BIRD-WATCHING IN YOUR BACKYARD

One of the best ways to get to know birds is to feed them!  Put bird feeders where you can see them from a window – hanging from a tree branch, on the ground, or on a deck.  (Remember, cats can hide in bushes, so place feeders a safe distance from shrubs and bushes.)

Birds burn up what they eat very quickly to get the energy they need to fly.  Most birds must continually search for food.  Only a few birds such as owls, crows and nuthatches store food for future use.  Most birds eat about one-fourth of their body weight in high energy food a day. 

Birds need even more food in cold weather to meet their bodies’ needs.  In the winter it is harder for birds to find food in their natural habitat.  As a result,  winter is a great time to set up a bird feeder and to enjoy getting to know different birds!  If a bird finds a backyard feeder in Fort Worth that it likes, it may stay for the winter and even may return to the same spot next year! 

TIPS

Provide a variety of foods to attract different kinds of birds.  For example, peanut butter is a favorite of Chickadees and  Woodpeckers.  Cardinals and Blue Jays enjoy sunflower seeds.  Peanuts attract Woodpeckers, Jays and Nuthatches.  Goldfinches particularly enjoy Niger seed.  Suet is a good, high-energy food for a number of different birds in the winter.  Experiment to find out which foods your backyard birds prefer. 

Birds have preferences about where they eat.  Mourning doves and sparrows, for example, like to eat seed on the ground.  Cardinals and Blue Jays frequent feeders on tables or platforms.  Goldfinches and chickadees like hanging feeders.  Wrens prefer tree trunks.  (Adapted from a Star Telegram article, “Feeding Is For The Birds,” 1/20/02.)

Be sure to keep feeders clean and eliminate foods that the birds are not eating.

If there isn’t a natural source of fresh water nearby, put out a water dish for the birds.  All birds need to drink and bathe their wings. Keep the water container clean and filled with fresh water.  Birdbaths and water dishes should be shallow, no more than an inch deep.

 Tried and True Suet Treat

•   1 cup crunchy peanut butter

•   2 cups quick cooking oats

•   2 cups cornmeal

•   1 cup lard (no substitutions)

•   1 cup white flour

•   1/4 cup sugar

Melt lard and peanut butter together, then stir in everything else. Pour mixture into containers to about 1 1/2 inches thick. Freeze. Cut into squares to fit your suet feeder.

Hard Suet Tidbit Cakes

• 1/2 lb. fresh ground suet*

• 1/3 cup sunflower seed

• 2/3 cup wild bird seed (mix)

• 1/8 cup chopped peanuts

• 1/4 cup raisins

Melt suet in a saucepan over low heat. Allow it to cool thoroughly, then reheat it.

Mix the rest of the ingredients together in a large bowl.  Allow the suet to cool until slightly thickened, then stir it into the mixture in the bowl. Mix thoroughly.

Pour into pie pan or form, or pack into suet feeders.

Optional or substitute ingredients: millet (or other birdseed), cornmeal, cooked noodles, chopped berries, dried fruit.

*Suet Most humans don't want a lot of fat in their diet, but for birds in winter, fat is an excellent source of energy. Ask at your grocery store butcher counter if you don't see commercial packages of suet on display. 

Hummingbird Nectar Recipe

• 1 cup water

• ¼ cup sugar

Boil water and add sugar.  Stir until the sugar is thoroughly dissolved.  Do not add red food coloring!  Remember to allow the water to cool sufficiently before hanging the feeder back in its position outside. Any left over sugar-water can be stored in the refrigerator for several days.

Nectar ferments easily in warm weather.  Be sure to change the nectar in your feeder every 3-5 days.  If possible, its best to locate the feeder in the shade. Always clean your hummingbird feeder with mild detergent and rinse thoroughly each time you replace the nectar.