Post by naturelovr on Nov 16, 2010 15:25:42 GMT -6
A Little Something For The Birds
Source: The 1984 Old Farmer's Almanac
Here are some great bird food recipes, to be used anytime, but especially in the cold winter months.
In the winter, experts maintain the best way to bird–watch is in a comfortable chair by the window. By keeping a feeder stocked with a variety of foods, you can attract many different species of birds that will stay with you until spring.
Most people have good luck attracting birds by putting out feeders full of sunflower seeds, cracked corn, and millet, or by hanging mesh bags of suet. (Birds also need water, and you can provide sources ranging from a dripping icicle or a hanging bucket with a hole in the bottom to an electrically treated birdbath.)
But if you really want to impress your avian friends, here are a few recipes you can concoct—strictly for the birds!
Woodpecker Pudding
Here is a recipe for the birds!
* 8 pounds suet
* 2 pounds peanut butter
* 8-ounce bottle corn syrup
* 2 pounds rolled oats
Melt the suet in a canning kettle or other large container, pouring the melted fat into another kettle as it cooks down. While the fat is still hot, add the peanut butter, corn syrup, and oats, stirring constantly until mixture is well blended. Put the pudding into old soup cans to cool and harden, and store in a cool place. To use, warm the can until the pudding is soft enough to handle. Drill a number of 1 1/2 inch holes in a 4 inch diameter birch log (leave the bark intact to provide good toeholds for the birds), spread the pudding into the holes, and hang the log outdoors where it is accessible to the birds.
Suet
Suet is the perfect bird food recipe for the winter months when birds' food sources dwindle. Suet is loved by nuthatches, woodpeckers, wrens, chickadees, cardinals, and most insect-eating birds.
* You can use almost any seed or grain, mixed with bacon fat, lard, or peanut butter. A basic suet combines equal parts of bacon fat and assorted birdseed.
* Put it in a tuna or cat food can to chill (or freeze) until it's hard enough to hold its shape, then release it into a wire suet cage or sturdy mesh bag.
* For a fancier suet, add peanut butter to the mix. You can also bind cornmeal or oatmeal with straight peanut butter and spread it into holes drilled in a post or log.
* Birds also like dried fruits, so consider adding raisins, currants, apricots, or citron.
Here is a suet recipe from our archives:
Suet Cake
* 2 parts melted fat (bacon fat, suet, or lard)
* 2 parts yellow cornmeal
* 1 part peanut butter
Mix all ingredients together and cook for a few minutes. Pour into small containers (tuna fish cans are good), and refrigerate or freeze until needed. Mixture can also be stuffed into 1-inch holes drilled in small logs to hang from trees. The recipe can be made all year long as long as you accumulate fat. Fasten containers securely to trees or feeders.
Enjoy watching your feathered friends warm up by your window!
Junco Cornbread
Try this bird food recipe—just place in mesh bags and hang outdoors!
* 2 cups cornmeal
* 2 teaspoons baking powder
* 1/2 cup fat (meaning drippings or lard)
* 3 cups water
Mix all the ingredients together and bake in a deep pan at 375ºF for 30 to 35 minutes. Reduce heat if bread looks as if it is forming a hard crust. May be doubled or halved.
[a href="www.almanac.com/topics/birding-fishing/backyard-birds"]www.almanac.com/topics/birding-fishing/backyard-birds[/a]
Source: The 1984 Old Farmer's Almanac
Here are some great bird food recipes, to be used anytime, but especially in the cold winter months.
In the winter, experts maintain the best way to bird–watch is in a comfortable chair by the window. By keeping a feeder stocked with a variety of foods, you can attract many different species of birds that will stay with you until spring.
Most people have good luck attracting birds by putting out feeders full of sunflower seeds, cracked corn, and millet, or by hanging mesh bags of suet. (Birds also need water, and you can provide sources ranging from a dripping icicle or a hanging bucket with a hole in the bottom to an electrically treated birdbath.)
But if you really want to impress your avian friends, here are a few recipes you can concoct—strictly for the birds!
Woodpecker Pudding
Here is a recipe for the birds!
* 8 pounds suet
* 2 pounds peanut butter
* 8-ounce bottle corn syrup
* 2 pounds rolled oats
Melt the suet in a canning kettle or other large container, pouring the melted fat into another kettle as it cooks down. While the fat is still hot, add the peanut butter, corn syrup, and oats, stirring constantly until mixture is well blended. Put the pudding into old soup cans to cool and harden, and store in a cool place. To use, warm the can until the pudding is soft enough to handle. Drill a number of 1 1/2 inch holes in a 4 inch diameter birch log (leave the bark intact to provide good toeholds for the birds), spread the pudding into the holes, and hang the log outdoors where it is accessible to the birds.
Suet
Suet is the perfect bird food recipe for the winter months when birds' food sources dwindle. Suet is loved by nuthatches, woodpeckers, wrens, chickadees, cardinals, and most insect-eating birds.
* You can use almost any seed or grain, mixed with bacon fat, lard, or peanut butter. A basic suet combines equal parts of bacon fat and assorted birdseed.
* Put it in a tuna or cat food can to chill (or freeze) until it's hard enough to hold its shape, then release it into a wire suet cage or sturdy mesh bag.
* For a fancier suet, add peanut butter to the mix. You can also bind cornmeal or oatmeal with straight peanut butter and spread it into holes drilled in a post or log.
* Birds also like dried fruits, so consider adding raisins, currants, apricots, or citron.
Here is a suet recipe from our archives:
Suet Cake
* 2 parts melted fat (bacon fat, suet, or lard)
* 2 parts yellow cornmeal
* 1 part peanut butter
Mix all ingredients together and cook for a few minutes. Pour into small containers (tuna fish cans are good), and refrigerate or freeze until needed. Mixture can also be stuffed into 1-inch holes drilled in small logs to hang from trees. The recipe can be made all year long as long as you accumulate fat. Fasten containers securely to trees or feeders.
Enjoy watching your feathered friends warm up by your window!
Junco Cornbread
Try this bird food recipe—just place in mesh bags and hang outdoors!
* 2 cups cornmeal
* 2 teaspoons baking powder
* 1/2 cup fat (meaning drippings or lard)
* 3 cups water
Mix all the ingredients together and bake in a deep pan at 375ºF for 30 to 35 minutes. Reduce heat if bread looks as if it is forming a hard crust. May be doubled or halved.
[a href="www.almanac.com/topics/birding-fishing/backyard-birds"]www.almanac.com/topics/birding-fishing/backyard-birds[/a]
The journey of a thousand miles begins with a broken fan belt and a leaky tire.
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