Robins are common backyard birds that can be easily attracted with the right foods. While robins are omnivores that eat both plant and animal material, their diet consists primarily of insects and fruit. Offering robins the foods they naturally seek out will encourage them to visit your yard. Here are some of the best things to feed robins.
Mealworms
Mealworms are an excellent source of protein for robins. These worms contain essential amino acids, vitamins, and minerals that support robin growth and development. Mealworms also contain a high amount of fat, providing robins with the energy they need to stay active throughout the day.
Since robins are ground foragers, placing dried or live mealworms on a platform feeder, ground tray, or even directly on the ground will help attract them. You can find live and dried mealworms at most pet stores or online. Here are some top options:
- Living World Dried Mealworms
- Fluker’s Gourmet Canned Mealworms
- Uncle Jim’s Worm Farm Live Mealworms
Offer robins an abundant supply of mealworms during spring and summer when they need extra protein for raising young. Feed mealworms year-round to provide robins with a high-protein supplement.
Fruit
Fruit is a favorite robin food source. Robins will readily feed on both wild and domestic fruits. Berries are especially attractive. Set out cut oranges, apples, bananas, grapes, raisins, cranberries, strawberries, raspberries, blueberries, blackberries, and cherries for visiting robins.
Use a fruit feeder to offer smaller fruits like grapes and berries. Platform feeders work well for larger chunks of apple and orange. You can also skewer fruit on sticks secured into the ground or a raised platform. Offer fruit year-round, but especially when wild berries are not available.
Suet
Nutrient-dense suet provides robins with fat and protein. Suet is made from beef fat that is processed into hardy cakes. Offering suet to robins in winter helps supplement natural food sources at a time when insects are scarce. There are many types of suet for specific birds like robins:
- Suet nuggets with mealworms
- Suet with peanut butter
- Suet with berries
- Suet with insects
Hang suet feeders from a tree branch, post, or hook. Make sure the suet is positioned at robin height and not too high up. Place suet feeders where robins can easily perch as they feast.
Live Insects
It’s no secret that robins love worms. Earthworms are a large part of their natural diet. Robins also feed heavily on beetles, caterpillars, ants, grasshoppers, spiders, snails, and other invertebrates. Attract live insects to your yard by providing the types of habitats they thrive in.
Build a compost pile where worms and insects take up residence. Plant native flowers that attract insect populations. Avoid pesticide use so your yard offers lots of safe insect food sources. Provide moist soil beds where robins can dig for earthworms. A bird bath also helps attract flying insects.
Cracked Corn
While not their favorite food, robins will eat small amounts of cracked corn. The corn provides carbohydrates robins can use for energy. Mix in some mealworms, fruit, or suet with the corn to make it more enticing. Offer corn year-round, but be conservative with portions since robins do not rely heavily on seed foods.
Bread
Stale bread makes a decent robin snack, but should not be a dietary staple. Small amounts of bread provide robins with carbohydrates. Avoid feeding moldy bread that can make robins sick. Offer just a little bread alongside tastier robin favorites like mealworms, fruit, and suet.
Peanut Butter
Peanut butter makes both a tasty treat and nutritious snack for robins. Choose all-natural peanut butter without extra sugar. Add peanut butter to suet cakes, smear on pinecones, or offer in small containers. Go light on the peanut butter since robins don’t subsist primarily on nuts or seed.
Nuts
Robins may eat certain nuts like chopped walnuts, pecans, almonds, and peanuts. These provide protein, fat, and carbohydrates. Mix with fruits like raisins or chopped apple to create a nutritious robin trail mix. Offer nuts in cold weather when robins appreciate high-fat foods.
Table Scraps
Cooked rice, pasta, oatmeal, potato, sweet potato, and other leftover grains appeal to robins. Chopped hard boiled eggs provide an excellent source of protein. Just avoid excess salt, sugar, and fat which are unhealthy. Cooked beans, peas, and corn offer carbohydrate nutrition. Be careful not to overload robins with starchy table scraps.
