The Brome SquirrelBuster Finch Feeder Fiery Feast is a no shells, no millet, no mess seed blend with hot pepper added to repel squirrels – a Wild Birds Unlimited original. Hot Pepper Bark Butter Bits can be a versatile addition for your fall menu.

As we transition from summer to fall, it’s time to think about transitioning to a fall bird feeding plan that will probably emphasize more seeds and less fruit. Realistically, fall is the best time to expand your backyard menu to include summer and winter foods, so you’re ready for migrating birds that prefer your summer foods – sugar-water nectar, fruit, jelly – with the standard foods such as suet, sunflower seeds, nyjer, the best seed blends, tree nuts, and peanuts. It’s also a good time to take a look at your feeders and consider any upgrades you can make to improve your feeding station for the winter season.

To attract migrating birds, in addition to fresh water, keep the summer foods stocked a couple more months in the north, but be aware that winter birds such as Red-breasted Nuthatches and northern finches can begin appearing soon – be prepared with some suet and a good seed mix. We find that the shelled seed blends are primo for attracting the greatest diversity and quality of birds, and they ensure far less of a mess below your feeders, with no fall and winter clean-up necessary.

These blends may seem a little more costly, but the best of them don’t have filler seeds or corn that grocery store seeds tend to have, and you also don’t pay for the weight of the seed shells included in non-shelled seed combinations. In the Sunbelt, you may keep “summer fare” throughout the year at your feeding station – depending on the birds that spend the winter in your area. If you’re a veteran bird feeder, you know what works best, but keep an open mind for what’s new on the menu.

Hot Bird Foods

Our latest backyard finds to share with you are some specialized bird foods offered by Wild Birds Unlimited (WBU) that will attract and nurture a variety of seed-eating birds, but they make squirrels flee the scene: Fiery Feast and SunFire Chips.

Fiery Feast was developed using WBU’s most popular no-mess, no-millet seed blend, which has had hot pepper added to deter squirrels and other mammals. Another option is to try SunFire Chips, made of sunflower seed chips treated with hot pepper. Wild Birds Unlimited’s motto for these unique seed blends is: “Feed the birds, not the squirrels.” If you like to feed squirrels, you have plenty of options that will keep them coming to your feeding station.

Wild Birds Unlimited also offers their popular Hot Pepper Bark Butter, which comes in convenient tubs, as spreadable bark butter to dab onto tree bark or a special log at your feeding station, and the very handy “Butter Bits” that can be poured into a variety of feeders, or mixed with a seed blend of your choice. Plus, WBU offers no-melt hot pepper suet cakes. How good are the Bark Butter products? To date, 151 species of birds have been documented eating Bark Butter! That’s big incentive to add Butter Bark to your feeding station mix right away.

WBU is certainly leading the way in the “hot pepper” seed and suet blend bird feeding marketplace, and you can get more information at a local Wild Birds Unlimited store, or their website at https://www.wbu.com/products/specialty-bird-foods/fiery-feast/

Enjoy the change of seasons, share your backyard interests with friends and neighbors, and we hope you see some new and interesting birds at your feeding station in the coming weeks, along with fall favorites!

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