Crab apples are a tasty treat that many backyard birds love. Offering crab apples is an easy way to supplement birds’ diets and attract new feathered friends to your yard. But which birds eat crab apples? And what’s the best way to serve them up? Let’s explore the wonderful world of feeding crab apples to birds!
An Overview of Crabapple Trees
Crabapples are in the same genus as domestic apple trees, Malus. Crabapples, on the other hand, are usually much smaller and only grow to be 15 to 30 feet tall. They are native to North America, Europe, and Asia. The fruits look like small apples and are usually less than 2 inches across. They are too sour and bitter for people to eat, but they are great for birds.
There are over 100 different crabapple species and cultivated varieties In yards and gardens, they are commonly grown as ornamental trees for their spring blossoms and fall fruit display. Crabapples grown for fruiting will attract more birds than strictly ornamental non-fruiting cultivars.
Why Birds Love Crabapples
There are several key reasons crabapples rate so highly as a bird food source:
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Healthy: The fruits are full of sugars that give birds quick energy. They also have many vitamins and antioxidants.
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Plentiful – A mature crabapple tree can produce hundreds to thousands of fruits creating a readily available food bonanza.
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Persistent – Unlike many fruits, crabapples often cling to the branches well into winter, offering vital nourishment when food can be scarce.
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Attracts insects – Birds flock to fruiting trees to feed not just on the fruit but all the associated insects drawn in.
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Small size – The tiny fruits are perfect bite-sized portions for many bird species. Much easier for them to eat than a full size apple.
This winning combination makes crabapple trees a magnet for hungry birds in late summer through winter.
What Birds Frequent Crabapple Trees
A lot of different kinds of birds like crabapples, especially as winter approaches. Some top crabapple connoisseurs include:
- American robin
- Cedar waxwing
- Northern cardinal
- Blue jay
- Eastern bluebird
- Gray catbird
- Northern mockingbird
- Evening grosbeak
- Purple finch
- Pine grosbeak
- Yellow-rumped warbler
- Downy woodpecker
Larger predatory birds may also visit crabapple trees hoping to snag smaller birds and mammals stopping by for a meal. Hawks, owls, and eagles are among the birds of prey that appreciate fruiting trees as hunting grounds.
When Do Birds Eat Crab Apples?
Crabapples ripen in late summer to early fall, providing a vital food source for migratory birds bulking up for their journeys. Birds continue feeding on the fruits well into winter. The sweet fleshy part is eaten first, then birds will return to nibble the leftover shriveled fruits when other foods are scarce.
During spring and summer, birds are less interested in crabapples. There is more natural food available like insects, berries, seeds, and nectar. But they remember these fruiting trees and return to feast again in fall.
To attract the most birds, it’s ideal to have a variety of fruiting trees and shrubs that ripen at different times. Crabapples are a key late season contributor in this succession of natural bird foods.
How to Offer Crab Apples to Backyard Birds
If you want to supplement your backyard birds’ diets with crab apples, here are some tips:
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Leave fallen fruits under trees instead of cleaning them up. Birds will scavenge the ground for them.
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Skewer halves or slices on branches, stakes, or special fruit feeders.
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Chop in a food processor and mix with suet. Stuff into mesh suet feeders.
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Dice into smaller pieces and place in platform feeders or bowl feeders.
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Impale on a spike through a fence. Birds can perch and peck.
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String whole fruits onto sturdy thread and drape around trees/shrubs.
Offering crab apples in various ways will satisfy different bird species and their feeding preferences.
Planting Crabapple Trees to Attract Birds
Adding a fruiting crabapple tree or two to your landscape is a great way to provide natural food for neighborhood birds.
When selecting varieties, look for those that produce an abundance of smaller fruits, as these are easiest for birds to feed on. Cold-hardy, disease-resistant types like ‘Red Jewel’, ‘Sugar Tyme’, and ‘Adirondack’ are good choices for much of the country.
If you have a small yard, choose dwarf crabapples that you can trim to 6 to 8 feet tall. These can be grown in containers too. Espaliering against a fence is another space-saving option.
Go organic to avoid exposing birds to any potentially harmful chemicals. And be sure to provide a water source like a bird bath.
Crabapples Offer More Than Food
While birds relish crabapple fruits, the trees also support birds in other ways:
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Dense branching provides shelter and nesting sites.
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Flowers offer nectar for hummingbirds and orioles.
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Pollen and foliage attract insect prey.
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Bark crevices offer winter roosts and nest cavities for small birds.
So adding a fruiting crabapple or two creates an excellent backyard habitat for a variety of bird species.
Combining Crab Apples With Other Bird Foods
Although birds eagerly eat crab apples, it’s important to provide a balanced diet. Here are some other foods to include:
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Nut and seed mixes provide protein and fat.
