Basic Suet

Female Downy Woodpecker enjoying home made suet
by Grandma Pearl

Basic Homemade Suet is easy to make and more economical than buying commercial suet cakes.  Plus, you can be sure there are no harmful additives if you make it yourself.

You can find suet or beef fat trimmings at your local butcher shop, usually at a drastically reduced price.  Or, you can trim the fat from meat you cook yourself--save the fat scraps in a container and keep refrigerated until you are ready to render them.

Wild bird supply stores carry plain suet cakes that have already been rendered.  These can be used without any additions, or you can supplement them with bits of fruit, seeds or nutmeats to please your backyard birds.

If you choose to make your own suet from fat trimmings, here is the process:

1.  Cut the fat into small pieces, or use a food processor or meat grinder.
2.  In a deep saucepan, melt the fat OVER LOW HEAT.  Don't rush this step!  It is better to do this slowly than to risk a fire!  Treat it with respect as you do any cooking oil or other fat on the stove.
3.  Once the fat is completely melted, pour it slowly and carefully into molds or other containers.  Remember that the unmolded product will need to fit into your particular suet feeders.
4.  Allow to cool and then refrigerate for several hours.  Refrigeration causes the fat to solidify so it can be handled more easily.
5.  If you decide to add other ingredients to the suet, do that before pouring the suet into containers. 

These are some of the ingredients that I like to add:

• small pieces of nuts like peanuts, pecans or walnuts
• black oil sunflower seed
• peanut butter
• cracked corn or corn meal
• oats, wheat or white flour
• raisins, apple or other small fruit pieces, currants

Some of the birds that visit my suet feeders:

titmice, nuthatches, chickadees, woodpeckers

Grandma Pearl

More Homemade Bird Food:
Peanut Butter Treat
Pine Cone Bird Feeder
Mini Pumpkin Bird Feeder
Surprising Alternative Bird Foods
Best Suet Feeder

Learn More About:
Downy Woodpeckers
Hairy Woodpeckers
Red-Bellied Woodpeckers

Black Capped Chickadees
White-Breasted Nuthatches

Favorite Bird Feeders

A variety of birds enjoying a variety of bird feeders.
Image by Grandma Pearl

Some of My Happy Birds!

There are 5 birds in my picture above; can you find them all?  (Hint-the head is not visible on one of them.)

By the way, my bird feeder 'post' is actually an old speed bag holder my husband found alongside the road.  He thought he would eventually buy a new speed bag and use it, but I had other ideas!  It worked perfectly to hold a variety of feeders, and it has a heavy enough base so there is no danger it will fall over in the wind. My husband actually thought I was quite clever!  Evidently, he wasn't all that keen on using it himself after all.

I have several more feeders in another part of the yard, but these seem to be the favorite for many of my birds.  Instead of suet or peanut butter plugs, I use an offset spatula (the kind used for spreading cake icing) to fill the holes of the cedar suet log

(Suet Log Bird Feeder) with chunky peanut butter.  It was a hit from day 1!

The metal mesh feeder (No/No Red Seed Ball Wild Bird Feeder - RSB00343)

fills from the top and is also extremely popular with the smaller birds in my yard.  I have to fill it every 3 days!  They enjoy clinging to the mesh and swinging back and forth as birds land and fly off the round feeder.  I have also used these in my bird feeder wreaths, which keep the birds from colliding with my front windows.

And then there is the suet holder.  There is always at least one bird working at the suet.  It might be a woodpecker or a chickadee, a nuthatch or a titmouse.  It is occupied from dawn to dusk, especially in the colder weather.  All these feeders are inexpensive and draw a variety of birds to my yard in all seasons.

When there is fresh snow on the ground, I enjoy tossing sunflower seeds out for my ground feeding birds.  It's a joy to watch them gather and feed where I can observe them at close range.

