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Loves his suet ball

11 years ago

I can really get quite close to these guys now. They are a pair who spend a lot of time here.

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Comments (9)

catherinet
11 years ago
Oh wow! I'm envious! Lucky you! Every once in awhile I see one, but they never seem to hang around very long.

This is the guy who seems to like my suet ball the best:

{{gwi:165113}}
birding_nut
11 years ago
That is cool, would love to have either visit my suet! I live in an area with no woodpeckers except the occasional flicker in winter. :-(

BN
Related Discussions
Anyone have any luck feeding your yard birds suet?
Q
Comments (12)
Tony, I'm with you. I have never had any luck with suet of any type or recipe in Florida. I DO think you are more likely to succeed with it in cooler weather because the birds need a much higher energy type food then. And also because many types of suet cakes and mixtures spoil quickly in the heat. But even in winter, my woodpeckers prefer to eat sunflower seeds directly from the tray feeder, and they ALL ignore the suet. I do buy the big SEED cakes (BirdOla, etc) that just look like lots of seeds, peanuts and fruit somehow molded into a large square. You probably know what I mean...there's no suet that you can see, just the seeds & fruit bits. I put that in a wire holder designed just for it, and the goldfinches will eat from that, until it gets too small for their short beaks to reach it through the wire. They still drop shells and a little bit of seed under the feeder, but they can't fling it all over while looking for something they like, so it's much less messy. My goldfinches finally showed up about 3 weeks ago, and I've had as many as 30 in the yard at once. There are at least 4 that are almost completely yellow and black now. Just gorgeous. I haven't seen any buntings or grosbeaks this year, though. And the chipping sparrows left right when the goldfinches showed up. But I'm happy...I have my cardinals back, my white-winged doves are here, and my goldfinches. My seed-eating catbird and my seed-eating Myrtle warbler both left, after stuffing themselves for several weeks. (They obviously didn't get the memo telling them they prefer insects and fruit.) I'm really happy now that the squirrels can't seem to reach the feeders any more. (Still knocking wood, though.) Try one of the big seed cakes and see if you like it! Marcia
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squirrel proofing suet feeders
Q
Comments (6)
Keilamarie, Now that's a suet feeder!! Short of building one myself (it's not patent pending is it? :), you did give me a good idea. I think you're right about the back feet. I was watching one of the little bastards on the suet this morning (I forgot to put out peanuts) and he was clinging on with his back feet and holding the suet basket with both front paws while he chewed away at the corners of the suet. Seeing your contraption made me realize that if I cover the sides of the suet basket with something (strips of wood perhaps), they won't be able to get a mouthful since it appears that they actually chew around the corner bars. I actually have a suet basket hanging from the trunk of my maple in the front yard just outside one of the upper windows. After scaring the squirrel away, I went and threw some cayenne pepper on the suet cake. My neighbours can't see the basket since it's on the house side of the tree, so I'm sure if anyone saw me it will be dinner table discussion tonight. "Honey, the new neighbour was sprinkling red powder on the tree again!!?? And he was talking to himself...he looked mad."
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Which birds love suet?
Q
Comments (2)
i live in south west colorado near Durango. My back yard is pinyon and juniper trees and oak brush with native grasses and some shrubs. I don't put out suet trays or raw suet till the winter storms start. the more it snows and blows the more winter birds i get. Mostly juncos with some chickadees and nuthatches. a few towhees and sparrows in winter along with woodpeckers and a few finches. two familys of jays year around with some magpies and starlings and summer oeioles and red wing blackbirds. I started with the metal cages nailed to sides of trees but the towhees and juncos tried but had little success eating from them but the hanging types such as woodpecker and chickadees and nuthatches liked them so i hung a block of wood with a large deep lid on the block to make a platform feeder so the towhees and juncos and the ground feeders could perch either on the sides of the lid or in it to eat. i make up my own suet mixes according to what i have on hand. usually lard or shortning or leftover cooking oils from the deep fryer or from cooking meats ect. i soften it in the microwave just enough to mix in the meat scraps and oats with nuts or dried fruits and berrys and thicken it with cornmeal or grits and laddle it into the plastic trays that raspberrys or blueberrys or other berrys come in from the grocery stores. put the plastic trays in the cages and hang the cages from the limbs. usually close to another limb that the birds can perch on to eat from the cages. If the starlings try to take over the suet trays i hang them away from other limbs so the birds have to hang onto the cages to eat. I scare off the starlings everytime i see them by tapping on the window
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Too warm for suet, feed chickadees what??
Q
Comments (18)
LOL Tsuga. I think with the warmer weather we were having I was getting overzealous. I even started painting my garage, yet to be finished. I've been feeding suet all winter. In the past month, I've seen my first downy woodpecker as mentioned earlier, and another unidentified bird...same size as a sparrow, almost looks like a sparrow at a distance, but a closer look shows a muted red on its head and neck region, and when they spread their wings you can see a red spot on their back. Not bright red like a cardinal, a soft muted red. I've never seen them before. In one glance, I have robins, cardinals, juncos, the unidentified bird, chickadees, and usual sparrows in my yard. Tons of activity. They seem to be enjoying the new evergreen thuja green giant I planted last year too. I just purchased some black oil sunflower last night, have to figure out where I'm going to put it. I read the seeds inhibit plant growth.
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beegood_gw
Original Author
11 years ago
That red headed one is real neat. Have never seen one. I don't think they come this far north.
kendra2003
11 years ago
I love the picture of the Pileated. You are so lucky they come to your suet. I see them flying over the trees sometimes, making their prehistoric sounds, but have never had one come near my suet. The picture of the Red-Bellied is great too. The Red-bellied woodpeckers will even come to my grape jelly I put out for the Orioles in the spring.
catherinet
11 years ago
I think I hear the Pileateds sometimes back in the woods. To me, they sound like a loud red-bellied. Would love to see more of them.
So your's aren't too afraid of you beegood?
beegood_gw
Original Author
11 years ago
NO they are pretty well used to me by now. When I put out food sometimes they just move over to another tree a little ways away. . I always talk to them and the other birds and maybe they are used to my voice.
catherinet
11 years ago
That is so cool!
compost_hugger_nancy
11 years ago
Great shots! The pileated here love the fat I strip off the deer carcus when I skin it and process it for the freezer!

It is the only thing that keeps them in the yard for longer periods at one time.
dakota01
11 years ago
I have a up red headed one that visits my feeder, but he swoops in quick grabs nuts and the larger pieces of dried fruit and then whoosh he's gone.
The dowdy woodpeckers are the ones that love my suet feeders.

I wish the red head would stay longer.

I hadn't seen him for a couple of months, as the housing plan I live in cut down thousands of trees even ones very close to me and many of the birds moved on. I was so excited that he came back. He use to visit more when there was a thicket of trees for him to go to that was closer to my feeders.

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