What Do Robins Eat in The Winter? Robin Bird Attract

Find out what robins eat in all seasons. If you know what the robin’s favorite food is, you can easily attract them with their favorite food. Find out if you can bring them to seed and suet feeders.

American robins are commonly seen and heard singing in most backyards in North America. What do robins eat? is the major question. Robins generally prefer to eat insects. Regardless of the weather, a little observation will tell you what they eat all year round and how you can attract them.

Learn about robin nests and eggs.

Does the robin eat birdseed?

Robins are not seed-eaters, so you cannot attract robins with bird seed feeders. They eat things like insect grubs and even snails. We notice them in the backyard and around our gardens because they hunt these things from the ground. The next time you observe or see an American robin in your yard, notice how they curiously tilt their heads toward the ground or down. They do this to listen to the juicy worms. Robins use both their visual and auditory cues to find their favorite slimy snack.

Robins eat fruit and eat what they search for in trees and shrubs, where we are not used to seeing them. When winter comes, worms and insects are not as plentiful, so during the colder months, their diet consists mostly of fruit.

How to Attract and Feed Winter Robins

As the soil thaws and insects break through the surface, the thrushes, which are members of the thrush family, become more active and visible. But you can still attract robins to your yard during the snow. In winter, robins pick berries from trees and shrubs. You can attract robins to your yard by planting trees that produce winter fruit such as: hawthorn, chokecherry, and dogwood.

Does the robin use the birdhouse?

You can also attract robins by making small piles of leaf litter around your yard. According to the National Wildlife Federation, leaf litter is a natural habitat for insects, which in turn provides backyard feeding grounds for grubs and insect-eating birds like robins.

How to Attract Robins to Feeders

“We had a flock of robins with us last winter and ate all the berries growing in our area. How do we attract them to the feeders?” asked Birds and Blooms reader Susan Petroch of Millbrook, Ontario.

“Robins aren’t usually feeder guests, but there are a few things you can try,” say bird experts Ken and Kimberly Kaufman. Robins often set up an open tray feeder near one of the berry-producing trees and stock it with raisins, apple slices, or other fruit. Good. You can also give sweets or mealworms.

Flocks of robins become nomadic in winter, but it is normal for them to travel long distances and stop when they find a natural food source. Once they’ve depleted the local berry supply, they’ll probably move on to the next berry crop rather than stick to the feeders.”

Did you know: that Robins also visits for fresh water and bathing?

You can also offer a heated bird bath in the winter to bring these birds into your yard.

Enjoy the picture of cheerful robin birds as you welcome the beauty of spring.

Do robins eat suet? What do robins eat?

What do robins eat? “Is it unusual for robins to like suits? I’ve had one go to my feeder twice a day,” asked reader William Toth of Mechanicsburg, Pennsylvania.

Ken and Kimberly say, “Although people think of robins as strict worm eaters, worms are hard to come by, especially in the winter and fall. Robins are not usually attracted to feeders, but sometimes a person will offer food kits, raisins, suet, or even grape jelly. The supplier will key in the feeder and start watching it regularly.”