Why Should I Put Out Suet?

If you have never fed suet, you have missed some great neighbors. Common birds that eat suet are downy, hairy, red-bellied, and pileated woodpeckers. Chickadees, northern flickers, nuthatches, and starlings are also avid suet eaters.

By adding suet to your wild bird's menu, you will also attract wrens, warblers, thrushes, brown creepers, brown thrashers, and blue jays. You can also attract orioles, pine siskins, titmice, and the ever popular bluebird.

What is suet?
Suet is animal fat. It is the most concentrated source of energy you can offer wild birds. Our Suet is made with only the highest quality processed beef kidney fat. Special processes remove impurities that cause low melting points and spoilage problems.

Why do birds eat suet?
Suet is one of the top three foods to feed wild birds. Birds have high metabolic rates. It is not unusual for birds to consume 1/4 to 1/3 their body weight worth of food a day! Offering peanut/suet cake provides a high caloric energy source.

How do I feed suet?
Suet is traditionally fed in wire cages. There are also recycled plastic suet feeders with a tail prop, squirrel proof suet feeders, decorative suet feeders, suet log feeders... Come in and see our wide selection. If you buy extra suet, it can be stored in the freezer.

Category › Bird Basics

Is There a Pileated Woodpecker Feeder?

My sister is new to birding. They just moved in to a new house that is next to the woods. She said she wants to attract the Pileated Woodpeckers to a feeder. Is there such a thing?

Now is a great time to start feeding woodpeckers and Pileated Woodpeckers are known to frequent feeders near a large woods.

The Pileated Woodpecker Dryocopus pileatus
is Michgan's largest woodpecker at sixteen and a half inches in length and a wingspan up to 30 inches. The males have a characteristic red "mustache," which is actually a stripe near the beak. The female's stripe is black.

Their pointed tail feathers are especially strong and rigid. The tail bone, lower vertebrae and the tail’s supporting muscles are also large in comparison to other birds. These modifications allow a woodpecker’s tail to serve as a prop that supports their weight as they climb and cling to trees.

So to attract Pileated Woodpeckers I would recommend the WBU Double Tail Prop Suet Feeder. The paddle simulates a tree trunk and offers birds a place to prop their tail while they feed. Even the Pileated Woodpecker's huge frame will fit on our feeder. There is also a WBU Recycled Plastic version that won't rot, crack, fade and also is easy to fill and clean. They hold two suet cakes at a time and yes we do sell suet too.

Tail Prop suet feeders also attract a wide variety of other birds like chickadees, nuthatches, titmice and other woodpeckers.

Category › Bird of the week

Peace on Earth, Good Will Towards Squirrels: Guest Blogger from WBU Redmond, WA

"Blessed is the season which engages the whole world in a conspiracy of love."
-- Hamilton Wright Mabie

It's Christmas every seed delivery day for the squirrels that live next to the Wild Birds Unlimited (WBU) stores across the United States. We have one squirrel at the East Lansing, MI store that thinks we're in his way as we unload the seed every week.

Diane Drisch, the owner of a sister WBU store in Redmond, WA actually caught one cutey in the act with her camera and wrote about her encounters:

"During seed delivery we now have a really smart squirrel who waits for us to bring a stack of seeds inside. When the coast is clear he runs over to the nuts and grabs some. He also has a partner-in-training. Right now we think it's cute. But if he gets too bold, we'll have to rethink the whole "peace on earth, good will towards squirrels" theme of this month.

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Diane Drisch
http://redmond.wbu.com/

Overlake Square,
15155 NE 24th St.
Redmond, WA 98052 
Phone: (425) 747-8908

P.S. This must be payback for all the squirrel baffles we've sold."

Category › WBU Sister Store

Bugs of the World

LIVE AT FENNER NATURE CENTER

Did you know that cricket’s ears are on its knees? Or that a fly has taste buds on its feet? Come visit Fenner Nature Center to learn all about bugs.

The MSU Bug House will be bringing both live and pinned specimens.

Register at the door, which will open a half-hour before the show. Seating is limited.

Sunday, December 6, 1:00 p.m.-3:00 p.m.

Fees $5.00 per person/$15.00 per family

For FOFNC members: Fees $4.00 per person/$12.00 per family

Call 483-4224 - Fenner Nature Center for information.

Category › Fenner Nature Center

Do Birds Get “Goose” Bumps?

Goose bumps appear on many mammals when they are cold or afraid. Bumps appear at the base of the body hair making it stand up straight. The medical term for goose bumps on a person is cutis anserine. The reflex of producing goose bumps is known as horripilation, piloerection, or the pilomotor reflex.

The name common name probably came from the similar appearance to a goose after all of its feathers have been plucked. The term "goose bumps" is misleading because the bumps on a goose’s skin do not qualify as piloerection, though birds do have the same reflex of extending their feathers out to keep warm.

In the winter birds can also grow twice as many feathers. The outer feathers protect them from wet weather and wind. The downy feathers underneath are fluffed up to trap air creating a natural layer of insulation. They can also scrunch down to cover their feet or pull a leg up close to the body and sleep with their bills under their wing feathers to breathe in warmer air.

Staying warm requires a lot of energy, even for the most insulated bird. That’s why they look for high-energy food especially right before they turn in for the night and when they break fast in the morning.

Category › Friday Photo

The Art of Silent Flight in Slow Motion!

"Nature does nothing uselessly." ~Aristotle(384 BC - 322 BC), Politics

Silent flight not only adds to the owl's mystique, it serves the very practical purpose of sneaking up on its prey.

Owls' wings are designed to allow them to fly in almost absolute silence. Owls have broad wings with large surface areas that help them to glide through the air without a lot of flapping.

It also helps that an owl's primary feathers are serrated and to cut the flow of wind into smaller currents called micro-turbulences. Then the edge of the primary feathers muffles the sound of air as it passes by shifting the angle of the air flow and allowing air to pass through the wing.

Today using the wise old owl's secret to silent flight may just be the key to reducing airplane noise. Researchers propose the possibility of creating retractable fringe to mirror owls' serrated feathers and applying a velvety coating on landing gear to absorb noise just as downy feathers do for the owl. This plan could eventually reduce noise pollution all over the world.

Category › Nature up close

Will My Birds Starve If I Go On Vacation?

Let me ask you this. Is it bad to feed the birds now if we’re going on a six week vacation after Christmas? I’m assuming they won’t just hang around the empty feeders and starve.

Birds are pretty clever. If the feeder is empty they’ll look for other sources. Studies show that the birds you see in your yard are only eating about 20% of their meals at feeders.

Birds are survivors and won't starve if you go on vacation or even down south for the winter. You can have someone fill your feeders when you're on vacation, but don't worry if that's not possible. Birds usually follow a circuit each day, visiting a number of feeding areas. However, birds that come at dusk on a cold evening are hungry, and it's nice to make sure that they always find something to eat in the yard.

That could also mean nut or berry bushes and trees to supply a natural food source. Or allowing native flowers, such as coneflowers, black eyed Susan’s, and cosmos go to seed and stand through the winter. These all provide food for the birds. A habitat that provides naturally for wild birds is a very relaxing place for people, too.

Category › Question of the week