I used to toss orange peels in the yard, then I read robins can't taste sweetness

Joseph Fisher · 2026-10-12T17:00:08.170131+00:00

I figured fruit scraps were a free treat for the robins that hang around my maple in Dayton, so I threw peels out there for two months. Then I read in a Cornell Lab post that most songbirds lack sweet taste buds and mostly go for fruit for the water and bugs inside it, which is why mine ignored the peels and mobbed the birdbath instead. So what scraps actually pull birds into your yard, or am I just feeding the squirrels at this point?

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I used to toss orange peels in the yard, then I read robins can't taste sweetness | Backyard Birding Tips - Topic Shares