February 15, 2008
Backyard tip of the week:Have you tried a suet feeder in your yard yet? Suet is rendered beef fat. I know, it sounds gross, I was hesitant at first too, but its a great, high energy treat for our avian friends especially this time of year.
Suet can be found in its raw form at your local butcher's counter and is also available as a suet cake anywhere bird seed is sold. Sometimes mixed with seed and other ingredients, suet cakes are a less messy alternative, than raw suet. Suet dough cakes are even less messy and are particularly good for use during the warmer months.
Try to find suet that is free of millet, corn and other junk seed and you'll be pleased with the variety of birds that visit your feeder. Either way, the birds are sure to love it!
Backyard sightings for last week:
Including northern cardinals and dark-eyed juncos, white-throated sparrows, eastern goldfinches, house finches and purple finches. Red-bellied woodpeckers, downy woodpeckers, white-breasted nuthatches, tufted titmice, black-capped chickadees, blue-jays, the occasional pair of crows, just a couple of grey squirrels, the neighborhood skunk, a pair of European Starlings, and yes, there are still lots of mourning doves.
Cool sighting of the week:
Happened late Saturday night/early Sunday morning when a mid-winter skunk was seen foraging under the bird feeders. This is a very fluffy and mostly white skunk. It's as if the usual black and white stripes are reversed. Sam the cat was intrigued as she watched from her perch atop the radio at the window. She soon became agitated and had to be asked to leave.
Then, on Wednesday night, after all the flooding, the scent of a skunk was prevalent in the yard during chores and was cause for a bit of concern, but hey, either way, a mostly white skunk in the middle of winter is pretty cool!
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