By Soni Cochran, Extension Associate
Do you enjoy feeding birds? I sure do, and my favorite seed mixes include black-oil sunflower seeds and shelled nuts like peanuts. This mix results in very little waste from uneaten seed and fewer problems with nuisance birds like starlings and English house sparrows.
One of the mixes recommended by specialists consists of 50% black-oil sunflower seed, 25% cracked corn and 25% white millet. Cardinals and doves will also eat safflower seed. Niger thistle seed is very attractive to finches and other small birds, but you’ll need to use a special tube-shaped feeder. Small “sock feeders” filled with thistle seed are also commercially available and easy to hang.
Avoid inexpensive bird seed mixes. Many of these are loaded with filler seeds like milo (sorghum). Instead of saving money, seed is wasted as birds search through the filler seed looking for seeds they prefer. Read the label on commercial bird seed packages to learn what seeds are included in the mix.
Another attractive food for birds is suet. Suet is a nutritious food for woodpeckers, flickers, nuthatches, chickadees, brown creepers and more. What is suet? Suet is a solidified mixture of fats harvested from beef animals or sheep. If you would like to make your own suet for birds, check with your local butcher or grocery meat counter for suet. You can also purchase commercial no-melt suet preparations that can be used throughout the year. Find no-melt suet blocks where bird seed is sold.
MAKE YOUR OWN SUET CAKES
3 cups melted suet* (available at your meat counter or butcher shop)
3 cups yellow cornmeal
1 cup chunky-style peanut butter
*Can you use lard instead of suet? Lard is fat from pigs and can be used or added to suet. Lard does melt quicker on warmer days so use caution around pets.
Melt suet in a pan and add the cornmeal and peanut butter. You can add bird seeds, raisins, rolled oats, unsalted nutmeats, dehydrated egg, apple bits, brown sugar, honey or syrup. Add or subtract ingredients depending on what you have handy, but avoid anything with rich seasonings. Pour the suet mixture into cupcake papers in a muffin tin to harden. Remove the papers, and the cakes are ready for the birds.
Tip: We stored our suet cakes in a large plastic bag in the freezer until we were ready to use them. When we made the suet logs, we just pressed pieces of the suet cakes into the logs to refill them for the birds. Hang all suet for birds out of the reach of pets.
FOR MORE INFORMATION
Nebraska Extension in Lancaster County has information about attracting and feeding birds at https://go.unl.edu/attracting-birds