Plant Materials
In late fall and winter, robins add more plant material to their diet since insects and fruit are scarce. They will eat the pulp of dogwood and sumac berries. Holly berries are a winter favorite. Robins also scavenge seed heads and sprouting seeds from grasses, sedges, and ragweed.
Water
Robins need a steady supply of fresh water for drinking and bathing. Change water frequently and keep birdbaths and fountains clean to avoid disease. Add a mister to provide drinking and bathing water even when temperatures drop below freezing.
Running water from such as a drip, fountain, or bubbler will attract more robins than still water since it mimics natural streams and ponds. Place birdbaths and fountains near trees and raised perches where robins feel safe approaching.
Foods to Avoid
There are some foods you should never feed robins. These include:
- Salty foods
- Sugary foods
- Avocado
- Chocolate
- Cookies, cakes, sweets
- Dried coconut
- French fries, chips
- Processed meats like bacon, sausage, salami
- Rhubarb leaves
Avoid anything greasy, spicy, or salty which can be difficult for robins to digest. Also do not feed robins caffeine, alcohol, or other substances toxic to birds.
Best Robin Feeders
Use feeders designed specifically for robins and other larger songbirds. Recommended feeder types include:
- Platform feeders
- Hopper feeders
- Tray feeders
- Ground feeders
- Suet feeders
- Fruit feeders
- Mealworm feeders
- Nectar feeders
Platform feeders provide excellent access for robins. Look for larger sized tray and hopper feeders they can perch on. Ground feeders or trays allow robins to scratch and forage. Protect feed from getting soaked by rain and choose feeders with drainage holes.
Create a Robin Feeding Station
Maximize the variety of foods you offer by creating a designated robin feeding station in your yard. Include a mix of feeders at different levels positioned near protective shrubs and trees.
Place feeders with perches for fruits, live mealworms, suet, peanut butter, and insects at robin height. Have ground trays for nuts, cracked corn, and scratch grains. Also include a water source like a birdbath.
Separating feeders reduces competition with smaller birds that can be intimidated by aggressive robins. Use feeders with weight activated perches to limit access for lighter birds.
Best Time to Feed Robins
The best times to feed robins are:
- Early morning when robins are hungry after waking up
- Late afternoon when robins are fueling up before nightfall
- Winter when natural food is limited
- Spring and summer during nesting and rearing young
- Autumn when wild fruits are scarce
- Year-round to provide a consistent food source
Schedule your feedings for early morning and late afternoon to coincide with peak robin activity. Clean and fill feeders daily or every other day to ensure freshness. Provide extra foods during cold months when robins have higher energy needs.
Robin Feeding Tips
Follow these tips to get the most out of feeding robins:
- Start feeding early in the year before nesting season
- Use specialty robin and fruit blends instead of generic birdseed mixes
- Let fallen fruit from feeders accumulate to attract worms
- Mix in crushed eggshells for extra calcium
- Provide both dried and live mealworms
- Offer suet high in nuts, seeds, fruit, and insects
- Skewer cut fruit on branches
- Spread peanut butter inside pinecones
- Make banana chips by drying banana slices
- Refrigerate extra fruit to keep it fresh longer
- Rinse birdbaths daily to keep water clean
Experiment to see which foods your robins like best. Observe when robins visit your feeders during the day and adjust feeding times accordingly. Locate feeders and fruit skewers where robins naturally congregate in your yard.
Conclusion
Robins are entertaining backyard birds that will visit yards that offer their preferred foods. Cater to robins by providing mealworms, fruits, suet, peanut butter, and access to live insects and worms. Platform feeders, fruit feeders, suet feeders, and ground trays hold the best robin foods.
Set up multiple feeders in a safe robin feeding zone. Water sources like birdbaths and drippers attract robins year-round. Adjust food offerings and feeding times based on robin activity, seasons, and nesting periods. With the right cuisine choices, you can attract gorgeous, hungry robins to your yard daily.