Goldfinches and juncos searching in the snow for sunflower seeds.
Image by Grandma Pearl

Gold finches and juncos are the first ones on the scene;  they snatch up the seeds on the freshly fallen snow but never seem to have any squabbles among themselves.  It's not a good idea to scatter seeds on the ground if you have outdoor cats that might prey on your birds.

I plan on making a snowman when we have enough wet snow.  Then I'll add a dish to hold bird seeds and watch as my backyard birds have fun with their newest feeder!

Goldfinches are among the many birds that enjoy tube style seed feeders.
image by Grandma Pearl

This tube style feeder (Aspects 392 Quick-Clean Seed Tube Feeder, Medium - Brushed Nickel) in another part of the yard is always popular with goldfinches, titmice, chickadees, and purple finches.  In the cold months I fill it with a combination of black oil sunflower seeds and a fruit and nut mixture I found at the local tractor supply store.  That mixture also contains a little gravel to help the birds digest their food. 

My snow-covered bench--Guess I won't be sitting there anytime soon!
Image by Grandma Pearl

The more variety of feeders and types of food, the larger the variety of birds you will attract.  Also, don't forget to provide unfrozen water in your bird bath.  Those birds get thirsty and need to drink and bathe all year round, not just in the warmer months.  

Grandma Pearl

Best Feeders for Winter Birds
How Do Birds Stay Warm?
Myths About Wild Birds
Easy Ways to Provide Water in the Winter 

Identifying Birds

One of My Favorite Birds

Male Hairy Woodpecker
by Grandma Pearl

Need a cool birding app?  Check out:  iKnowBirdSongs.com to download.  15% of all sales go to the Cornell Lab of Ornithology to support their very important bird research.  In return, you can easily learn to identify your favorite birds by hearing their calls and songs on your PC or mobile device.

 Do you have a life list? 
I started mine many, many years ago.  But it is limited to my own region.  If someday I get a chance to travel, I will definitely go to places where a variety of birds are present.  Alternatively, birding festivals are a chance to see migratory birds you may never see anywhere else.  There's probably one near you--Here's the link to a list of birding opportunities:
www.birdwatchersdigest.com

Upcoming Birding Festival:

Festival of the Cranes in Socorro, New Mexico

Dates:  11-19 through 11-24-13

Where:  Bosque del Apache National Wildlife Refuge

Contact:  www.FestivaloftheCranes.com

I Recommend:

Peterson Field Guide to Birds of North America

It is filled with colorful illustrations of birds, grouped together with similar species, and well organized for easy reference. This is a combination of both the Peterson Guide to Birds of Eastern U.S. and Western U.S.  Range Maps are included, and the illustrations are large to make bird identification simple and fun.   I love this book, and refer to it often.

Grandma Pearl

What is a Bird Festival?

Baby Downy Woodpeckers

Red-Bellied Woodpeckers

Downy Woodpecker Youngsters

Young Downy Woodpecker has just left the nest.
by Grandma Pearl

Mama Downy Woodpecker has been showing her fledglings where the bird feeders are.  I have enjoyed watching them interact as the babies beg for food.  Mama dutifully pulls a seed out of the feeder and flies to the branch where her little one waits.  She sometimes lands on the branch several feet from her youngster, presumably to coax it to come to her rather than the other way around.

Baby Downy Woodpecker on the left, waits for its parent (on the right) to feed it.
By Grandma Pearl

 

Both a male and a female baby Downy woodpecker have made short, insecure flights around and near the feeders.  They seem to prefer a small tree behind the feeders at the edge of the woods.  (Although I have seen them clinging to the edge of one of the feeders.)  There they can watch how their Mom flies to and lands on the feeder, picks out just the right sunflower seed, and flies to a tree to open up the shell.   

Baby Downys use a high-pitched ‘begging’ call to let their mother know they want to be fed.  This will go on for about a week or so, then she will decide that despite their pleas she must let them start fending for themselves.  Watching nearby, she will make sure there are no predators in the area.  

