Winter Suet feeding:
Winter for some people can be a harsh time of the year. Not all of us love the cold and the snow that comes with the winter season. Here in the Illinois Valley we can have some very cold days and nights. We have the advantage of a good fireplace or heater to keep us warm. Winter survival for our feathered friends is typically a tougher proposition. A lot of different food sources are now gone. For example, items such as berries which have ended their growing season, insects which have bedded down for the winter months, as well as any food source that might be possible except for the fact that several inches of snow may have accumulated.
One way to help winter feeding birds is by putting out suet blocks. Suet becomes a popular feeding choice in the winter. Most suet blocks are only designed for winter time feeding, as temperatures above 70 degrees cause those suet blocks to melt.
Suet generally has a large percentage of fat and consequently provides a lot of much needed winter time calories. Additionally, most suet is mixed with other high energy foods such as peanuts, which provide additional protein. These combinations of ingredients are much appreciated by the birds as they attempt to survive the long winter nights.
In most cases, a large size suet cake will last a longer period of time, so you may not have to re-fill your suet feeder as often as a seed feeder. Suet has its own type of wire or cage feeder. Sometimes it can be combined with a hopper feeder of sorts, sometimes it can hang by itself from a tree or on a pole. You can make your own wire basket with hardware cloth, or a similar wire. Additionally, there are upside down suet feeders to cater to clinging birds as well as woodpeckers, and discourages starlings. You’ll want to make sure you hang your suet in such a way as to keep it away from bears, raccoons and other critters.
In addition to being able to purchase suet, you can also make suet at home with various suet recipes. Don’t be afraid to make your own variation of suet as well by adding sunflower seeds, peanuts, cracked corn kernels or whatever you think birds might like. Making suet at home can be a fun winter time project for the whole family. There are a number of recipes on the internet. Do a search for “homemade suet recipe” and get ready to make a batch that will please many bird visitors to your yard.
Please understand this; suet will bring birds to your yard during these cold winter days. It will also bring bears and other critters you may not want in you yard, so be very careful where you put the suet and keep an eye out for large black critters. I have a bear problem here in O’Brien and I can’t use suet. If I did, I wouldn’t be able to sleep at night because of my barking dogs. Plus, when the bear comes to visit, it can’t walk through the gate, no, it has to make its own gate by making a hole in my fence.
On that note, I hope you all have a great time feeding your birds in your backyard. Please be safe and have fun.