Monday 4 January 2016

Peanut Butter for Birds

Now we are nearing colder weather I decided to start adding peanut butter to the Birdy Bistro range of feeders so I looked out the log feeders I made a few years ago. One has one inch holes, the other half inch holes, to hold the peanut butter:

P1040322c.jpg    Home Made Peanut Butter Feeder

 Photo form 2012:
Blue Tit eats Peanut Butter.jpg


The main thing to keep in mind when choosing a peanut butter is that most made for human consumption must not be used as they have added salt. Here are two types I use:

DSCN5712

The one on the left is specially made for birds and costs up to £2.49 for a 330g jar. On the right is a variety for humans which has no added salt and costs around £5 for a 1Kg tub. The CJ Wildlife contents are finely ground, fairly dry and crumbly whereas the Meridian Foods one is much softer to handle though with larger peanut pieces.

This year I have hung the logs together and put them with the other feeders.
In the past they were hung in a different part of the garden.

IMG_3615


It takes a while for the birds to get used to them being there but once the Starlings find the peanut butter it won't last very long. Blue and Great Tits also like it as does the occasional passing Great Spotted Woodpecker. Some people spread the peanut butter in the bark on tree branches for the more timid birds to enjoy a high energy treat.

Less than 24hrs later there was never a doubt about which birds would be first:

 IMG_3623



IMG_3626

It can be a bit of a messy job stuffing the peanut butter in the holes, usually every day, but worth it to help birds through bad weather with an energy boost and for the entertainment value watching the antics of Starlings as they work out the best way to get at the goods.

10 comments:

  1. Excellent. I did find salt free peanut butter in a supermarket but can't remember which one, I suspect it was Asda.

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    Replies
    1. Adrian: Had a look on Asda site. Couldn't find any which mentioned no added salt, only no added sugar.

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  2. a very busy and happy bird station. :)

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  3. We don't see many starlings here John. I rather like them as they are such characters.

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    1. Weaver: I can have scores of them in the Winter when the continental visitors join the locals.

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  4. missed this post before somehow. Love the starlings in action.

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    Replies
    1. Wilma: A bit more action on Friday at the Flicks.

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  5. SDT: Trouble with them is they scatter more than they eat.

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  6. A timely reminder John - I must check out my meridian supply too. Before I even got to your photos, my money was on the greedy and noisy starlings arriving pronto ;-)

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Thank you for visiting. Hope you enjoyed the pictures. Any comment, or correction to any information or identification I get wrong, is most welcome. John

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