Vintage Winter Postcard with Birds
When the ground is covered with snow it is often difficult for animals to find food. However, there are some easy ways you can attract birds quickly to your garden by providing them with produce and cast offs from your kitchen.
Birds love anything that is shiny and round like berries and grapes. If you have a feeder or a tree that has lost it's leaves for the season, drape some grapes onto the branches. I usually use grapes that are past their prime, give them a quick rinse and hang them outside. The wet grapes glisten in the sun and pretty soon some feathered friend is there to check them out.
Other favorite treats are peanut butter. Smear some peanut butter on a tree trunk, and poke some peanut bits into it. You should choose a tree that's far from the house because you might also attract some ants.
One of the lesser-known ways to attract birds is by putting out eggshells. Female birds, drained of calcium by egg-laying, eagerly consume them. I have a big kitchen scrap jar in my kitchen where I collect coffee grounds, tea leaves and eggshells for the garden. I crush the shells and then sprinkle them over the soil. The birds love them because they are small to nibble at.
