Archive for the ‘Suet Feeders’ Category
Sunday Blessings
For some reason I just cannot get the whole graphic in here, but the bottom says, “God Bless.” And I mean that. God Bless you and yours
It actually got up into the mid 40’s today. Before we ate dinner tonight, my husband accompanied me to the back yard where we replaced the old finch feeder with the new one and filled it with fresh nyger seed. I replaced the suet in the suet feeder, put water in the bird bath.
The mealworm feeder was empty, and while I refilled it, kept wondering where the bluebirds have been lately. I haven’t seen them in a while. While we ate dinner, my husband and I enjoyed watching a downey woodpecker at the new suet cake. I actually think my husband is catching my “bird watching itis.” Oh goody!
I was blessed with a great Sunday and I hope you were as well.
Rush, Rush, Hurry, Hurry
Monday’s are usually my day off from the store, and it is my day to get the week organized, clean, do some laundry, run errands, grocery shopping, etc. Not today.
My day started at 5 AM and I was at the gym before 6 AM and at work by 8. From there it was non-stop. We sold skid after skid of rock salt and boxes and boxes of snow shovels. We had about 20 phone calls looking for the snow blowers we sold out of before Christmas. There’s another major storm headed right for us with more than a foot of snow predicted for tomorrow night and all day on Wednesday. Everyone was hurrying to get their purchasing done before the blizzard conditions arrive. It was all hurried and rushed, and the customers more demanding than usual.
The exciting part of my day was the huge number of customers who came in specifically to buy bird food, new bird feeders and suet and caged suet feeders. It really does give me warm fuzzy feeling that so many people are feeling for our fine feathered friends in these less than desirable conditions. They really have no natural food sources right now. The temperatures go down into the teens every night and barely make it to freezing during the day.
When I got home, I took care of filling every feeder to the brim, and putting fresh suet in every caged suet feeder. Then I read an article about birdwatching and how it has risen to the second most popular hobby in the country. In the stress of the economic times, it seems that a lot of people have adopted birdwatching as a hobby because it is a form of entertainment. It is relatively inexpensive and doesn’t require the expense of travel.
I salute all new birdwatchers as well as the seasoned ones. I hope you will come back here fequently and learn more about feeding and attracting them.
First In, Last Out
Getting up early and taking inventory of the different birds who are dining at the bird feeders and suet feeder in my back yard has its advantages. With the huge amount of snow we have on the ground, we are inundated with my happy birds, the dark eyed juncos otherwise known as snow birds. They like every feeder - not picky at all.
The advantage in getting up early is seeing the first in. The cardinals are always here very early. I think they always travel in pairs too, and when you see the female, the male cardinal is always close by. This morning was no exception, only there were 3 pairs just after dawn. They were on and under the platform feeder and the heated bird bath is the best investment I have made in years.
Cardinals do not seem to like the tube feeders. They seem to like something solid under their feet. They love the safflower seed that I scattered on the snow for them. We got about 16 inches of snow and it is so much fun to watch them. From an inventory point of view they should be the last ones here this evening too and I can’t wait. The splash of color on the white is a true picture to behold.
Feathers
Remember the other day when I listed a bunch of fun facts about birds? There are a lot more where they came from, but lets back track to one of them. Feathers.
The fact is that birds are the only animals that have feathers. And, they perform many tasks for our fine feathered friends. They use their tail feathers to steer them flight. The down feathers, are the softest and the ones that keep them warm. The wing feathers are crucial to being able to fly.
The colors of the feathers are effective in hiding them against prey and in attracting a mate in the spring. Birds just wouldn’t be birds without their feathers.
What prompted that little tid-bit of information you ask? I found a few feathers near the bird bath and a few more under the caged suet feeder. You see, there is some territorial fighting going on for the water, which is heated and the suet. They all love the suet.
Looking forward to a great weekend!
Tap, Tap, Tap
I cannot figure this out, but I felt better yesterday. Today was my 3rd day of recovery, and I would have thought that I would feel a bit better every day instead of the other way around. Oh well, it is what it is, and tomorrow is another day.
The highlight of my day today was the tapping of the woodpecker. A red headed woodpecker was having a ball for a long time on the caged suet feeder. My camera doesn’t zoom that far, but it really was a cheering site.
Eager Eaters
Well, the overall bird population may be down a bit from previous winters, and still from reasons I cannot fathom, but there is still some fun and excitement here for me to share.
Of all the birds who are year round residents in this area, one of the most dominant and interesting is the Blue Jay. They are so easy to recognize with their prominant blue crest and their back and white necklace. They have a whole repertoire of calls and cries and can even imitate a hawk. They aren’t too picky about where they take up residence and can be found in the woods, suburban neighborhoods and backyards. And today it was mine.
