Water is the number one need for backyard birds in the winter. Number Two? Suet.
Suet is a Super-Food for birds. It takes a lot of energy to keep birds warm in the winter, when temperatures drop to frigid numbers. Suet is a high-fat food that can provide that extra energy. While pure suet is fat, commercial suet combines fats and food to add nutrition and appeal. You can make your own suet – there are dozens of recipes – but from my experience, the very best suet available, bar none, is the C & S Peanut Delight Log. In the summer, bird parents swarm to these logs as quick and healthy and easy to digest food for their chicks. In the winter, birds take numbers, waiting for the chance to peck off a chunk or two. I have had 4 bluebirds feeding constantly, and I also have a mockingbird chipping away at the suet. There are very few things I can feed mockingbirds, but this is one.
Woodpeckers are probably the most common to visit suet feeders, including downy woodpeckers, hairy woodpeckers, red-bellied woodpeckers, and northern flickers,
You’ll also attract insect-loving birds, such as black-capped chickadees, tufted titmice, white-breasted nuthatches, Carolina wrens, and of courses, bluebirds. I find the C & S Suet at Wal-Mart, but you can order cartons of it on-line.
It’s cold outside so make sure your backyard birds have a Merry Christmas. Feed them plenty of suet.