How to Make a Suet Log Feeder 2018

Learn how to make a Suet log feeder by selecting a log and drilling holes in it. Suet log feeders are the BEST feeder for providing suet to wild birds. Woodpeckers and brown creepers prefer feeding on suet logs as they are built for clinging to wood of the log. The suet that should be served in a suet log feeder is a homemade suet made from animal fat, peanut butter, quick oats, cornmeal, and white flour.

Red-spotted Purple Butterfly Eating Watermelon 2015

The Red-spotted Purple is an incredibly beautiful butterfly with its iridescence blue-green color.  It can be difficult to attract because it rarely comes to flowers and is best attracted with rotting fruit, scat, or tree sap.  This red-spotted purple butterfly showed up in my Topeka KS yard on Aug 15 2015 when I put out rotten watermelon in a bird feeding dish.  Note the watermelon also attracted flies. If you want red spotted purple butterflies don’t forget to supply their host plants in your yard.  The caterpillars feed on a wide range of trees such as wild cherry, cottonwood, willow, oak, and basswood.

Short-eared Owl 2018

Finally had a short-eared owl land on a post. This was seen Mar 22 2018 in Topeka KS by Forbes Field airport. I think short-eared owls are one of the most beautiful owls.  They are interesting that they are a true grassland owl. They nest on the ground and roost on the ground. There were three others tonight and they all came out while it was still light out.  What a fun night. I left the audio in for entertainment purposes.

Bloodroot Flowers 2018

Bloodroot Flowers
You are looking at the flowers of Bloodroot (Sanguinaria canadensis) in my Topeka KS yard. Bloodroot is in the Poppy family (Papaveraceae). It’s Mar 21 2018 and most of the flowers are open while a few are already done blooming. They only bloom on sunny days and each bloom only lasts a few days. The plant gets its name from the red blood-like sap in the roots of the plant. It is a woodland spring ephemeral with a scattered distribution in Kansas – found in only about 12 Kansas counties per bonap.net.

How to Render Beef Fat to Make Suet for Birds 2018

Learn to take beef trimmings and render the fat from them using a crock pot. The rendered fat is used as a key ingredient to a homemade suet recipe which uses animal fat, peanut butter, quick oats, cornmeal, and flour. The leftover cracklings are also used to feed wild birds. This suet is an excellent attractant to feeding wild birds. And animal fat is good for birds as it is high in energy and contains healthy fats.

American Hazelnut Flower Catkins 2018

You are looking at the flowers of American Hazelnut in my Topeka KS yard. It’s Mar 13 2018 and the hazelnuts are at the height of their bloom. They bloom before the shrubs even have leaves. The flowers are known as catkins and catkin is Dutch for kitten referring to their resemblance to kitten tails. The catkins are the male flowers of the shrub. The flowers are wind pollinated and the plants are the source of the American hazelnut. The nut meats are small (the size of peas). I like to think of the blooming of the hazelnuts as the first sign of spring in Topeka.

Diving Bufflehead Ducks 2018

These bufflehead ducks were found at Lake Sherwood in Topeka KS on Mar 3 2018. I walked to the lake before sun up and they were feeding along a jetty. You can really see how small they are compared to the Canada goose. Buffleheads get their name from the word buffalo as their heads are large in comparison to their body, just like a buffalo. They are diving ducks and catch aquatic invertebrates and feed on them under water. They are only found in Kansas in the winter. They breed mostly in Canada in tree cavities made by flicker woodpeckers.

Grackle Eating Homemade Suet from Log Feeder 2018

Common grackles are despised by so many people because they come in big flocks and eat a lot of seed but they are incredibly gorgeous birds. The males look so metallic. The purple head, the bronze body, and that intense yellow eye make this bird a favorite of mine. They are just so gorgeous. This male came to my Topeka KS yard on Mar 13 2018 and took a liking to my homemade suet, which I serve in a homemade suet log. My suet is made with animal fat, peanut butter, homemade cornmeal, quick oats, and white flour. Almost every kind of backyard bird loves it.
Find Suet Recipe at http://bit.ly/HomemadeSuetRecipe

