No I haven't, but they do like grapes & berries.

I had never heard of feeding jelly to birds until I joined this forum. What kind of feeder do you use?

cjc45,

I just use a heavy ceramic bowl so it won't tip over when they land on it, won't blow off in the wind, and it is easy to clean. I put one on my deck railing and another on a little wooden shelf I made in a tree.

Well, I guess I'll have to forego it for now, the raccoons would get what the squirrels left.

I had a "Robin first" myself.

We were eating lunch on the veranda of the Louisville Zoo African Outpost Restaurant on Monday when my daughter's boyfriend asked, "Is that a Robin behind you picking up crumbs under the table?" I knew he was a non-birder so as I turned around I began explaining that it was probably a House Sparrow, but HE WAS RIGHT-6 ft away a male Robin was scurrying busily around between the table legs picking up crumbs, potato chips, scraps, etc. as fast as he could, stacking them in his beak.

We all stared in amazement for a minute as the Robin continued clearing a clean place on the floor at a frenetic pace, never swallowing anything. Finally I suggested, "Maybe the zoo hired him to clean up the place."
That's exactly what it looked like.

Funny about the Robin, we had a Robin eating peanut butter suet dough this Spring. Never saw that before either. We saw it several times in the suet dish, hasn't been there for awhile now. Maybe the worms were a little scarce at the time.

Donna

I had a Robin develop a taste for white bread this spring. I see them eating cherries often.

I started to put out grapes this year when I had them on hand. Surprisingly, the most common bird I saw eating them were Cardinals.

I have Chickadees that will eat grape jelly and even try to get liquid from the hummingbird feeder. I just put the Oriole feeder back out this week after seeing one in the yard. We'll see who has the sweet tooth.

I also have Robbins eating the Grape Jelly. Also Purple Finches. I have put Grape Jelly out for the Orioles for quite a few years & have never seen this before.

I had a robin last year that came to my grape jelly feeder all the time. He loved the stuff. He also ate some leftover suet that I had put on a plate on the ground because it had gotten too soft. I think robins will try anything lol.

Some friends who live about 4 miles away have Robins eat their grape jelly. My Robins haven't tried it yet, and I'm glad! Rose-breasted Grosbeaks are, so far, the only birds other than Orioles who go for my jelly.

I too have a robin that is consuming ALL the grape jelly and chasing the orioles and all other birds away. Any idea how I can chase it away permanently?

We have seen the same thing this year. We have been feeding the Orioles for a couple of years with Nectar and Orange slices. This is the first year we have put out grape jelly for them. And darned if there isn't a robin(s) that runs them off to get the jelly. Thought robins were mostly bug/worm eaters. Oh well.

Robins really like fruits, too. While I have never seen one eat an orange slice I have seen them eat a number of ornamental and edible fruits like strawberries, cherries, etc. They eat a lot of crab apple and mountain ash fruit in the late-summer-fall and once most other fruit has fallen or been eaten they switch to hawthorn berries which persist through the winter. At my house I only put out oranges for the orioles, I don't like to fuss with jelly and sugar water, but we've got juniper/cedar trees as a windbreak and they are laden with "berries" and filled with robins.

Several years ago, when we lived in an apartment, there was a huge flock of robins and cedar waxwings in the hawthorn trees one day in December or January.

This is the third year I've had a huge Robin eating at my feeders and not on the ground. Very strange and I'm sure the ornithologists are noting all the new Robin behavior.

Today I watched a robin feed its young on my grape jelly feeder. They were there for quite some time. When the parent finally flew away the youngster stayed there, trying to figure out how to get more jelly.

Robins have taken over my jelly as well as the grackle's orioles are far and few

I have also had robins eating the grape jelly . This is a first for me . They were feeding it to the older fledglings in the nest , wh which concerconcerned me. I do think our drought conditions are the reason . I can hard get a shovel in the ground. I still have lots of orioles and finches as well.

Hello I have a Robin eating from the grape jelly right now. They love it. I'm in Ontario Canada and some of the early spring birds need some energy. Not sure if it's the same Robin coming back each year or a new one. It seems to know where the jelly is quickly. The Orioles love it also. I did see some Cardinals eating from it last summer but I read it is not good for them on a daily basis. Too much sugar for Cardinals is not good.