Female Baby Downy Woodpecker practices her landings!
by Grandma Pearl

If a hawk should appear overhead, she will become motionless.  As a defense mechanism this works quite well.  Predator birds rely on their keen eyesight to detect motion of possible prey in the area.  The baby woodpeckers instinctively follow their mother’s lead, and freeze in place until she indicates it is safe to move again. 

 

Male Downy Woodpecker Fledgling clings to the edge of
the bird feeder.
by Grandma Pearl

As the days go by, the young Downy Woodpeckers will become as proficient at flying from tree to tree as their parents.  It just takes practice; and it helps that the parents keep watch over them as they develop into self-sufficient juveniles, and then progress to adulthood.  

The whole family will remain here year round ridding my trees and shrubs of destructive insects.  I show my appreciation by feeding them through every season; and offering suet and mealworms when colder weather settles in.  I’m glad to see the newest generation learning how to survive and thrive!

Grandma Pearl

How to Keep Woodpeckers from Ruining Your House

Cute little Female Baby Downy Woodpecker,
by Grandma Pearl

Red-Bellied Woodpeckers

Rustic Bird Houses for Woodpeckers

Red-Bellied Woodpecker

The Red-Bellied Woodpeckers are very active at the feeders right now.  Every time I put some day-old bread out, they are there with bells on! 

This is a photo of one of the male Red-Bellied Woodpeckers that frequent my woods.  You can't miss their 'kwirr, kwirr' call as they swoop in for sunflower seeds.  All the other birds scatter in the wake of this impressive and handsome 9 1/2" bird.  

I see them year round because I feed them year round.  In the wintertime I hang suet cakes and peanut butter log feeders for them to enjoy.

Female Red-Bellied Woodpecker
by Grandma Pearl

This is a photo I took just recently that clearly shows the 'zebra' back of the Red-Bellied Woodpecker.  That young white birch tree is one of their favorites, as you can see from all the tiny 'seed' holes in the bark.  It's not far from the feeders.

Red-Bellied Woodpeckers, as well as Hairy and Downy Woodpeckers, use these holes when they eat sunflower seeds.  They wedge the seed in and bang it into tiny edible pieces.

Female Red-Bellied Woodpecker clinging to White Birch tree
by Grandma Pearl

   

You can tell the difference between male and female, or juvenile, Red-Bellied Woodpeckers by looking at the top of their heads.  If the head is red on top, it is a male.  This is an adult female red-bellied woodpecker with no red on the top of her head.

A juvenile would have a brown head with no red on the top.

Once in a while I catch sight of the rosey blush on the stomach of these wonderful birds.

Woodpecker tree where Red-Bellied Woodpeckers excavate and fill food storage holes.
by Grandma Pearl

Red-Bellied Woodpeckers make rows of holes in which to store their seeds, nuts and wild fruits.

'Zebrabacks' as they are also known, are found more commonly in the south, but have expanded their range to include Michigan, New York and parts of New England.  I'm grateful for that, not only for their beauty but for their voracious appetite for beetles, caterpillars, ants and grasshoppers!

 Short Video of Red-Bellied Woodpecker excavating a nest cavity; and vocalizing.

Grandma Pearl

Hairy Woodpeckers

 

Male Red-Bellied Woodpecker Enjoying Seeds and Nuts for Breakfast!
by Grandma Pearl

Female Red-Bellied Woodpecker in her favorite tree.
by Grandma Pearl

More Red-Bellied Woodpecker Pics. . .

Happy Easter!

On this overcast Easter Day my birds are busily flying back and forth to and from the feeders; chickadees, nuthatches, titmice, woodpeckers, juncos and blue jays, as well as red polls and gold finches.  I can't wait for the gold finches to shed their winter coats and don their bright yellow sunshine feathers. 