Attract Yellow-rumped Warblers with a Suet Log 2018

The yellow-rumped warblers have been plentiful this year in my Topeka KS yard. Recently I saw 5 at once on the ground eating homemade suet that I had sprinkled there. This warbler was spotted on Mar 7 2018 eating at my suet log. I find that suet log feeders are one of the best ways to feed birds in my backyard. And my homemade suet recipe is the best attractant for birds. The suet is made with animal fat, peanut butter, quick oats, homemade cornmeal & white flour.
Learn to make homemade suet at http://bit.ly/HomemadeSuetRecipe

How To Make Corn Meal in a Blender

How To Make Corn Meal in a Blender. Instead of buying corn meal from the store, you can make your own in a blender. This corn meal is used in a suet mix for feeding wild birds. In video, cracked corn is blended into corn meal. You could also start with whole kernel corn. Cracked corn is whole corn that has been chopped. It is full of nutrition as the germ hasn't been removed from the kernel like it has in corn meal bought at the grocery store. The germ is removed to extend shelf life of the corn meal. Besides be healthier its also cheaper to make your own corn meal from cracked corn

Harvester Butterfly 2015

On Aug 11 2015 some friends let know they had a harvester butterfly in their yard in Lawrence KS. They are not common at all probably because their host is an insect not a plant. That's right, their host is woolly aphids. These aphids are found on a variety of plants although they also don't seem to be that common around here.

How to Attract More Birds with Homemade Suet

Learn how to make homemade suet with peanut butter, animal fat, quick oats, corn meal, & white flour. Birds prefer it to store bought suet. This homemade suet attracts all kinds of woodpeckers, chickadees, titmice, wrens, as well as hard to attract brown creepers and yellow-rumped warblers, Blue jays love it as well. Learn to serve it in a suet log, suet cage/basket, suet dish, or on the ground.

Titmouse Eating Walnut Pieces 2018

This Tufted titmouse was enjoying the black walnut pieces I put out in my Topeka KS yard on Feb 16 2018.  I crack my own black walnuts and the pieces that are too small to eat are fed to the birds. The titmice and chickadees love black walnuts as do Carolina wrens.

Wood Ducks Walking 2016

I found these wood ducks in a fallow corn field on May 5 2016 near Willard KS in the Kansas River Valley. I've seen plenty of wood ducks in water, but rarely see them walking on land. These are both male wood ducks with their gaudy colors and striking red eye. Because it is May they are at the height of their breeding colors.

Chickadee at Walnut Chip Feeder 2018

On Feb 16 2018, these black-capped chickadees were eating black walnut chips out of this hanging dish feeder. When I crack black walnuts to eat, I always end up with lots of small pieces mixed in with shells that I can't eat. They are the perfect treat for chickadees and titmice. Both go crazy for them. And the feeder is usually emptied in a day.

Snack and Treat Feeder

These Snack and Treat feeders are great for serving black walnut pieces, peanuts, meal worms, and suet crumbs. They can be hung from a shepherd's hook or any S hook. They do have drain holes to help keep food from getting too wet. You can purchase either a single tray or double tray feeder using the my affiliate links provided.

Single Snack Feeder
This feeder has only one dish.


Double Snack Feeder
This feeder has two dishes.
 

FYI: If you purchase via these ads I will get a small commission from the sale.

Starling Trapping Season has begun.

The starling really started coming to my yard on Mar 1, 2018.  I've already trapped 10 of them in baited funnel traps and 2 in nest box traps.  I trap starlings because they will evict flickers from their nest and destroy the eggs, young, and adults in their quest to breed. Learn more about starling control at http://bit.ly/StarlingControl

Bumble Bee at Bigroot Morning Glory 2017

My Bigroot morning glory (Ipomeoa pandurata) was in full bloom on Aug 7, 2017 when this bumble bee came to pollinate the flowers in my Topeka yard. This is a native perennial morning glory that is also known as man of the earth because of the size of its roots. It's also known as wild sweet potato and is edible. It's amazing the number of blooms one plant produces and I love that it is a perennial as most garden morning glories are annuals. Such a showy flower. I think this plant should be in people's gardens just to feed the bumble bees, a pollinator in decline. Curious if anyone can ID the bee?