Attracting Birds to Your Yard

Like people, birds eat a variety of different foods. They will dine on fruit one day and belly up to the birdfeeder the next. Later on that day, they may be seen hanging from a suet feeder. Variety is important in a bird's diet, but like people, birds have their preferences.

Avant Garden 8501-3 Cottage Lantern Bird Feeder

No/No C00322 Red Cardinal Feeder

Suet is another popular offering in backyard feeders. Suet is raw beef or mutton fat, especially the fat found around the loins and kidneys. Our ancestors used it to make tallow for candles and soap. It was also used to make the pastry for steamed steak and kidney pie. I use it for bird food.

Suet is an essential winter food. It provides the energy needed to help keep the birds warm. It is solid at room temperature, so as long as the weather remains cool, all you have to do is put out the raw fat. In warmer weather, using the raw fat is risky. Fat has a relatively low melting point and can turn rancid in a matter of days. Using cakes of rendered suet is a better choice. Suet cakes can be purchased commercially or you can make your own.

Ingredients:
1/2 cup of lard
1/2 cup of peanut butter
6 cups corn meal

Put the lard and peanut butter in a pan. Cook it just until it melts.
After it melts, take it off the stove and stir in the corn meal. It does take alot of corn meal. Add more if necessary. The right consistency would be when it sticks together so you can put it in the holes in the log.

You don't want the mixture too dry or you will have a mess when putting it in the holes but you don't want it too moist.

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Place your Birdfeeder in a quiet, yet convenient spot that has year-round access. It will need to be refilled regularly, even when the weather is bad. Another thing to consider is visibility. Birdfeeders are as much for our benefit as it is for the birds. I'm a bird watcher. I want to see the birdfeeder when I glance out the window.

While visibility is a consideration, there are other things that come into play when selecting the perfect spot for your birdfeeder. It should be placed near natural cover such as trees or shrubs. That will give the birds a place to hide when predators such as cats and raccoons wander into the yard. Evergreens offer excellent year-round shelter. While nearby shelter is good, don't place the birdfeeder too close to the trees and shrubs. Cats will use a tree as a jump-off point and turn your favorite warbler into a midmorning snack.

Another thing to consider are the squirrels. Sometimes I think gaining access to a birdfeeder is the squirrel's lifetime occupation. They will go to great lengths in their efforts to claim the birdfeeder as their own. Your best option is to place the birdfeeder about 4 yards from any tree or obstacle and at least six to eight feet off the ground. Another option in dealing with the pesky squirrels is to give them their own feeding ground. They love dried corncobs and watching their antics can be entertaining.

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Birdfeeders need a thorough scrubbing at least once per season. Seed can become moldy and spoil, and a variety of diseases can grow in moldy, wet seed. Take the feeders down and dump out any remaining seed. Scrub them thoroughly with a cleaning solution using hot water. Rinse repeatedly to make sure all the cleaning solution has been removed. Feeders with nonmetal parts can then be dipped in a mild bleach solution and then rinsed again. The bleach solution will help retard the growth of bacteria. Allow the birdfeeder to dry thoroughly before refilling.

Cleaning the area beneath the birdfeeder is another important factor in maintaining a healthy feeding environment. Birds are messy eaters. Decomposing hulls and bird droppings can kill your grass and harbor harmful bacteria. I usually rake the area beneath the feeder weekly rather than allowing the mess to build up. Nothing is more frustrating than to have corn and sunflowers sprouting in your grass.

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