Happy New Year ! Here at our new house we have the pleasure of whiling away the cold winter days by watching the birds feed just outside our dining room window. We have set up several different feeders, to attract a wide variety , from flickers and woodpeckers, the stellars jays seen here, to little chickadees and so on.Feeding them is easy... watching them, even easier.
Although a feeder full of seeds is great, the big guys love it if you spread pine cones with lard or peanut butter and roll them in bird seed. ( a great project for kids) then hang them in those orange mesh onion bags. The fat helps them stay warm through the bitter cold winter weather.
My aunt Nancy told me today that the jays LOVE whole peanuts with the shells still on too !
My latest experiment though was to make our own suet. Working on a beef farm I have easier access than usual to beef fat but I'm sure any beef cutter would be happy to save it for you. I took big bags of kidney fat ( Suet) chopped it into stew sized pieces, then rendered it down in a large pot (OUTSIDE on the BBQ as it's really stinky !!!) start it with a chunk of lard melted on the bottom of the pot first so it doesn't stick, then melt slowly so it doesn't stick, for several hours, stirring often. When liquid pour into bread pans lines with foil, stir on some bird seed or millet and let it get solid again by placing in freezer or outside ( if you don't have any interested dogs around ) then slice it into blocks that fit in your suet cage or use the mesh onion bags. Your bird friends will love ya !