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Suet cakes offer high-energy fat.
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Mealworms and fruit provide live food.
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Nectar feeds hummingbirds.
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Peanut butter treats are a favorite of woodpeckers, chickadees, titmice, and nuthatches.
Varying food throughout the seasons will keep backyard birds well-fed and healthy all year long.
The Appeal of Crab Apples for Backyard Birds
With their naturally small size and sweet-tart flavor, crab apples are tailored perfectly to bird tastes. These fruiting trees provide a nutritious and delicious treat that a diverse range of bird species can’t resist. Their persistence into winter makes them a vital food source when insects and other foods are scarce.
By planting crabapples and offering the fruits in creative ways, you can attract more birds to your backyard. Combine with other feeders and bird-friendly plantings to create an appealing habitat. Then relax and enjoy the sight of colorful birds feasting on fresh crab apples right outside your window!
Other Plants That Will Attract Birds to Your Yard in Winter
- Mountain Ash: The orange-red berries of mountain ash will add some winter color to your yard. Cedar waxwings and many other birds love them. If the birds don’t eat them before then, the berries will last until late winter.
- Winterberry: This plant has red or orange berries that can last until spring if birds don’t eat them first.
- Juniper: Juniper berries are used to add flavor to gin, and winter birds eat them. The juniper tree is a hardy evergreen that will add much-needed greenery to your yard in the winter.
- Barberry: The barberry is a low-maintenance shrub with red, orange, yellow, and purple leaves that turn yellow and orange in the fall. After the leaves fall, the tree’s red berries stay for birds to eat all winter.
the day I picked crab apples for goose. do they feed ? December 29, 2024
FAQ
What animals like to eat crab apples?
They are small deciduous trees that blossom in spring and provide an important and reliable early food source for honeybees, mason bees, and bumblebees. Jan 7, 2025.
Do squirrels eat crab apples?
Yes, squirrels do eat crab apples. They are known to consume the fruit, even though some varieties may be bitter.
What eats crabapple?
Apple & Crabapple InsectsAphids: Aphids are a fairly common problem on apples. Mites: Two-spotted spider mites (Tetranychus urticae) and European red mites (Panonychus ulmi) can be serious pests of apples. Japanese Beetle: The Japanese beetle (Popillia japonica) adults feed on the leaves during June and July.
Do hummingbirds like crab apple trees?
Planting a crab apple tree will bring pretty pink or white spring blooms to your outdoor space. And, according to Dave Sheridan of Ascension Tree Care, they can be a great choice for attracting hummingbirds throughout most of the United States. Tommy Wylde, a wildlife expert, also recommends these small backyard trees.
Do birds eat crabapples?
The messy crabapple varieties bear relatively large and juicy fruits. Birds peck at them, but never swallow them: they’re too big. Because of the fruits’ weight, they fall readily from the tree and cover the ground with a slippery mess. When it comes to small-fruited crabs, just let the birds do all the work! Photo: Dave Maslowski, audubon. org.
Do birds eat apples?
Birds that eat apples include buntings, cardinals, grosbeaks, mockingbirds, thrashers, waxwings, wrens. The crabapple is North American’s only native apple. But you may grow apple trees and leave some fruit on the tree for birds in winter. Old apples that are going bad can be eaten by birds, but you can also cut up ripe apples and put them on your bird feeder.
What birds eat fruit?
Thrushes (including robins and bluebirds), tanagers, thrashers, orioles, jays, mockingbirds, woodpeckers and others will eat fruits. Some birds thought of as seed eaters will enjoy fruit, too. Western Tanager eating an orange. What backyard birds eat fruit? What kinds of birds eat fruit? Birds that eat primarily fruit are termed frugivorous.
Do crabapples eat a tree in winter?
In fact, small crabapples usually persist throughout much of the winter (for a very nice effect on a background of white snow, by the way!). Most of the time, birds visit the tree at the end of winter, when the crabapples are sweetest (cold slowly turns their starches into sugars). They eat the tiny crabapples whole.
Do birds eat golden raindrops Crabapple?
Golden Raindrops® Crabapple has abundant clusters of tiny, golden-yellow fruits that are eaten by birds in fall. Trees that have delayed softening and provide bird food in late fall and into mid-winter include: Malus ‘Prairifire’, Malus ‘Mary Potter’, Malus x zumi ‘Calocarpa’, Malus ‘Profusion’, and Malus ‘Anne E’.
Can birds eat fruit if it goes bad?
Perhaps more than other foods you may feed birds, fruit will go bad fast. Be prepared to remove it from your feeder when it goes bad. This is why it may be good to freeze excess fruit and only put out as much fruit as the birds will eat in a day or two.