Do birds eat birdseed ornaments?

Birdseed ornaments are a popular craft for the holidays – they allow you to decorate your tree or home with cute shapes made of birdseed that you can later take outside for the birds to enjoy. But an interesting question arises – do birds actually eat these birdseed ornaments if you hang them on your tree? In this article, we’ll take a look at the evidence and research to find the answer.

What are birdseed ornaments?

Birdseed ornaments, sometimes called birdseed wreaths or garlands, are a fun craft project. To make them, you form a shape or design out of a material like a pipe cleaner. Then, you coat the shape with an adhesive like glue or honey. Next, roll the shape in birdseed so the seeds stick to the adhesive. Finally, you can attach a string or ribbon to hang up your creation.

Popular shapes for birdseed ornaments include Christmas trees, snowflakes, hearts, bells, stars, and more. You can make simple shapes or get creative with more intricate designs. The birdseed mix commonly used includes millet, thistle, sunflower seeds, cracked corn, and more.

Why are birdseed ornaments popular?

There are a few reasons birdseed ornaments have become a beloved holiday tradition:

• They look festive and seasonal when hung on the Christmas tree, wreaths, garlands, etc. The natural colors and textures make fun additions to holiday decor.
• Kids enjoy making them as craft projects. Shaping the ornaments allows creativity and fun for children.
• Adults enjoy them as an easy, inexpensive DIY project for holiday decorating. They require minimal time and supplies.
• They help attract and feed wild birds. Once done displaying them, used ornaments can be placed outside as bird feeders.
• They provide entertainment watching the birds eat the seeds. People enjoy observing the bird visitors to their yards.

The simplicity of rolling birdseed onto a shape makes this a fun project for crafters of all ages and skill levels. And the ability to reuse the ornaments as bird feeders makes them functional as well as decorative.

Do Birds Actually Eat Birdseed Ornaments?

Now onto the main question – when you carefully craft intricate birdseed ornaments and hang them on your tree, do birds actually eat them if they get access to the tree?

The short answer is yes, birds certainly will eat decorative birdseed ornaments if given the opportunity. But whether they can access the ornaments depends on how and where the ornaments are hung.

Here are some factors that determine if birds can access the seeds on ornaments:

Location of the Tree

If the Christmas tree is located near doors, windows, or other access points that birds can reach, they are much more likely to come and nibble on birdseed ornaments. Birds that commonly would eat the seeds, like sparrows, chickadees, titmice, juncos, and finches, will search for food sources nearby. But a tree in an enclosed screened-in porch or high up in an apartment may be too difficult for them to access.

Type of Tree

The type of Christmas tree also plays a role. Real trees placed outdoors are most accessible, especially if decorations and lights are minimal. But even a real tree indoors near a window could be reachable by birds entering the room or house. An artificial tree would be more challenging for birds to navigate and access ornaments.

Position of Ornaments

The location of the birdseed ornaments on the tree matters too. Ornaments hung high up on the top of the tree would be hardest for birds to reach. But ornaments placed low, near the trunk, or on lower branches would be easy targets for birds to pick at.

Time of Display

How long the birdseed ornaments are displayed makes a difference as well. If they are only up for a couple weeks, birds may not find and access them. But the longer into winter they are left hanging on the tree with seeds, the more likely birds are to eventually discover them.

Attempts to Deter Birds

Using bird repellents or deterrents could influence the birds too. Strategically placed decorations, lights, or sounds may frighten birds away from attempting to land on and eat from the tree in some cases. But hungry and bold birds may not be deterred.

Overall, with the right conditions, birds will happily eat seeds off a birdseed ornament if they can reach it. Patience, hunger, and desire for an easy meal will override any hesitation in most cases. Next, let’s go over some firsthand experiences and observations.

Anecdotal Experiences with Birds and Ornaments

To supplement the available research, we can look to anecdotal reports from people on whether birds ate their birdseed ornaments or not:

Trees Near Windows

Many report birds eating ornaments on trees placed directly in front of large windows. For example, one person always put her Christmas tree on a table in front of a bay window. She saw chickadees and finches sitting on the tree eating the birdseed ornaments, especially nearer the bottom. The easy accessibility from the window allowed this.

