Using bird food recipes to make your own wild bird food is a great way to fuel your kids' interest in bird watching.
You can use a project like this to teach them about what birds eat. You can have a lot of fun when making your bird food by using seasonal molds or cookie cutters to shape your food.
Maybe you are out of bird food and your bird feeders are empty and you don't have enough time to pack up the kids and head off to the store. There are many common ingredients, which you probably have around the kitchen, that you can put together to make delicious treats for your feathered friends.
You can follow one of my recipes or just have some fun by mixing several ingredients together and see what happens.
A lot of our readers have sent in their favorites! (Scroll down below) You can find projects from simple suet bird food to how to make a birdseed wreath.
| Bread Products | Wrens, mocking birds, thrashers, sparrows, warblers, tanagers, titmice, towhees, creepers, robins, blackbirds, kinglets, cardinals, grosbeaks, buntings, chickadees, bluebirds, thrushes |
| Suet (rendered from beef fat) | Woodpeckers, wrens, warblers, tanagers, nuthatch, creepers, chickadees, orioles, titmice, mockingbirds, cardinals, goldfinches, bluebirds, grosbeaks, buntings |
| Peanuts and peanut butter | Towhees, goldfinches, cardinals, chickadees, wrens, sparrows, titmice, grosbeaks, buntings, juncos |
| Berries | Wax wings, robins, bluebirds, thrushes |
| Raisins and currants | Wax wings, orioles, robins, bluebirds, thrushes |
| Nuts | Creepers, towhees, juncos, thrashes, mockingbirds, warblers, woodpeckers |
| Apples | Wax wings, mockingbirds, thrashers, wrens, cardinals, grosbeaks, buntings |
| Fruit | Tanagers, orioles, woodpeckers, mockingbirds, thrashers, warblers, cardinals, grosbeaks, buntings, goldfinches, finches |

If you are going to use an oriole feeder, consider making your own homemade Oriole bird food.
1 part sugar/6 parts water
Bring the water to a boil and then add the sugar. Boil until the sugar has dissolved. 1 part sugar to 6 parts water means that if you boil 2 cups of water you will need 1/3 cup of sugar.
Let the mixture cool before filling your feeder. Store any excess food in your refrigerator until ready to use. There is no need to add food coloring.
Learn more about attracting orioles here.
This is another homemade wild bird food recipe that I know you will enjoy. September means apples. There are also many other fruits available. Many migratory birds that eat fruit will be tempted to linger at your bird feeders if you offer the following mix. Use a platform style feeder when offering this wild bird food mix.
Simply mix the ingredients together in a large bowl or bucket. Start by adding small amounts to your feeder and store the rest in a paper bag in a cool and dry location. Now your homemade wild bird food is ready to serve.
Just scroll down and you can view several of our readers' recipes for wild bird food recipes.
Do you have one you'd like to share? What kind of birds does your recipe attract? Got a picture of them feeding in your feeder? It's simple to upload a photo!
We'd love to feature it for our readers. Just fill out the form below!
If you have a wild bird food recipe that works well for you why not share it? Backyard birders are always looking for new and economical bird foods to attract wild birds to their feeders. We would love to hear from you!
Click below to see recipes from other visitors to this page...
Birdy Toast 




2 tsp cornmeal
1 slice whole wheat bread
peanut butter
Birdseed
Spread the peanut butter on the bread, then spread cornmeal on it, lastly sprinkle …
Bird Watchers Delight 




I have used this recipe many times and it works.
What you will need:
clean and empty egg carton(s)
shortening
chunky peanut butter
…
DRY CAT FOOD FOR BIRDS? 




I hope this is not ultimately bad for wild birds but for the last ten + years I've been feeding wild birds with fairly inexpensive generic dry cat food …
Judith's Autumn Dough ball treats 




Ingredients:
Plain flour
dried fruit-raisins- prunes -apricots or similar,
windfall apples chopped into small pieces,
grated suet,
vegetable oil
…
bacon fat ,seeds, nuts and fruit 




Use old bacon grease..let harden in freezer...then take out and place any grains, nuts, berries, apples
seeds, old crackers or bread and form to the desired …
Branch Dough 




-1 part peanut butter
-1 part vegetable shortening
-2 1/2 parts white flour
Mix the peanut butter and shortening in a bowl. (Optional: add raisins, …
Honey Bagels 

Ingredients:
Bagel
Honey
Granola/Raisins
First, make sure your bagel is uncooked
Second, take your honey and smear it on your bagel
Third, sprinkle …
Bird's Chioce Not rated yet
1 1/2 cups flour
3/4 cup oatmeal
1/3 cup bacon grease, lard, or rendered animal fat
1/2 cup bird seed
1/8 cup medium barley
1/4 cup …
Simple Bird Seed Mix Not rated yet
I'm just trying this one, I made it with things I found in the pantry, I'm not sure how well it will work. When I made it, I used 1/4 cup as 1 part and …
Fun and Easy Bird Mixture Not rated yet
1 part shortening
1 part chunky peanut butter
1 part mixed bird seed
Mix together in a plastic bowl,
make sure you leave this recipie out for …
Sandwich Not rated yet
Take your left over bread---Toast 3 slices--Put chunky peanut butter on face of 3 slices and on back of one--Add birdseed to sticky surfaces---Sandwich …
Gone in 1 day Bird Feed recipe Not rated yet
Ingredients;
bacon grease from your one pound of breakfast bacon
2 cups peanut butter
1 cup coconut oil
3 cups black sunflower seeds, bought …
log feeder suet recipe Not rated yet
1/2 cup chunky peanutbutter
small handfull oatmeal
small handfull rice crispies
little cornmeal
mixed birdseed
mix together and put in log feeder …
Birdy Heaven ( for domestic birds too) Not rated yet
ingredients:
peanut paste
and bird seed
Method:
put the peanut paste on a hook or samoething that dangles. Simply roll the peanut paste in the bird …
Bird food Recipe for Jays Not rated yet
1 part peanut butter
2 part bird seed of your choice
Mix in bread pan and put in the freezer. Wait for 2 hours. Slice then put in bird cake container. …
recap 1 Not rated yet
You will need; flour and butter
Mix the flour and butter together and put it out for the birds to eat :)
Berry Oat Suet Not rated yet
1 package dried craisins
1 package dried apples
2 cups cheerios
2 crisco shortening bars
2 packs instant oatmeal
Using food processor mix fruits, …
Leftover Baked Oatmeal Scramble
by Mendy(Kentucky)
Yummy Baked Oatmeal for People:
For the birds:
Use leftover oatmeal and scramble in skillet with:
Breakfast of Champions
by Chery Aschenbrenner (Laona, WI 54541)
left over bacon grease cooled when cool add chunky peanut butter/stir. Add raisins, sunflower seeds, special K cereal. Let sit then freeze in square container suet feeder size.
An idea bird combo-mix
by kevin swenson(columbus,ohio)
A combination of oats, cut prunes, raisins, honey, peanut butter, syrup(optional), granola, and a mix of crushed nuts.
Leftover Baked Oatmeal Scramble
Ingredients:
Mix dry ingredients. Melt grease and peanut butter in microwave. Add to dry ingredients. Mix well. Freeze in ice cubes trays until firm.
Peanut Butter Pine Cone
Hang in a tree and watch the birds come for a meal!
Log Feeder Bird Treat
When using a log feeder, why not try this neat treat that birds love, consisting of:
Combine in a bowl and once your done fill the mixture into your log feeder.
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