Use These 13 Leftover Kitchen Scraps To Safely Attract Birds To Your Yard

One of the best ways to attract birds to your garden or yard is to offer them some of their favorite foods. While you can always opt for bird seed, suet, and other store-bought meals, there are other things that may already be in your home that make great additions to your feeders, including leftover table scraps and expired pantry items, many of which are perfect to give to your feathered friends. While not all human foods are good for birds, many are, including all-natural elements like grains, seeds, nuts, and protein sources that give birds a hearty meal.

Many of these ingredients can be put out in your feeders as a supplement to other kinds of birdseed or nectars or by themselves. Some require cooking, grinding, or dicing to be the ideal safe size for bird consumption. While using leftovers and scraps is a great way to draw some birds with a preference for these foods, make sure they are in good condition, without mold or spoilage that may be toxic to wildlife.

While leftover and stale bread has often been a popular choice for throwing out into your yard for birds, many experts, like the Humane Society, discourage feeding birds leftover bread since the higher volume food contains fewer nutrients for them than other foods they may encounter. If you do want to feed the birds bread, higher wheat and multigrain breads are a much better option, as are crackers that contain many of the same seeds that you find in bird seed mixes, like poppy and sesame. Stale cereal and oats without additives are also great for birds. 

While birds are not able to digest all vegetables, particularly when they are offered raw, cooked peas make an excellent, safe addition to your bird feeder. It's a great opportunity to cook up freshly expired pantry cans or frostbitten bags of peas. Corn, in general, is another option that is often already included in many seed mix varieties, but you can also serve birds sweet corn both on and off the cob. These smaller veggies are great for mixing in with your regular seed blend since their color and texture may make birds extra-attracted to your feeder when they're in the mix.  

Potatoes are another starchy vegetable that is great for birds, including leftover mashed potatoes and small chunks of cooked potato without added salt, butter, or other flavors or seasonings. Make sure to remove the skins, however, since raw potatoes and skins contain a chemical called solanine, which can be a toxin for birds in large enough amounts. Adding mashed potatoes to your feeder after the holidays is a great way to get rid of leftovers and give the birds something good to eat during the cold winter months when carbohydrates provide important energy. While some birds, like pigeons and seagulls, seem especially fond of french fries, the additional salt and preservatives are best avoided. 

Cooked eggs are another great source of protein for birds. This is a good opportunity to dispose of scrambled or hardboiled eggs that you are not going to use. Sprinkle them over seed or add bits to a suet mix. Eggs shells are also great for birds and provide additional calcium and other nutrients. Just dry them out before adding them to your feeders for a few days, or heat them in a low oven to dry them faster. Since cooked eggs can draw rodents or pests, just make sure not to leave them out overnight. 

Extra dog food can be a great addition to your feeder, though you will want to monitor your feeders and clean them regularly to avoid pests. Add wet dog food to a seed mix. Or use dry food that is ground or broken down into bite-size pieces that are ideal for birds. The best dog foods to use are those that are lower in added sodium and closer to all-natural ingredients. While it's great as a treat, it should not be relied on too much since it lacks many of the nutrients birds need.

One of the best things to add to your bird feeders is grains and lentils, which are especially great for attracting sparrows, buntings, and finches. Add them to your feeders cooked or raw, whole or ground. Feeding them to the wildlife is a great way to get rid of bags that have been sitting too long in the pantry, or a perfect way to dispose of leftovers. Just make sure they do not have added salt, sugar, or seasoning. Raw beans, however, can contain a chemical called hemagglutinin, so make sure you cook any beans before offering them to the birds.