06/16/2026
Baby birds eat insects (not seeds). Insects need native plants (not imported plants).
Grow native plants -> save insects -> feed birds
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Fun Fact Friday! Did you know that most songbirds, even seed eaters like the Black-capped Chickadee, switch to a bug-based diet during nesting season?
A Chickadee nestling takes 12–16 days from hatch to a young bird ready to leave the nest. This incredibly fast growth requires a protein-packed diet. Soft-bodied bugs like caterpillars, larvae, spiders, and other small insects provide essential nutrients for growing chicks.
🐛A single chickadee may consume more than 800 caterpillars and insects before leaving the nest. Multiply that by five or six siblings, and you can imagine how busy the parents are! The timing of nesting season aligns with the peak abundance of caterpillars and insects.
🕷Spiders are another crucial food source for nestlings. A spider's body containes high levels of taurine, an amino acid important for the baby bird's nervous system and eye development. Many birds hunt spiders directly from webs, leaving an empty web behind for other birds to use for nest constrcution. 🕸 The Ruby-throated Hummingbird relies heavily on spider silk to hold the delicate nest material together!
As chicks grow, parents introduce larger prey items. Some birds remove hard, indigestible parts before feeding, while others rub stinging insects against branches to remove the stinger or offer only the softest parts. Birds that consume hard-bodied insects, like beetles, may later regurgitate pellets containing indigestible exoskeleton fragments, similar to how owls expel pellets with fur and bones.
Planting native trees and shrubs is one of the best ways to increase bird diversity in your backyard. Native oak trees support more than 500 species of caterpillars and moths, more than any other native tree genus in our region. These insects form the foundation of a healthy food web and help feed countless young birds each spring.
This week, take a moment to watch a bird foraging through a tree; you’ll be surprised by how much food it finds in just a few pecks.
☠Thank you for keeping your yard chemical-free, making a real difference for the next generation of birds.
