Let’s face it winter makes us all hungry, nothing feels cozier than a full tummy! Its not as easy for wild birds this time of year to find readily available food and you can help them out a lot by providing them with Suet Plus bird food. As a side bonus you get to view these beautiful birds while they dine in your yard! Suet attracts birds big and small, from Chickadees to Woodpeckers, Blue Jays, Nuthatches and more!
What is suet & how do I serve it?
Suet is a nutritious square shaped block (also called cake) that is composed of rendered beef fat (highly metabolized by birds) and flavoured with chunks of fruits, nuts, grains, seeds and more. Suet cakes being high in fat and protein provides birds with high energy which is very helpful during our extremely cold winters. Keep in mind different suet flavours will attract different birds, things with peanuts will attract Blue Jays & Titmice. We carry St. Albans Bay Suet, packaged in eco friendly packaging available individual cake packets as well as a variety pack in 6 and 10 counts. Suet is easy to offer with very basic square wire grid holders that the cake just drops into. The grid design also allows a lot of area for the birds to hang from while they feast. A basic holder is very inexpensive, ours sell for $5.99 each. There are more decorative ones available on the market.
The placement for your suet feeder is important. A location that is visible, but provides protection for perching, near trees and shrubs. It is important that if you are a pet owner you will want to place your feeder in an area that your furry friend can not reach or disturb the birds while they are feeding. If birds are feeling threatened in an environment, they will not establish your feeder as a safe place to dine.
Tips for attracting birds with suet:
- Place suet in accessible locations
- Consider location, birds like sparrows will feed off the ground level, finches feed in shrubs, and woodpeckers feed in higher tree locations.
- Place suet feeder near other bird feeder locations
- Use fresh suet, old suet can become rancid
- Keep away from areas that squirrels frequent
- Place away from windows
It takes some time for birds to establish your new feeder as a source of food, be patient and you will get rewarded with the pleasure of watching these great animals in your yard as they start to become regular diners. Be sure to always have an extra suet cake on hand, if they return to your yard and you don’t have any food for them, they will not keep returning!
Come and visit us today Tuesday to Saturday 9AM-5PM to help our feathered friends during this very cold weather.
