Attracting Woodpeckers and Other Suet Loving Birds

Many people offer suet in the hopes of attracting woodpeckers, however, a large number of other birds are also attracted to suet. This includes nuthatches, titmice, chickadees as well as larger birds such as blue jays. Suet is a great food to offer the birds, especially in the winter, as it has a high fat content and provides a quick source of energy to the birds.

Suet can be offered a variety of ways. Suet cages mounted on trees allow larger birds, as well as smaller ones, to feast on the suet. If the larger birds or squirrels are a problem, an up-side down suet feeder may help. This would allow only the birds that can cling up-side down with their feet to reach the suet. Suet can also be smeared into holes drilled in a log feeder or on a dead tree “planted” in your yard.

Suet can be purchased in convenient blocks, ready to be used in suet feeders. These blocks are great to buy in bulk as they are stored at room temperature and you are certain to have them on hand to refill feeders. However, some people prefer to make their own suet blocks. Have fun getting creative with the following recipes and enjoy watching the antics of the birds that visit your suet feeder.

Basic Suet Recipe
Melt one part of rendered lard over low heat. Remove from heat and add 1 part peanut butter and 6 parts cornmeal and/or oatmeal. Add seeds, nuts raisins, and other bird foods. Pour into a square container to about 1 1/2 inches thick. Store the containers in the freezer. These can be used in a suet cage feeder or an up-side down feeder.

Homemade Treat
Mix one part peanut butter, one part rendered lard, 3 parts cornmeal, one part flour and one part finely cracked corn to form a dough. If the mixture is still sticky, add more cornmeal or flour. Smear on pinecones, bark or use to fill holes on a log suet feeder or drilled into a dead tree.

No-Melt Suet Recipe
Melt 1 cup of rendered lard over low heat (do not use suet; the lard is processed and will not spoil, anything else will). Remove from heat and stir in the following ingredients:
1 cup crunchy peanut butter
2 cups quick cook oats
2 cups cornmeal
1 cup whole wheat or white flour
Pour into a square container to about 1 1/2 inches thick. Store the containers in the freezer. These can be used in a suet cage feeder or an up-side down feeder. This recipe will not melt in the summer heat.

Winter Bird Feeding Basics

Feeding wild birds has become an increasingly popular hobby in the United States. While most wild birds can survive just fine without food provided by humans, feeding the birds allows you to observe them at close range in your yard as well as helping them to conserve energy needed for fall migration or winter survival.

What type of seed and feeders are best?

Overall the best birdseed for feeders is black oil sunflower seed. This seed is high in nutritional value and is consumed by a wide variety of birds. Black oil sunflower seed can be offered from a wide variety of feeders including tube feeders, ranch style or hopper feeders, tray feeders and bowl type feeders. The style of feeder you chose will also determine the types of birds that will be able to eat from your feeder.

Other popular types of seed are peanuts, striped sunflower seed, thistle or nyjer seed, finch mixes and mixed birdseed. Each of these types of seed attracts specific birds and is best used with specific feeders. Peanuts, either in or out of their shell are great for attracting jays, woodpeckers, chickadees, titmice and nuthatches. Peanuts can be offered from special wire-screen peanut feeders, hoppers or tray feeders. Striped sunflower seeds are eaten by large birds such as grosbeaks, cardinals and jays and are best offered with hopper or tray type feeders. Nijer seed and finch mixes are eaten by American Goldfinches, House and Purple Finches, Pine Siskins and other small finches. The best way to offer this seed is a tube feeder with small ports commonly called a thistle feeder. Mixed birdseed is best used only in late autumn and winter to avoid feeding English Sparrows, pigeons and blackbirds. Use with tray feeders or scatter the seed on the ground. Many sparrows, finches, cardinals, doves and quail prefer to feed on or near the ground in this manner.