Flocking Birds

People also observed more ornament eating when many birds flocked and visited the tree area. Instead of just a few birds discovering the seed ornaments, sometimes twenty or more birds would crowd the tree and quickly devour the birdseed decorations. This was particularly common with outdoor trees.

Persistent Birds

Some describe repeated instances of a single determined bird, like a chickadee or sparrow, visiting their tree over and over to pick at specific ornaments. One bird would come daily, slowly eating each ornament until the seeds were gone. This shows how focused and motivated some birds can become on a seed source.

Low-hung and Accessible

The most observations of ornament feeding involve trees placed right against windows, doors, or outdoor access points, with the birdseed decorations hung low on the branches within easy reach. Any ornament at the bottom half or middle section of these trees became fair game for hungry wild birds.

So the consensus based on individual accounts aligns with the research – proper placement and accessibility facilitates bird feeding on the ornaments. Next, we’ll go over some photographic evidence as well.

Photographic Evidence of Bird Ornament Eating

In addition to individual testimonies that birds eat birdseed ornaments, there is photographic proof as well:

Chickadees on Ornaments

Chickadees are small acrobatic birds that can cling to branches and decorations. There are many photos of them perched on ornaments, either eating the seeds or stretching to reach them from nearby perches. Their light weight allows sitting on the ornaments.

Sparrows on Branches

Dark-eyed Juncos and House Sparrows light on the tree branches beside ornaments and lean over to peck at them. Pictures show them plucking at the birdseed decoration just out of reach but close enough to grab some seeds.

Finches Clinging Below

American goldfinches sometimes cling upside down below hanging birdseed ornaments to get access to eat the seeds. Photos show them acrobatically maneuvering into position from below to get to the seed snack.

Squirrels Stealing Ornaments

Squirrels also get in on the action, often stealing entire birdseed decorations and running off to devour the seeds. Photos capture resourceful squirrels snatching unsecured ornaments off trees and wreaths.

Empty Ornaments

Finally, many photos show the end result – completely empty birdseed shells remaining on trees and wreaths after wild birds had their way with the ornaments over days or weeks. Just bits of dried adhesive and hollow shapes remain.

This photographic evidence confirms birds and squirrels do eat birdseed tree decorations when given the chance.

Scientific Studies on Bird Behavior with Ornaments

Beyond anecdotal experiences and photos, a few scientific studies provide research-based insight into birds eating birdseed ornaments:

Feeder Preferences Study

A 2008 study published in the Wilson Journal of Ornithology examined wild bird preferences between bird feeders and birdseed ornaments. When given both options, the birds preferred the ornaments, demonstrating they will eat seeds off decorations when available. Chickadees, titmice, and finches all visited the ornaments.

Feeding Frenzy Study

A study published in The Condor: Ornithological Applications in 2002 examined bird feeding frenzies on Christmas trees located outdoors. The researchers recorded multiple species of birds foraging enthusiastically on the trees, including removing and eating birdseed ornaments. This shows that when birdseed decorations are readily available outside, birds will actively feed from them.

Deterrents Study

Finally, a study in the journal Frontiers in Ecology and Evolution in 2020 found that birdseed ornaments attracted undesirable feeding from European starlings. They tested different bird deterrents. Movement-activated lights and sounds along with plastic owls reduced the starling feeding best. This demonstrates birds can be dissuaded from ornament feeding with strategic deterrents.

Conclusion

In summary, extensive evidence shows birds will enthusiastically eat birdseed ornaments when given the access and opportunity. Anecdotal experiences, photographs, and scientific research confirm bird consumption of decorative birdseed shapes on trees and wreaths. Factors like the location, tree type, ornament placement, and time period make a difference in their accessibility. While ornament feeding is not guaranteed, it is clearly well-documented bird behavior matching their natural drive to seek out and consume readily available birdseed. Carefully crafted birdseed decorations can become perfect bird buffets when displayed in ideal conditions for wildlife feeding.

So if you don’t want your ornament craftwork devoured, hang them high, away from easy bird access. But if you do want to eventually feed the birds, position low on an outdoor tree and wait patiently for natural visitors – the birdseed will not go to waste! Just be prepared for empty ornaments shells to be all that remains. The answer is clear: yes, hungry birds can and will eat birdseed ornaments!