Can wild birds eat cucumber
No extra expense or bother if deciding to offer up a cucumber to your garden birds, but don't expect to see success overnight.
Garden birds can eat cucumber but its a tough ask. Offer up chunks of cucumber around the garden, as to cater to ground or feeder eating birds. Only serve a cucumber out in the open, but do cut it open to reveal its juicy centre. In the meantime, expect Robins, Starlings or Pied Flycatcher to take a bite.
Odds of success in feeding cucumber to small common garden birds is a tough one for sure, as the bird species you intend to feed cucumber too must be considered.
To place a cucumber up on a bird table may only serve Robins or Starlings; whereas locating a cut open cucumber on the ground or on the garden decor could indeed bring more birds, so greater success.
You can feed wild birds all kinds of fruit we grow in the garden or buy in the supermarket, with a cucumber being one of many opportunities.
Birds who eat fruit in the wild are our only contenders, so expect only Robins or Starling for most of us - while other wild birds may come calling.
Its a trial and error, so don't give up feeding cucumber to birds until you can guarantee there's never going to be interest.
Cucumber is rich in vitamins, so to see birds eat it would sure benefit them hugely.
Huge benefits to eating cucumber
In an effort to succeed in actually feeding wild birds cucumber would certainly see huge health benefits on their part.
Cucumber is rich in vitamins, as birds require such nutrients in the spring, summer time; it would be a good idea to feed birds cucumber only then.
Benefits to that of course is wild birds would be feeding their chicks on the feeders or back at the nest this time of year - so its perfect time to offer them cucumber, because there's little choking hazards.
Drought, or a dry summer can be troublesome when garden birds source water, but for a cucumber sitting on the bird table full of juicy flesh - it could be another reason birds might eat cucumber.
I would say while benefits are a plenty, its imperative you do wash the cucumber skin beforehand.
Birds attracted to cucumber
Birds who frequent our gardens to feed on a regular basis are going to be the ones who will attempt to feed on a fresh cucumber.
Fruit eating garden birds are indeed Robins or Starlings most of us have come to know best - and probably they are the species we'd want to attract the most.
However, the existence of fruit of any kind out in our garden is sure going to attract more unwanted guests.
Cucumber out in the garden then can attract more nuisance birds who eat fruit, and they can include Crows, Seagulls or Jackdaws.
Its recommended then to only offer a little cucumber at a time, but remove if it attracts those mentioned above.
On a plus side, other birds that may be up to feeding on a cucumber pin or whole one could be the Moorhen, Pied Flycatcher, Stonechat, Whitethroat and Willow Warbler.
Open up to juicy centre
How you go about feeding cucumber to common garden birds is completely up to you, but you'd first need to let the wild birds know its there.
I would say a bird can tell the difference between a food source and an inanimate object, but there's certainly no harm in getting them started.
If at all possible, and if the cucumber can be left out of the sun; it can be a good idea to cut open the cucumber to reveal its juicy centre.
What can then be more appetising than a food source dripping with juices.
How to open it would probably be best to simply slice it in half, or cut off a knob on the end to reveal the inners. But to slice it down the length of the cucumber can make it more accessible, to more birds at one time.
Not that you can expect lots of interest, but by opening the cucumber up more can make it easier for you to observe at a distance.
Clean up mess to try again
It can be a long, drawn out affair as you tempt wild birds to feed on your cucumber you have left out on the bird table, but it can also be quite fun if you get a bite or two.
Realistically though, for many of us its going to a real task on our hands to see any interest at all.
It could be the cucumber is left there while birds may continue to feed on their regular, safe bird feed under the bird table or off the hanging bird feeders.
But don't give up just yet, taking into consideration the weather, season and the bird species visiting the garden - it could be possible to try again another time.
Only cut up the cucumber that you feel can be left out a little bit at a time. Then over the course of the week we can continue to offer them a little more, without wasting a whole cucumber in one setting.
Clean up the mess leftover by the cucumber juices as you continue to offer a bit later on or on another day.
Make the cucumber accessible
To feed cucumber on the ground or up on a bird table can effect what birds can feed off it at all, even if they may be interested in doing so.
Remember, certain wild birds are ground feeding birds, so may not be capable of using even a bird table - be it with a roof or open to the elements.
Likewise, to offer a cucumber on the ground can deter those who feed further up.
What you can do then is make the cucumber accessible to as many species as possible, by positioning cucumber chunks around the garden.
If you then see success in a certain area, there's certainly no harm in then focusing your feeding a cucumber in that part of the garden.
Never feed cucumber in poor conditions, nor do so where it restricts all birds. But you may want to pull out the cucumber all together if it brings large, more nuisance birds into the garden.
Conclusion
Cucumbers that are served raw but first washed on the outside can indeed be fed to small common garden birds.
They're juicy, soft and very delicious so you could see success feeding it to only bird species that eat fruit out in nature.
Among them would be the more common Robin or Starling, but in certain areas of the UK you may bring a Moorhen, the Pied Flycatcher, Stonechat, Whitethroat and Willow Warbler... in rarer circumstances.
But what a cucumber left out in the garden can do in attract more unwanted guests, including Crows, Seagulls or Jackdaws.
Benefits to wild birds if they do indeed feed on a cucumber is a vitamin rich fruit, great for keeping their their fighting spirits up, as they overcome harsh conditions such as drought in the summertime.
Open up the juicy cucumber to let birds know what it is, but if you don't succeed the first time, there's no harm in giving it another go.
Make the cucumber chunks accessible to all garden birds then, by offering it up in the bird table, on the ground or in a more secluded area of the garden.
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