Bird Suet 101 Monday, August 25, 2008

Trying to attract birds to your backyard?

Have you tried feeding the feathered friends?

Below is a really easy, inexpensive bird suet that the birds in my neighborhood love. I have seen all kinds of recipes but the recipe below is pretty fool proof—even for the novice cooks.

1 cup lard
1 cup peanut butter
1 cup flour
1 cup cornmeal
½ cup sunflower seeds

Melt the lard in a microwave until very soft.

Mix in the peanut butter. Slowly add in the dry ingredients until the mixture is a soft cookie dough state.

Pour into suet cake containers, bread pans, or just roll into large balls and freeze.

String or twine can be placed in the cookie dough for easy hanging on tree limbs. Two or three balls can be put in an onion bag and hung in the trees.

For variety you can add raisins or other dried fruit, nuts or berries to your mix.

If you need help or WANT to help make some bird suet cakes to sell at Rendezvous in October let me know.

Happy birding!
Katherine Becker

A Little Bird needs BIG help Thursday, August 21, 2008

Join the Arkansas Wren Survey and help Audubon Arkansas and ASU learn more about the distribution of the rare and declining Bewick’s Wren. It is possible anywhere in the state but we can’t cover the whole state without your help! It’s free, easy, fun, and open to anyone of any experience level who can spend at least 4 hours at least twice a year looking and listening for Bewick’s Wrens in their habitat.

Here’s what you do:

* Sign up at http://ar.audubon.org/wren
* Find suitable Bewick’s Wren habitat using maps and local knowledge
* Count the wrens you see and hear (we’ll provide a CD of wren songs)
* Record a few simple habitat measurements
* Submit your data
* Share your questions and sightings with other participants using the ARWREN e-mail list

Although our focus is the Bewick’s Wren, you’ll also count Carolina and House Wrens. These wrens are much more common than Bewick’s and look similar. It is especially important to differentiate the Bewick’s from the Carolina. The identification problem is similar to that of the Ivory-billed vs. Pileated Woodpecker. If it wasn’t for the look-alike common species, identifying the rare one would be a snap. So learn the field marks.

Voice is the best way to separate them; listen to vocalizations on our web site. Habitat is somewhat of an indicator too. The Carolina Wren is our most common wren and the one most likely to be living in backyards throughout the state. Bewick’s Wrens tend to avoid heavily urbanized areas, instead preferring brushy, weedy, overgrown fields and woodland edges, including unkempt farmyards with fencerows, junk piles, and old buildings for nesting.

So learn the field marks. Both Bewick’s and Carolina Wrens have a wide white eyebrow stripe. Bewick’s is gray below and gray or reddish above. Carolina is a warm buff-brown color below and red-brown above. Bewick’s has white corners on the tip and a distinct pattern on the underside of the tail. See http://www.ar.audubon.org/wren/SpeciesProfiles.html for details.

Sign-up today! If you have questions don’t hestitate to contact Dan Scheiman, Bird Conservation Director for Audubon Arkansas at 501-244-2229

Picture used with permission from Charles Mills