The summer tanager is a medium-sized songbird that breeds in the eastern and central United States and winters in southern Florida, Mexico, Central America, and northern South America. These brightly colored birds eat a variety of insects and fruits, making them omnivorous. Their diet changes depending on the season and food availability. Knowing what to feed summer tanagers can help attract them to your backyard.
What do summer tanagers eat?
Summer tanagers are opportunistic feeders that consume a wide variety of foods. Their diet consists mainly of insects and fruit.
Insects
Insects make up the majority of a summer tanager’s diet, especially during spring and summer when they are nesting and feeding young. Tanagers eat a wide range of insects, including:
– Bees
– Wasps
– Ants
– Flies
– Butterflies
– Moths
– Caterpillars
– Grasshoppers
– Crickets
– Spiders
– Dragonflies
They will consume any type of insect they can capture while flying or gleaning from trees and shrubs. Soft-bodied insects like caterpillars seem to be preferred.
Fruit
Summer tanagers switch to eating more fruit in late summer, fall, and winter when insect numbers decline. They prefer small fleshy fruits such as:
– Mulberries
– Raspberries
– Blackberries
– Cherries
– Grapes
– Elderberries
They also may eat larger fruits occasionally, such as persimmons and crab apples. Tanagers use their bills to puncture the fruit to feed on the juice and pulp inside.
How to attract summer tanagers with food
Here are some tips for providing food that will attract hungry summer tanagers to your backyard:
Offer fresh fruit
Try putting out cut up fruits like oranges, grapes, apples, and bananas in a small platform feeder or pierced on a skewer. Fruit kabobs are particularly appealing to tanagers. Just be sure to clean up any old fruit that could rot and harbor bacteria.
Provide nectar
Summer tanagers will drink nectar from hummingbird feeders or oriole feeders stocked with sugar water. Use a ratio of 1 part sugar to 4 parts water. Change the nectar frequently to prevent spoilage.
Add jelly
Smear grape, strawberry, or orange marmalade onto platform feeders, bark butter feeders, or pine cones. The jelly provides carbohydrates and some fruit flavor.
Offer mealworms
Dried or live mealworms are an excellent source of protein for summer tanagers during spring and summer when they need extra calories for breeding and nesting. Mealworm feeders with barriers over the feeding ports will help keep out bees and wasps.
Plant native fruit trees and shrubs
Landscape your yard with native plants that produce small fruits and berries. Some good options are serviceberry, dogwood, eastern red cedar, American holly, spicebush, elderberry, wild grape, blueberry, blackberry, and viburnum.
Create a water feature
A birdbath, mister, or waterfall will provide a water source for drinking and bathing. Moving water is especially attractive. Be sure to clean baths regularly to prevent disease.
Reduce pesticide use
Cutting back on pesticides allows the insect population to thrive, providing a bounty of high-protein foods for foraging tanagers.
Leave some areas wild
Allow leaf litter, dead snags, and brushy areas to provide shelter and feeding grounds for insects that tanagers prey on.
Best foods to feed summer tanagers
Here is a quick list of the top foods to offer summer tanagers:
Food | Benefits |
---|---|
Mealworms | High in protein for breeding and nesting |
Fruit chunks – grapes, apple, orange | Provides carbohydrates |
Jelly | Energy source |
Sugar water nectar | Carbohydrate supplement |
Suet with fruit and nuts | Healthy fat and calories |
In addition to these foods, a clean fresh water source is vital for drinking, bathing, and preening. With ample access to fruit, nectar, insects, and water, summer tanagers will thrive in your yard all season long.
What not to feed summer tanagers
There are a few foods you should avoid offering to summer tanagers:
– Avocado – contains persin, which is toxic to birds
– Dried fruit – can be choke hazard due to small size
– Spoiled or moldy fruit – can cause illness
– Honey – risk of transmission of bacterial diseases
– Fatty foods – can cause obesity and liver problems
– Salt – can cause dehydration
Avoid anything sticky like peanut butter or greasy like lard that could stick to the bill or feathers. Also do not put out more food than the birds can consume in one day and replace jelly, nectar, or fruit frequently to prevent mold or fermentation.
Tips for successful summer tanager feeding
Here are some tips to follow to ensure your summer tanager feeding efforts are successful:
– Feed mealworms in the morning when summer tanagers are actively foraging. Afternoon is better for fruit and nectar.
– Start feeding in late spring just before nesting season when parent birds have high energy needs.
– Use red or orange feeders. Tanagers are attracted to colors matching their plumage.
– Set feeders in shaded areas protected from direct sun and rain.
– Clean feeders weekly with a weak bleach solution to prevent disease transmission.
– Provide ample cover such as dense bushes and trees so the shy tanagers feel secure.
– Position feeders near fruits trees or berry bushes to complement the natural food sources.
– Be patient. It may take a few weeks for tanagers to find new feeders. Try different locations.
By following these tips, you’ll increase your chances of enticing beautiful summer tanagers to visit your backyard oasis. Watching these brightly colored songbirds feast on mealworms and jelly at a feeder is a rewarding experience for any bird lover.
Conclusion
Summer tanagers have varied diets consisting mainly of insects and fruit. Catering to their natural food preferences by providing mealworms, fruit, jelly, and nectar will turn your yard into a favorite summer tanager haunt. Combine supplemental feeding with plenty of native fruiting plants, a water source, and reduced pesticide use to create an ideal haven. With a little trial and error, you’ll have brilliant red, orange, and yellow summer tanagers livening up your backyard all season long while benefiting from a balanced diet.