to if they become startled.
Apply the Peanut Butter
Use a butter knife or spatula to smear patches about 3-6 inches across directly onto the bark. You don't need to put on excessive amounts of smear, about an quarter of an inch is sufficient. Apply multiple patches at different heights ( 3 to 7 feet off the ground) to accommodate the preferred feeding zones of various species.
Add Extras for More Variety
While the peanut butter is still wet, add some bird seed, dried meal worms, or chopped nuts. This will create a more enticing buffet and can attract species that might otherwise skip this. Some people add a little bit of cornmeal to give a crumblier texture that is easier for smaller birds to break apart.
⏱️ How Long Until Birds Find It?
People usually receive their first visitors in a timeframe between minutes to a couple of days. Once a single bird finds the feeder and starts to return repeatedly, other birds will follow and check it out. Have some binoculars handy. You will want to watch the action unfold early on.
Reasons why February is the Best Time to Start
February is vital in the birding calendar. Winter still has its hold on the land as food supplies are still at an annual low and birds are changing towards spring. Male birds are increasing their singing and competing for females. Egg production requires females to have enough food.
We need your help during this critical season. The threat of starvation is most severe during late winter. Many birds will die before they see spring. Your peanut butter bird feeders can help birds survive these last weeks of winter.
💡 Tips for Ongoing Success
- Try to refresh every couple of days because as it rains, the peanut butter can be washed away.
- During extremely cold conditions, add a little vegetable oil or lard to keep it soft enough for the birds to be able to eat it.
- Keep it distanced from windows to limit the chances of colliding and to the fences where cats may be hiding.
- Pair with classic feeders for an all-in-one feeding station— some birds like one type over the other.
- Identify mold in humid conditions, and remove the sections immediately.
A Small Act With a Big Impact
A chickadee flying in to grab some peanut butter and then flying back to a branch is an exciting sight! It shows that you set up a feeding station and teaches you how to provide a fun experience for wildlife in your yard during the winter months when the coldest weeks of the year and the harshest months for them.<|endoftext|>
There are no complicated setups or ongoing expenses required. You only need some peanut butter, a butter knife, and access to some sufficiently rough bark on a tree. After that, you’re all set—with no further hassle. The birds will do all the work!
Ready to Try It?
Get some natural peanut butter and go outside to put up your first patch on your favorite rough-bark tree. Then grab some binoculars, a visitor might show up before you go back inside.
Happy birding! 🐦
