Whether you’re a bird watcher, bird feeder, bird lover, or all of the above — the costs of catering to our feathered friends can quickly add up. However, have you ever heard of the breakfast bell tip? It’s a TikTok bird-feeding trick that your wallet with thank you for. It’s hard to believe how birds can have such an astonishing appetite for such delicate creatures. But as many of you have likely discovered, it’s essential to strike a balance in your feeding regimen, and that is exactly what this trick does.
This TikTok technique calls on you to take a small allocated amount of birdseed and put that out into your birdfeeder daily. This will condition your birds to expect food from you and consistently return. But here is where this trick takes it to the next level of bird psychology — the key is to make sure you provide the seeds at the same time every day. What this will do is condition your birds to expect food from you and consistently return every day at that time. By coming to eat a small amount of selected food at your feeder at a specific time, they don’t recklessly chow down and blow it all away. Who would have thought those wild birds could follow a schedule?
The price of bird feeding
@debaundan
The breakfast bell tip can help you save money on bird seed! #birds #birdfeeding #birdwatching #outdoors #hobby #birdseed #fyp #birding
♬ original sound – Dan DeBaun
In contrast, when randomizing your feeding schedule, you lose bird-watching time and, worse yet, bird food. With inflation and the relentless economy, who can afford a 20-pound bag of medium sunflower birdseed at $40 a pack? The cost has increased 20 percent since 2024, and prices continue to rise due to increased transportation costs and a dry growing season, per CBC.
The best thing to do is to try practicing that breakfast bell tip and save where you can. This is the price many bird lovers must pay to see those fledglings fed and chirping happily outside their windows. However, if bird food is ever tight, you could use some food scraps as a backup from your kitchen until you get your next pack of birdseed. You can feed them cooked rice or pasta (cooked or raw) so long as you break it up small enough for them to eat. You can even provide them with soft fruit like various berries, bruised bananas, grapes, oranges, apples, and more. Remember, by practicing the ‘breakfast bell tip’ from TikTok, your feathered friends will return regularly without exhausting resources and instead balancing your heart and budget. So stick to a routine, and enjoy the view.