There were two of them both eagerly eating at the caged suet feeders. They moved to the hopper feeder where they picked out all the peanuts, and whoosh, they were gone.
Blue Jays are not the most desirable of birds to have around especially in the spring. They are pretty mean really and known for robbing nests of eggs and nestlings, but in the winter their ferociousness shows through their manners at the bird feeders, and yet they are a large blue beauty in the dead of winter to behold.
Weathering It
Wind gusts of up to 45 mph and cold temperatures that feel even colder when you factor in the wind. Looks like that is our forecast for the next couple of days followed by a rain/snow storm for New Year’s Eve and New Year’s Day. Now, I don’t know about you, but that will keep me hunkered down and inside as much as possible. I still marvel that they can even fly in this windy weather, but there they are, and I have to get a move on before I have to leave for work.
I will go out to fill the feeders. The platform bird feeder actually turns upside down in the wind, so it will have to wait, but the caged suet feeders are both empty this morning and they need a refill. They are all enjoying the heated bird bath. It just amazes me. I have a hard time driving the car and walking up the hill in this wind and the birds just take off and fly. Hmmm -
The Bird Teams
This afternoon I was watching football and the announcer referred to the Philadelphia Eagles as birds. That got me thinking that the Eagles weren’t alone with that designation. There are Falcons, Ravens and Cardinals and Orioles and Sea Hawks and probably more that I can’t come up with off the top of my head.
As I watched the “teams” playing on TV, I was peering out my window watching my favorite birds playing in the still newly fallen snow. The suet all but disappeared from the suet feeder in only a matter of hours. It was visited by finches, juncos, chickadees, a few cardinals, blue jays and woodpeckers and the doves hung out under the thistle feeders and tube feeders and on the platform feeder. The bluebirds perched high above and watched. What sight on the beautiful carpet of white.
No doubt that I was happy that the Philadelphia Eagles won today, but I couldn’t help but think about the challenges the little birds in my backyard face every day in this weather. We always refer to them as a flock, and today I couldn’t help but think of them as a team. And what a team they are!
Serving Up Suet
Serving up the suet in the cold weather is a sure way of bring in the best variety of birds in the winter. We had our first snow storm here yesterday and while the birds did figure out how to dig under the snow that had accumulated on the platform bird feeder, they didn’t have to work at all to get to the suet.
Suet is rendered beef fat with goodies mixed in that the birds love. As a high energy food, it is ideal for winter and attracts a surprising variety of birds. Suet cakes can be very inexpensive. I recently purchased a bunch of them for $.79 each at our local Ace hardware store where I work part time. Those came in Orange, Berry, Nut and Seed and I am experimenting to see what works best. There are other brands that offer fruit & berry, raisin & nut, Peanut butter, and if you want to keep the squirrels away, try the hot petter. Since birds have poorly developed sense of smell, the pepper does not bother them at all.
Suet can be offered in a variety of feeders. Suet feeders are available in a number of varieties for large and small suet cakes, and from simple caged suet feeders to more elaborate setups. Typical suet eating birds include woodpeckers, blue jays, chickadees, titmice and nuthatches, and even a kinglet or warbler might show up. This is not my picture in this post, but they sure look like Eastern Blue birds to me!!
A Bit More Woodpecker Info
The Red-Naped Sapsucker is not to be found here in the Eastern states. They are almost exlusive to the far mid west summering in the north and wintering in the south. They love to hang out in the lower elevations of the Rocky Mountains. They are extremely fond of making sap wells in willow trees, but do not rule out other trees when the willows are hard to find.
The male’s throat is completely red, and the female throat can be entirely red, or red with a white chin. Sapsuckers are the only woodpeckers who have a vertical strip on their side. The Red-Naped Sapsucker is a medium sized woodpecker. Sapsuckers do not suck sap,they sip it. Their tongues are shorter than those of other woodpeckers, and do not extend as far out. The tip of the tongue has small hair-like projections on it that help pick up the sap, much like a paintbrush holds paint.
The very active little Downy Woodpecker is a smaller version of the Hairy Woodpecker who we will meet a little later. The Downy is a common sight at backyard birdfeeders where it teams up with chickadees and nuthatches and just barely outsizes them. The black and white colors can often appear to be like a checkerboard. And they have a very bold stripe on their head and a broad white stripe down the center of their back.
The Downy Woodpecker can be found in any state in the United States as wll as western Canada. They are ground feeders, but are often on the ground under birdfeeders and are particulary fond of the Woodpecker suets, so you will see them hanging on caged suet feeders. The can be quite noisy littly birds. They have a very shrill and whinnying call, and they are incessantly drumming on trees with their long sharp bill that is almost as long as the depth of their head.