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=3D"mailto:turtlevoice@ns.sympatico.ca">turtlevoice@ns.sympatico.ca</a>&a Like Bob, I use a similar system of squirrel-proofed hanging logs each with 4 * 1.25 inch holes, that I fill with a mixture of melted suet (approx 2 parts) to peanut butter (very approx 1 part, 'measured' by eye). The stuff sets in the log holes in a few tens of minutes even in the summer. The suet is the Sobeys ground, worm-like stuff which they sell sometimes, that melts immediately in a pan with little smell. The woodpeckers (downy, some hairy and the occasional flicker) love the mixture, chickadees too. If your aim is mainly to feed woodpeckers and not other birds this way via hanging logs, why would you include all these veggie seed products? Jeff's recently recommended Old Zick Dough recipe actually contains 5/7 parts cornmeal + oats + flour, and only 2/7 parts fats. Bob's recipe sounds proportionally more fatty, but do woodpeckers really eat and digest seed-based carbohydrate/protein, or do they just discard it as bycatch below the log? I thought they mostly ate insects, in summer at least, not seeds. Request for info: what do our common woodpeckers normally eat, especially in winter? Has anyone observed any local woodpecker species frequently eating seeds? Specifically, do woodpeckers actually benefit from us adding seed products to the suet-PB mix, or is the benefit there only for blue jays and the like in a different physical arrangement, like the flat mesh baskets? Our BJs and most other common perching birds can't access the hanging logs, though we've had starlings give it a shot by trying to emulate hummingbirds. Steve (Halifax) ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Quoting Bob McDonald <bobathome@hfx.eastlink.ca>: > Hi All, > Here's my offering to the birds during winter (not really a recipe > since no measurements are made!): > > We have made friends with the butcher at the local Sobey's store and > he will give us beef fat trimmings at no charge (I've heard that > some places actually charge for this stuff!). We have to arrive > just after lunch since they throw it all out around mid-afternoon. > I chop it up into small chunks and heat at full power in the > microwave for 5 min. I pour off any liquid generated and repeat the > procedure until little additional oil is produced. By this time, > it's a bit smelly and so I put the residue into the garage. > I collect the oil in a large plastic container (1-2 L size) and toss > in a few spoonfuls each of peanut butter (organic or not; the birds > don't seem to care), corn meal, sunflower or other seeds, oatmeal > and millet. I put the mixture out into the garage to cool and stir > it up once in a while to make it as homogeneous as possible. When > solid, it has to be stored in the fridge or it will go off. > I have half a dozen logs into which I've bored a number of 1 inch > holes about 1-1.5 inch deep. I fill the holes with the mixture and > hang them up at various spots in the yard. Of course, woodpeckers > and nuthatches are particularly attracted by this mix but chickadees > and the occasional overwintering warbler (Pine, Orange-crowned or > Yellow-rumped) will also partake. > Before the mixture has solidified, it can also be used to fill the > plastic containers that the commercial bird suet mixtures come in. > Hope this helps. > > Bob McDonald, > Halifax > > > ----- Original Message ----- From: <duartess@ns.sympatico.ca> > To: "Naturelist" <naturens@chebucto.ns.ca> > Sent: Monday, December 05, 2011 10:44 AM > Subject: [NatureNS] Homemade Suet Cake Recipes > > >> Hello All, >> >> I have misplaced the homemade suet cake recipes that I had, that >> folks have shared on this list from previous years. >> >> Was wondering if there are some who wouldn't mind sharing these >> recipes again and the most successful ways they have found to offer >> the suet. >> >> Thank you in advance. >> >> Sincerely, >> >> Gayle MacLean >> Dartmouth >
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