Birds Love Fats
Just as birds love seeds with high fat content, they will really be drawn to suet bird feeders. This is probably the easiest and certainly the cheapest bird feeder to add to your yard. Simple wire cage suet feeders are very inexpensive and hold a premolded suet cake. These cakes come as plain suet and with additions such as seeds or insects. They also are available in a no melt form which is perfect for the hot summer months. All of these blocks are quite inexpensive and last a long time. Because there are so many insects available during summer, suet feeders won't get as much traffic during this time. However, as the weather cools and birds begin their migration, suet bird feeders will see quite a bit more activity. As winter sets in and natural food becomes more scarce, birds spend more time looking for food. They no longer are tending nests so can explore a wider territory looking for tasty treats. Since suet offers an extra supply of calories, during the cold months a suet feeder will have so many visitors that it may have to be refilled at least once a month. There are more expensive suet bird feeders that combine suet cages with a seed feeder. This way both food sources may be offered with one bird feeder. Not all birds can cling to the wire suet feeders. For these other birds like juncos, sparrows, bluebirds, etc. it is a good idea to attach a perch to the pole just below the suet feeders. The other solution is to chop up a suet cake and add pieces to platform feeders or simply scatter them on the ground and watch the birds come and get it!
Providing Spring Nesting Materials
In the spring, all birds turn to mating and preparing for a family. Offering nest building materials as well as food will make a yard a very busy place. A cage suet bird feeder is the perfect container for offering nesting materials. Fill a wire suet feeder with offerings such as pieces of string, feathers, fur, cotton, wool, moss, old shoelaces, twigs, grass or anything soft that a bird can use to soften a nest. Just be sure to have no string longer than 8 inches to be sure no bird gets tangled in it. Secure the suet feeder so it doesn't sway and add a perch below to allow more species to check out the offerings. The birds that are use to finding food in these suet feeders will be the first to discover the nest building supplies, but others will soon want to see what is there. This will typically attract nuthatches, titmice and chickadees, but with a perch you could be lucky enough to attract orioles and tanagers and some other larger birds to this suet feeder full of surprises.
Feeding Woodpeckers
There are a few different species of woodpeckers, but they all have common traits. They spend most of their time in trees looking for insects under the tree bark. Lucky for us, they also like suet and sunflower seeds. The perfect bird feeder for a woodpecker is a combination seed feeder and suet feeder. Of course, using separate suet feeders and tube feeders would work just as well to lure woodpeckers out of the trees to the bird feeders. Woodpeckers are fairly common wherever there are large trees; in the woods, farmland or suburbs. They make their nests by excavating holes in trees. Some will even use a birdhouse.
The Importance of Suet Feeders In the Winter
As we head into the cold months of winter, we need to change our offerings in our bird feeders somewhat. Suet feeders become very important because birds need to have a higher calorie diet in the cold months. These suet feeders can be as simple as putting chopped fat on a clean and dry styrofoam meat tray or simply hanging an inexpensive wire suet bird feeder. When the temperatures go below freezing, these suet offerings can literally be life savers.
Making your own high fat foods is a fun thing to do. The simplest is to mix cooled leftover bacon fat with crushed Cheerios or cornflakes. Birds love this mixture and it is quite simple to make. Natural food will greatly decrease during the cold winter months and it takes more energy for birds to find what there is, so they are even more likely to visit well stocked bird feeders.
Suet Feeders in Spring and Summer
Many people assume that suet feeders are only used by birds during the cold winter months. However, suet feeders have lots of customers during late spring and early summer. The reason for this is simple - suet is a nice soft food that is ideal for feeding nestlings. When you see adult birds visiting the suet feeders and leaving with a piece of suet in their beaks, try to follow the flight with binoculars. You will very likely discover a nest. It is particularly difficult to spot the nests of cavity dwellers such as chickadees and tufted titmice. Once the nest is discovered, we can watch for the baby chicks to peak out. Then we can look forward to the parents bringing the chicks to the suet feeder for the first time. How fun to see fuzzy-headed baby chickadees at suet feeders. As the weather turns warm, it is important to use non-melting suet cakes.
