Birder Shares The Ultimate Bird Feeder Buffet. Here's How To Create Your Own
If you are a birder, you are probably spending any chance you get to go outside, watch your feathered friends, and add new species to your watch list. This may mean you've missed a few viral TikTok videos that are making waves in the online birding community, and inspiring nature-lovers to get their DIY hats on. The videos come from @heathersbirdbuffet and, as the handle suggests, are all clips of a bird buffet and the different birds that visit it. The bird buffet is incredible, with a range of seeds and nuts that suit loads of different birds placed in several storage containers. To create your own, you will need to find a good spot for it, make a platform, find some storage containers, and pick the best food for the birds in your area.
The birder who posted the videos of the bird feeder buffet has theirs hanging up on the side of their home by their window. This is a great spot for feeders, as it allows you to watch the birds and reduces the chances of them flying into the windows. You may wish to add a shelf to the outside of your window for your bird buffet, or look at other areas of your yard where you may want it. Keep in mind the worst places to put a feeder that will keep birds from visiting, such as by the garage or driveway, and instead opt to place it close to natural shelter. Once you know where you want your bird feeder buffet, you can add a platform. Another creator, Badgerland Birding, used an old table and a serving tray for their bird buffet in one YouTube video, so have a look in your home to see if you can DIY a bird feeder with some household objects you already have.
What to put in your bird buffet
As different birds have different food preferences, they can sometimes go through feed mixes and throw certain foods away if they don't like them. The buffet created by that TikTok user provided a great solution to this problem. By placing the different feed in different containers, there is less food waste. Use clean, outdoor-friendly storage containers for your bird buffet, and remember to clean and disinfect them every two weeks to avoid the spread of disease. Keep experimenting with the different foods you put out for the birds on your buffet, and see which visit your yard!
Once you have your setup, you can decide on what snacks to put in your bird buffet. It is helpful to research what birds are native to where you live and what they prefer to munch on. By adding a range of food sources to your buffet, you can attract a more diverse variety of birds to your yard. The birder who uploaded the video has walnuts, peanuts, and a mix by Cool Birds that contains sunflower kernels, pumpkin kernels, raisins, mixed feed nuts, raisins, and papaya.
Sunflower seeds are a favorite for many birds, including chickadees, cardinals, and nuthatches, so make sure you include some of these in your bird buffet. Blue jays are known to be fans of whole peanuts, with other birds such as woodpeckers and nuthatches enjoying peanuts out of the shell. Alongside seeds and nuts, you may want to put out some fruit on your buffet. Orioles, bluebirds, robins, and brown thrashers tend to love snacking on apples, oranges, and bananas.