Make Your Own Suet and Feed the Birds!

Buy a chunk of fat- beef is usually what I find available- from the local grocery store. It's very inexpensive.

I Chop it up because it melts better, but that's your choice, and melt over low heat- fat has a low burning point. Add any other grease (such as bacon grease) that you might have saved. A Lot of chunks will remain, and you can strain them out or leave them.
By the way, you can just put the store bought fat into a mesh bag or wire feeder as it is. It's okay to skip all the fun of melting and mixing if you don't have the time, but don't do it in hot weather.

You can use suet in summer, but it's best to use the special store bought, "no melt" kind.

Bears could be a problem as the weather warms, if you live in bear country.

Once the fat has cooled a bit, start adding whatever your birds seem to enjoy eating the best.

In my area of the Northeastern US, that means the Woodpeckers- Downy & Hairy, Chickadee and Nuthatch. These are the birds I see frequenting my suet feeder.

Woodpeckers especially love suet and since the other birds eat sunflower seeds, peanuts and various seeds, and Woodpeckers like to eat bugs, which are pretty hard to come by in the depths of winter, I primarily gear my suet making to the needs of the Woodpecker.

Here are some examples of what I add (and I never measure, just mix in whatever you have until it looks good). Remember that the suet will harden in the refrigerator.

**After the fat and bacon grease (if you have it) are melted, stir in some peanut butter. A couple of big spoonfuls should be enough.

**Now you should add something to hold it together, like bread, breadcrumbs, cornmeal, crackers, flour, etc.

I save old bread, muffins, rolls, pancakes, and any baked goods and store them in baggies in the freezer, and use them for adding to my suet mix. (This is how I save a little money and stretch my bird food budget. I also feel good about not being wasteful.)

I like to throw in some old cereal, granola bars, raisins, popcorn or peanuts if I have them.
Whatever the suet eating birds don't want will fall to the ground and be eaten by other birds or squirrels.

I don't add seeds to my suet mix because I have plenty of other feeders for seeds and I want my suet to be just what it's suppose to be-tasty fat.

You have many choices for molding your suet cakes. Last year I simply let the mixture cool and plopped spoonfuls onto wax paper and froze them in freezer bags.

Most suet feeders I've seen take basically the same size suet and I've found that using an 8x8 or 9x9 foil, or aluminum, cake pan I can let it harden and then cut the piece into quarters which fit the feeders perfectly.

Wrap the extra pieces in saran wrap - separately- and store in a freezer bag in the freezer. When you need to re-fill the feeders there is no need to thaw it first.

Become part of a scientific study of bird populations and trends by joining Project FeederWatch.

For a small fee - I believe it's around $15, and includes a research kit and identification poster- you can join the thousands of people who count birds species in their backyards and submit the data to FeederWatch by mail or internet.

The folks at Cornell University collect the data from all over the US and Canada from November through April, each year, and use this information to study our bird population.

One of my favorite things to do, is check out the map of count sites. When you become a member you will be able to see your own area of the country and compare your counts with some of your neighbors.

For example one year I had a Carolina Wren hang out in my yard all winter. I live in New Hampshire and that bird is not a regular visitor to feeders in my area. I could go to the map and see who else had been seeing that same type of bird - if anyone- in my neck of the woods. (By the way, that Wren- loved Smartfood popcorn so I had to keep a supply just for him all winter).

Project FeederWatch is a lot of fun, easy to do, and educational. What a great way to get your kids involved in science and for all of us to appreciate and significantly help our feathered friends.