Suet cakes are also an important food source to many birds including woodpeckers, nuthatches, chickadees, titmice and jays. In addition to these common suet feeders many sparrows, mockingbirds, thrashers and even robins and bluebirds will eat suet cakes if they are available in the spring and summer. Offer suet cake in suet cages, which can be free-hanging or mounted to a pole, tree or other object. To prevent European Starlings, jays and other birds from consuming your suet cakes, try an upside down suet feeder. This type of feeder allows access only to woodpeckers, nuthatches, chickadees and titmice, which can hang from the feeder with their strong feet.

Proper Care of Feeders

If you decide to provide seed for the birds, it is very important to keep the feeders clean. Unclean feeders can harbor bacteria that will make the birds sick. Feeders should be cleaned every month with a mild bleach solution (1:10 dilution), rinsed thoroughly with water then allowed to dry completely before being refilled with seed. If you are purchasing new tube feeders, make certain they open easily for cleaning. A long handled brush designed for cleaning bird feeders will help to make the job easier.

By offering a variety of seed and suet in your yard and providing fresh water in heated birdbaths, the birds will in turn reward you with their antics and beauty. Seeing a dozen red cardinals against a fresh white snowfall in winter is quite a sight to behold and helps to keep the winter from feeling so dreary.

To get started feeding the birds, click HERE to purchase a variety of feeders and other products that help make feeding the birds easy.

Attracting Hummingbirds

With the start of spring also comes the spring migration for birds. One of the most popular birds for gardeners are hummingbirds. Click HERE to track the migration of hummingbirds so you know when to expect them in your area and can have your feeder prepared.

Ruby throated hummingbirds will usually return to Wisconsin around Mother’s Day. The following information has some helpful tips about how to attract in the hummingbirds, especially if you have a feeder but have not had much luck getting the hummingbirds to continue visiting your garden.

Hummingbirds are often referred to as “flying jewels” and it is no wonder with their beautiful iridescence. Approximately 20 species can be found throughout North America with only one species (the Ruby Throated hummingbird) commonly found east of the Rocky Mountains. Attracting hummingbirds is easy and will provide both beauty and grace to your garden.

Hummingbirds feed on both tiny insects as well as nectar. They prefer plants with tubular flowers for their nectar source. Hummingbirds are attracted to the color red and the saying “the redder, the better” applies to most hummingbird favorites. Below is a list of selected plants.

American Columbine (Aquilegia canadensis)
Butterfly Bush (Buddleia davidii)
Coralbells (Heuchera sanguinea)
Annual flowers such as Fuschias, Salvias, Petunias

The natural nectar source can also be supplemented with a hummingbird feeder providing sugar water. The standard solution is 1 part white sugar to 4 parts water. Bring the solution to a boil over low heat and boil 2 minutes. Allow to cool and fill feeders. Refrigerate any remaining solution for up to one week. Do NOT use honey, brown sugar or molasses in place of the white sugar as these are harmful to the hummingbirds. Also, it is NOT necessary to add red dye. Some studies show this is harmful and since most hummingbird feeders are red, it is not needed.

Hummingbirds just returning from migration need a quick source of energy. Place feeders near red flowers to help attract in the hummingbirds. Keep the feeders available through the fall for the fall migration. Leaving your feeder out will not keep the hummingbirds from migrating. Remove the feeders after all the hummingbirds have migrated and you do not see any hummingbirds for more than a week. Some hummingbirds, like the Ruby-throated hummingbird, can be very aggressive and territorial so placing several small feeders around your yard will attract more hummingbirds than one large one.

It is essential to keep hummingbird feeders clean. They need to be cleaned two to three times a week in warm weather. Empty the old solution and rinse with water. Add a few grains of uncooked rice and a little vinegar. Swish these around to help clean the inside. A small brush is helpful to clean out any mold that may have started. Discard the rice and vinegar and rinse thoroughly. Add fresh sugar solution and hang back outside.