Goldfinches on Tube Feeder
photo by Grandma Pearl

Yes, spring is on its way even if the temperature is below average and the sun chose not to shine today.  The birds seem not to care a bit.  The robins are calling for rain, which is in the forecast by the way; the nuthatches are combing the trees and the Little Brown Creeper haltingly works its way upward, spiraling around the tree in search of a juicy meal.

I heard the dawn chorus yesterday morning, for the first time this year. I'm thinking the birds know something I don't, so my hopes are for a real change in the weather coming soon! 

Crocus photographed by Grandma Pearl

HAPPY EASTER!

Grandma Pearl

Little Brown Creeper

15 Myths About Wild Birds

Nuthatches, Little Devil Down Birds

Log Cabin Bird House with Stone Chimney
from rusticbarnwoodbirdhouses.com

Downy Woodpecker Playing Peekaboo With Me!

On this day there was a downy woodpecker playing peekaboo around the tree with me.  Any other time it would have been perched on the suet feeder chipping away at the suet.  View my one minute video by clicking on the arrow in the center of the picture. 

                                           


                                                                                                                                                                                     How to keep Woodpeckers from Damaging Your House

Male Downy Woodpecker Enjoying Suet

Learning Who's Boss!

Young Hairy Woodpecker has made it to the bird feeder all by itself.  However, other birds are quick to shoo it away.  So Hairy retreats to a nearby tree trunk, its old familiar safe place.  As the bird feeder clears out, Hairy tries again, and is quickly rebuffed when another bird sweeps in and pushes it aside.  Back to the old familiar tree trunk, but this time Hairy is rewarded when he/she finds a tasty insect!


Hairy is learning that there is a hierarchy in the bird world that has to be followed.  He/she is also learning that patience can be a virtue.  There's also the revelation that there are other food sources besides the seeds at the bird feeder!  Finally, the bird feeder is free of other birds long enough for Hairy to grab a seed and fly back to its favorite oak tree trunk.


Hairy's parent flies in and lands on a nearby tree trunk, and young Hairy quickly flies over to greet Mom or Pop.  The familiar "please feed me" cry is uttered, but this time Hairy's parent does not respond with food.  The only response is a disinterested glance at the sky. Hairy continues to plead, but is refused each time.  It's a hard lesson, but a necessary one.  The automatic feeding machine has been unplugged!  Hairy is now on its own, and will  have to learn all the tricks of the trade by watching Mom and Pop searching under tree bark and hammering away at probable insect sources.


Good Luck Hairy!

Grandma Pearl
Natural Ways to Keep Woodpeckers from Damaging Your House

Hairy Woodpecker Youngsters

While I was observing the blue jay family dynamic posted below, I realized that a hairy woodpecker family was undergoing the same feeding rituals.  Mom and Pop hairy woodpecker were grabbing seeds from the tray feeder and flying to a nearby oak tree trunk.  There a waiting youngster nervously circled the trunk in jerking motions, while uttering a high-pitched ‘chick’ sound.

The parents tried many times to lure the young hairy woodpecker to the feeder, to no avail.  Young hairy refused to budge from the safety of that nearby oak tree trunk.  It did retreat into the woods further at times, clinging nervously to the trunks of other trees.  Its natural survival instinct is overpowering right now.

As of this morning, the parents of young hairy are still doing their best to keep it fed and happy.  All the while they are continuing the routine so as to bolster hairy’s confidence.

Eventually the youngsters will overcome their natural instincts and become confident enough to approach the feeder and feed themselves.  After all, it took a long time to entice them to leave the safety of the nest they had called home.  And even more time for them to become used to actually flying short distances on their own.

It’s a big step to venture out on your own in such a big world.   As they practice flying longer distances each time, they will find their self assurance and in turn their self reliance.  In many ways, birds and humans share these things in common.  I guess that is why I find wild birds so fascinating.

Grandma Pearl

June 24, 2011
Tips to Keep Woodpeckers From Damaging Your House