This post is a bit different from my usual offerings. It is something for the birds – literally. The 20th annual Great Backyard Bird Count is this weekend, Friday, February 17th, through Monday, February 20th, 2017. This fun, free, and easy event engages bird watchers in counting birds to create a real-time snapshot of bird populations. The information collected from the online reports helps researchers at the Cornell Lab of Ornithology and the National Audubon Society learn more about how birds are doing, and how to better protect them and the environment we all share.
I have been an avid bird watcher since 1987. At that time, I was working in a research lab at Hershey Medical Center for a pair of brothers who were avid birders. A scissor-tailed flycatcher flew by the windows. The sighting was a big deal to the birders in the lab because this bird (common in Texas) is rare in the eastern portion of Pennsylvania. That scissor-tailed flycatcher became my spark bird – the bird that got me interested in being a bird watcher.
It was a small step to go from identifying birds while in nature to attracting them to our yard, where I currently have a variety of bird feeders. Here in Connecticut, it is only during the coldest months of winter that I can feed the birds since the resident black bears in the area are active the other months of the year and enjoy most types of bird seed. To attract a wider variety of birds, I put out suet cakes along with black oil sunflower seed. I was thrilled to come across a recipe for making my own suet cakes in the one of the nature periodicals I receive. The birds that frequent our feeders will go through 10+ suet cakes over the winter!
Click on The Great Backyard Bird Count link to learn more about that program and to join the event. Happy bird watching this weekend!
Suet Cakes
Suet Cakes (adapted from birdsandblooms.com) Makes 4-5 cakes
Ingredients:
- 1 cup peanut butter
- 1 cup shortening
- 3 cups oatmeal, cornmeal or whole wheat flour
- 4 cups bird seed (mixed or sunflower)
- optional: replace 1 cup of grain with wheat germ, replace 1 cup of seeds with chopped, dried cranberries, raisins or currants
Directions:
Melt the shortening and peanut butter in a medium saucepan over medium-low heat.
Melt the shortening & the peanut butter.
Meanwhile, combine the grains & seeds in a large bowl, mixing well. (A combination of grains equaling 3 cups total is acceptable. A mix of seeds equal to 4 cups is also acceptable.)
When the shortening/peanut butter mixture is completely liquid, about 10-15 minutes, pour it over the grain-seed mixture. Mix thoroughly.
Add the melted shortening & peanut butter to the seeds & grains.
Scoop the mixture into 4 or 5 sandwich containers. Allow the cakes to cool and harden, either in the fridge or freezer, for 2 hours or more. Remove the hardened cakes from the container and place them in suet cages for the birds to enjoy. Extra cakes can be wrapped in plastic and stored in the freezer until needed.
A red-bellied woodpecker’s turn on the suet!
A white-breasted nuthatch visiting the feeders.
Juncos are usually ground feeders!
Flying friends will thank you for the treats! ~Linda
Suet Cakes (adapted from birdsandblooms.com) Makes 4-5 cakes
Ingredients:
- 1 cup peanut butter
- 1 cup shortening
- 3 cups oatmeal, cornmeal or whole wheat flour
- 4 cups bird seed (mixed or sunflower)
- optional: replace 1 cup of grain with wheat germ, replace 1 cup of seeds with chopped, dried cranberries, raisins or currants
Directions:
Melt the shortening and peanut butter in a medium saucepan over medium-low heat.
Meanwhile, combine the grains & seeds in a large bowl, mixing well. (A combination of grains equaling 3 cups total is acceptable. A mix of seeds equal to 4 cups is also acceptable.)
When the shortening/peanut butter mixture is completely liquid, about 10-15 minutes, pour it over the grain-seed mixture. Mix thoroughly.
Scoop the mixture into 4 or 5 sandwich containers. Allow the cakes to cool and harden, either in the fridge or freezer, for 2 hours or more. Remove the hardened cakes from the container and place them in suet cages for the birds to enjoy. Extra cakes can be wrapped in plastic and stored in the freezer until needed.