New to the world of wild bird feeding? You aren’t alone. Millions of people annually feed birds across the United States, and they all started somewhere. As a leader in wild bird suet, C&S Products is here to help your new hobby take flight. Below is our complete beginner’s guide to wild bird suet.
There’s a reason millions of people each year actively attract and feed wild birds. In fact, there are several benefits to feeding and hosting wild birds in your yard.
First off, wild birds are extremely beneficial to a yard and those who enjoy being outdoors. They eat large quantities of insects and are one of the best natural means of pest control year-round.
Wild birds come in a variety of vibrant colors, and their unique songs bring richness and liveliness to any yard. Plus, feeding and caring for wild birds can help children gain an early understanding and appreciation for nature by watching them flock to their feeders.
Last but certainly not least, feeding wild birds makes us feel good. This is more than a hobby. It’s an opportunity to immerse yourself into nature’s beauty. The joy that emerges when these winged visitors arrive can’t be matched. And that feeling is especially rewarding in colder climates, where easy meals at backyard feeders can deliver the essential nutrients and energy needed when food can be harder to come by.
Ultimately, wild bird feeding is a tremendous way to help assist bird conservation efforts.
Suet feeders can attract a wide variety of wild birds to your yard, most notably woodpeckers, wrens, chickadees, nuthatches, thrashers, titmice, bluebirds, thrushes, grosbeaks, catbirds, cardinals, mockingbirds, and jays.
The question is, how do you identify these flying visitors? Here are four keys to use as a guide:
Suet is a high-energy, nutritious food source for birds, typically made from rendered animal fat. Suet is particularly important in the winter, as it helps birds maintain their energy levels during colder months. Suet feeding isn’t restricted to only the winter months, as it has become a year-round activity and supplements a regular seed feeding program.
Suet offers easily digestible fat and calories to provide quick energy to wild birds, making it a more ideal option for fall and winter feeding when birds need more calories to maintain body heat. Suet also provides quick energy bursts for migrating birds, so you can help them along their challenging journeys.
There are plenty of benefits to using suet over birdseed for hobbyists. It’s less likely to spill when tipped or knocked over, which means less waste and less mess. Plus, suet won’t turn into weeds in your lawn or garden.
Here’s a complete guide on how to choose the right suet types, ingredients, and seasonal options to bring a variety of birds to your feeders.
Choosing the right form of suet is key to attracting specific types of birds. Here are the most popular options:
Not all suet is created equal. Ingredients vary to attract different bird species, making it easy to choose the right suet to encourage a variety of visitors.
Choosing the right suet for each season can help birds thrive year-round.
Proper suet storage helps maintain freshness and quality, ensuring birds get the best food possible.
While using a suet recipe may seem simple, here's why it's best to trust professional products to ensure bird safety and satisfaction.
There are several different types of bird feeders that work in attracting wild birds to a yard. The basic types of bird feeders that attract wild birds are:
The first step in choosing the right feeder is to choose one that’s quality-made, as it’s more likely to last over the long haul. Here are some other tips for choosing the right suet feeder:
Feeders should be cleaned regularly by thoroughly scrubbing with hot water and detergent. Always dispose of any old or moldy food at all of your feeders, including ground feeders, to avoid any possible harm to the birds. The cleaner your feeders are, the more likely you’ll get repeat visitors.
Here’s what anyone getting into wild bird feeding should consider when it comes to attracting wild birds to your feeders.
Feeding stations are not just attractive to birds, but nuisance birds (like Starlings), squirrels, and cats. Nuisance birds primarily prefer ground feeding, so you may prefer to select a site well away from the house and feeders to scatter seed to draw nuisance birds away from bird feeders.
Squirrels can cause a ruckus for wild birds and their enthusiasts. Suet feeding is a free meal for them too, after all. While it might be impossible to rid your yard of squirrels, there are some ways to keep them out of your feeders.
The key is to divert the attention of squirrels away from bird feeders. Squirrel feeders are often designed to have a table and chair with a nail coming from the top of the table. A squirrel will sit down and enjoy their feast just as the feeder suggests. The nail can easily accommodate a C&S Squirrelog (the favorite food of squirrels) or an ear of corn. C&S Squirrelogs are produced with compressed Sweet Corn and offer more food and entertainment value for the dollar. One Squirrelog equals 20+ ears of corn. For more entertainment use our Squirrelog Hanger that creates a moveable unstable feeder that the squirrels will go into contortions to eat from.
C&S also offers a variety of squirrel feeding products, such as our WILDLIFE “BIG BLOCK” SNAK and SQUIRREL SNAK items. These products are made to withstand even the most voracious squirrels as well as provide a steady diet of sweet corn–a squirrel’s favorite.
But in some cases, feeding squirrels is not enough to keep them away from bird feeders. When this is the case, it’s recommended that baffling devices be used whenever and wherever there is squirrel activity. To baffle squirrels and keep them from a feeder, take the following steps:
The most important concept to understand in attracting wild birds is variety. Birds live in different habitats and the greater the variety of habitats that are created – the more birds and species that will be attracted. The key to creating different habitats is offering food and nest sites at all levels. This can be accomplished by keeping gardening for wild birds in mind.
There are basically four levels of habitats that may be created and maintained in a yard:
There are many easy and inexpensive ways to create a variety of habitats:
It's also important to consider nesting sites where birds can raise their young. Nesting boxes or birdhouses can be placed anywhere from 3-to-10 feet high on a tree or post (basically anywhere that is not disturbed by human activity). For best results, put up a birdhouse in the fall or winter so the birds have a chance to get used to it.
Feeding birds suet throughout all four seasons can transform any backyard into a hub of avian activity.
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