Whether you attract hummingbirds by providing natural nectar sources through flowers or by supplementing with a feeder, getting the chance to observe these beautiful jewels up close is a wonderful experience.

To help you get started creating a hummingbird haven, click HERE to purchase the hummingbird package at a special price.

Enjoying Eastern Bluebirds

While most people consider the Robin to be the first bird of spring, for me it is the Red-winged blackbird. And with the return of the blackbirds, I know the bluebirds will be returning soon as well. Here in the upper Midwest, Eastern bluebirds start to return in early March and begin searching for nest sites. Now is the time to prepare for their return.

The eastern bluebird is generally found east of the Rocky Mountains to the Eastern seaboard, from southern Canada down to the Caribbean. The Western bluebird is found west of the Rocky Mountains. Their cousin, the Mountain bluebird, is found in some areas of South Dakota.

Less than 30 years ago, the eastern bluebird was considered a rare species in the upper Midwest. Their decline was due to loss of potential nesting sites as well as the widespread use of pesticides. Thanks to the help provided by concerned people, bluebird numbers have increased. By providing nest boxes, you can help the bluebird’s recovery while learning about and enjoying these beautiful birds.

The most important aspect of attracting bluebirds into your garden is being committed to properly maintaining your nest boxes. If you are not committed, you will cause more harm than good. The second consideration is whether you have the right habitat. Bluebirds prefer to breed in wide open areas with scattered trees. However, as their numbers increase, bluebirds have now been found breeding not only in rural areas but also in semi-urban areas as well as in small towns. For best predator protection, the nest boxes should be mounted on 6 to 8 foot pieces of conduit that are set 2 feet into the ground. Bluebirds prefer nest boxes that face east but will nest in boxes facing any direction. Bluebirds are territorial and recommended spacing is 300 feet apart. However, if your space is limited, placing 2 nest boxes 15 to 25 feet apart is the best way to start with attracting bluebirds. Generally, one box will be taken over by a tree swallow pair and one by a bluebird pair. The swallows are very aggressive at defending their nest against predators and in turn, the bluebirds benefit.

The nesting boxes themselves need to be properly designed. BRAW (Bluebird Restoration Association of Wisconsin) recommends using nest boxes that have proven to be highly attractive to bluebirds. These boxes are shallow (4-5” from bottom of hole to nesting platform), narrow (4” x 4” nesting platforms), have an oval opening (1 3/8” x 2 ¼”) and are unvented (vents can be opened after June 1 in areas where black flies are not prevalent). There should be no perches outside of the opening as they are attractive to House Sparrows. Another feature to look for is a convenient way to open the box so that nests can be monitored, without disturbance, and the box can be easliy cleaned.

Once you have nesting boxes in place, you need to monitor them at least once a week. Chickadees, wrens, titmice, swallows and House sparrows will all nest in the boxes. A good guide will help you to recognize the different types of nests. While it is okay leave the nests of other birds, it is critical to discourage House sparrows from nesting. House sparrows are predators of bluebirds and will destroy eggs, as well as killing bluebird nestlings and adults. House sparrows are not protected and their nests and eggs can be destroyed and the adults killed without any legal issues. If bluebirds do nest in your boxes, the nest can be monitored weekly until the eggs have hatched and the nestlings are 14 days old. At this time, the nestlings have become aware of the outside world and could be startled by your presence, causing them to fledge prematurely. Once you are certain the nestlings have fledged on their own, the nest box can be cleaned and prepared for a second or third brood.

Providing a birdbath and offering mealworms will help to entice the bluebirds to your yard. Planting Serviceberries, various fruiting cherries or elderberries will also provide food and cover for both fledgling and adult birds.

Creating even a small bluebird “trail” can be a fun and rewarding way to bring the whole family closer to nature. It does not have to be a large endeavor; even one house will be beneficial to both you and the birds. So, build or buy a house, do a little research and start your own Bluebird recovery program. You’ll be glad you did, as will the birds.