Provide wild birds with hanging food is an easy and rewarding way to attract various species to your garden. Select a feeder style appropriate to attract the bird species you seek and place it where it will remain safe from predators.
Example of thistle (nyjer) feeders designed with perches above their feeding ports that deter squirrels while drawing goldfinches and pine siskens into your garden. By hanging multiple feeders at different heights, multiple species can be fed simultaneously without overcrowding.
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Suet
Suet provides high energy fat that birds depend on during winter. You can offer it in purchased cages or homemade hangers high enough to prevent squirrels from accessing it (or use a suet feeder with baffles).
Suet is the crumbly fat from around the kidneys of steers and heifers, usually rendered into beef tallow. Although raw suet may be consumed directly, its shelf life quickly diminishes once temperatures above freezing have been exceeded; rendered forms last much longer.
Suet attracts a variety of seed-eating birds such as woodpeckers, chickadees, flickers, nuthatches, titmice, cardinals and wrens; it may also draw insectivorous birds such as robins and warblers. Be patient as it may take the birds a few days to discover your offering – vegetable shortening, vegetable suet (veg suet is best), chilled beef tallow/chicken fat/schmaltz/lard are great alternative suet substitutes which can all be grated/chopped finely before using; when fresh ingredients need be refrigerated/frozen until brittle before use.
Peanut Butter Pudding
Peanut butter is a favorite among wild birds, making it easy to transform this tasty treat into bird food. Suet is traditionally used during winter to draw woodpeckers and larger species to your feeder; but whole or crushed peanuts can also serve as year-round food sources as an alternative to sunflower or nyjer (also called niger) seeds.
Mix one part peanut butter with five parts seed mix and stuff into pine cone crevices or log holes drilled for birds like chickadees, titmice and other small species who love nuts. This all-season mix serves as an excellent replacement for suet in summer feeders and brings new visitors, including warblers and other colorful songbirds to your feeders!
Make chocolate peanut butter pudding using this simple eggless recipe for a delicious sweet treat! All it requires are milk, cocoa powder and peanut butter – whisk all the ingredients together then heat over a medium flame, stirring regularly until thickened.
Fruit
Fruit is an ideal addition to a wild bird hanging food offering, even bruised or overripe fruit such as apples, pears, plums can be eaten by birds. Also beneficial are watermelons, pumpkins, squashes and cantaloupe rinds which provide high protein/high-fat energy sources; watermelons cantaloupes provide high energy foods; while native shrub berries such as holly, mulberries and common chokecherry provide energy as well as essential nutrition to hungry species.
Chopping or diced fruits to place in a platform feeder, suet cage or hanging from a tree can quickly attract an assortment of birds. Dried fruits such as raisins and cranberries should first be soaked to increase their appeal to birds. Commercial mixes designed specifically for hopper and platform feeders such as “nut, fruit & berry” mixes may be purchased; or you could mix your own using melted suet/lard combined with seeds/nuts/dried fruits/oatmeal/cheese for a more personalized mix!
Seed
Seeds are mature ovules fertilized by pollination that contain an embryo or miniature undeveloped plant as well as food reserves protected by a seed coat. Once germinated and developed into an independent flowering plant, these seeds will produce more seeds which continue the cycle of reproduction.
Make your own bird feeders by gathering supplies such as a pine cone with flared-out scales, natural peanut butter (or sunflower seed butter, soy butter or Crisco for those allergic), lard or beef suet and various wild birdseed varieties suited for your area of garden and an assortment of chopped nuts and dried fruit for decoration.
Beef fat trimmings can be purchased at discounted or free rates from your butcher, or lard specially designed for feeding birds can also be purchased in rendered plain suet cakes or more specialized recipes from wild bird supply stores, garden centers or pet stores. When selecting commercial mixes containing ragweed seeds as they can cause severe allergies in humans and animals alike.
