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How to offer suet and fruit in July and AugustDon't put away the suet and fresh fruit in summer By Anne Schmauss By Mary Schmauss By Geni Krolick
Published: June 19, 2009 Birds can fend for themselves now.
We hear this from customers every day in the summer. And they're correct. Most birds will find plenty of natural food in July and August. But that doesn't mean you should stop feeding when the weather turns warm, and it doesn't mean you should stop offering suet and fruit, either. You'll miss quite a show if you do.
Suet
Most customers provide suet only in the winter. But if it's cool where you live and you have a shady spot to hang your feeder, you might be able to continue offering fatty suet even in the summer.
If it's too hot and sunny for fatty suet, there's another option: suet dough, a no-melt mix of rendered suet and grain. It comes in a variety of flavors, and regular winter suet eaters love it. We sometimes entice robins, bluebirds, and mockingbirds with suet dough containing berries.
And not only will your winter regulars come, but they'll bring their families. Every summer, a Ladder-backed Woodpecker calls its chicks to Mary's feeder and then shoves chunks of suet down their throats. Try orange-flavored suet, and you might even attract orioles.
As always, mount your suet cage on a tree so it's stable. A stable feeder will welcome a wider variety of birds than a hanging feeder and make it easier for clumsy fledglings. Since frozen suet is easy to handle and keeps forever, stash extra cakes in your freezer.
Fruit
Everyone knows that orioles like oranges. But did you know that Western Tanagers, Black-headed Grosbeaks, American Robins, Northern Mockingbirds, House Finches, and other birds also enjoy their morning O.J.? To catch their eye, spear a fresh orange half, meat side up, on a branch or pronged fruit feeder. We have the best luck when the fruit can be seen easily from above.
Apple halves, pomegranates, even grapes work in summertime, too, and so does grape jelly. You might get to see orioles feeding it to fledglings, and robins, cardinals, and other birds eat it as well. One customer saw an adult-size young mockingbird, just out of the nest, fight a Bullock's Oriole for a beakful. What's more, by mid- to late summer, orioles will be looking for food to fuel their flight south. Grape jelly might be just the thing.
Remember, to keep your fruit and jelly fresher longer, replace food often and place your feeder in the shade.
Dried fruit
Robins, catbirds, and other fruit eaters are also crazy about dried fruit. Dried cranberries, raisins, cherries, and blueberries hold up well in the heat and don't require as much cleanup as jelly. Place an open dish on or near the ground where robins eat, and watch for spotty-chested juveniles. Mix in a little birdseed to jump-start the activity.
A final thought: Fruit feeding can be tricky. You may have to throw away several oranges and dishes of grape jelly before your birds catch on.
Keep trying. It's worth the wait. |
Goldfinch basics
Whether you see the beautiful American Goldfinch in the East or the lovely, smaller Lesser Goldfinch in the West, now is the time to attract them.
Finches love imported nyjer seed (commonly called thistle), but it can spoil quickly in mid-summer heat and humidity. Keep unused nyjer in a cool, dry location, and discard and replace seed in your feeder if it goes uneaten for a month or more.
We like to feed nyjer in a stainless-steel mesh feeder, but a thistle sock works well too, and both will discourage the sometimes-dominant House Finch. |
| Anne Schmauss, Mary Schmauss, and Geni Krolick are sisters and bird experts who live in Albuquerque and Santa Fe, where they own and manage Wild Birds Unlimited stores. Their book For the Birds: A Month-by-Month Guide to Attracting Birds to Your Backyard was published in 2008 by Stewart, Tabori & Chang. In our next issue, they will give their best tips for attracting birds in September and October. |
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