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Wild Bird Christmas Treats

News & Reviews

Quips & Queries

Wild Bird Ballyhoo

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Hot Topic

Wild Bird Christmas Treats …that will make YOU wish you were a Blue Jay or a Chickadee

Christmas Balls for Feathered Friends

Start with suet (you can find a recipe for suet on our Suet Bird Food Recipe Page).

• Roll the suet into balls that are approximately 3” in diameter.
• Insert a strong hook (Christmas decoration hooks are the best) deeply, and firmly, into one end of a suet ball.

Now for the yummy stuff!

• Roll the suet balls in black oil sunflower seed, chopped peanuts, mixed seed and white millet
• You can make up a combination using the above ingredients, or you can make suet balls with their own individual coatings.

Tie a ribbon around the hook and your backyard birds can enjoy a festive treat.

Note: These decorative suet balls make great Christmas gifts for your backyard birding friends.

Decorative Garlands that Taste Good Too!

• Cut a long length of thread (5-6 feet is perfect!)
• Thread a medium sized needle with the thread doubled.
• Tie a large knot at the end.

The next part is the most fun.

• Collect some or all of the following ingredients:

peanuts in the shell

fresh or dried fruit

cranberries

apples

oranges

pineapple pieces

Cheerios

Shreddies

Fruit Loops

Now the fun begins.

• Create your own garlands (my grandchildren call them bird necklaces) by threading the “goodies” onto the long length of thread.

Oops! I almost forgot. Popcorn is a much appreciated part of the garlands.

Helpful Hints

• After threading each piece of fruit, or popcorn or peanuts, wipe the needle clean. Otherwise the needle will become too sticky to work with.
• Do not thread the goodies too tightly together on the thread. Sometimes if they are packed too tightly the fruit pieces and especially the popcorn and peanuts will break off into pieces.

  Hang the garland in your backyard. For days, if not weeks, you will have the pleasure of watching your feathered friends enjoy their festive treat.

Outdoor Christmas Tree Decorations that add Colour to your Yard and fill Appreciative little Bird Bellies

• Using cookie cutters cut Christmas shapes (Christmas trees, Ginger Bread men, bells, balls, etc.) from slices of whole wheat bread.
• Cut out a hole near the top of bread shape.
• Toast the bread shapes in the oven (300 degrees) until dried out and hard (refrain from turning the bread more than once).
• After letting the bread shape cool, attach a string through the hole.
• Smear peanut butter on one or both sides of the bread shape.
• Pour seeds into a large flat pan.
• Press the peanut butter smeared side into the pan of seeds. Make sure a large amount of seeds stick to the coating.

Hang the festive decorations from trees, shrubs or other bushes in your yard. The shapes will look great and the birds flocking around the trees will provide a wonderful sight.

Christmas Cakes

When you make your Christmas Cake this year (if you have not already) make one for your backyard bird friends.

You can put it in a Peanut in the Shell feeder, or a suet feeder, simply place it on a platform feeder. The fruit and nuts will be a welcome festive treat that will also serve to warm up our feathered friends in the cold Christmas season.

This is also a great way to use up a Christmas Cake or pudding that doesn’t quite please your taste buds.

Pine Cone Treats

• Collect pine cones (kids and grand kids love this project).
• You can also purchase pine cones at some craft stores.
• Tie a string or a ribbon (8-10” long) around the pointed end of the pine cone under the first row of (petals) to hold the string or ribbon.
• Spread either peanut butter or softened suet over the cone.
• Roll the cone in seed.
• Hang cone from bottom of feeders, trees, etc.

Buffet Swags and Wreaths

Beautiful swags and wreaths that are not only decorative but tasty treats for our feathered friends, can be made by tying together small bunches of dried grasses, sunflower heads, Indian corn, and branches from berry bushes.

For making a swag, arrange your selection together in a bunch and tie together with florist wire. Tie ribbon around the middle to decorate and it will also serve to attract the birds.

To make a wreath the easy way purchase a grape vine or straw form. Insert the grasses and berry branches alternately into the wreath. Tie on the sunflower heads and corn with florist wire and decorate with ribbon. Voila!

All of these tasty and beautiful backyard birding treats make great gifts for the backyard birders on your Christmas gift list.

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News & Reviews

I forgot to wish everyone in the US a happy Thanksgiving. I hope you all had a wonderful holiday and got stuffed with turkey and all the other great trimmings. Now it is time to get ready for the next big turkey dinner!

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Quips and Queries

Q: What can you do with your Christmas tree when the season is over?

A: We’re usually more than ready to take down the tree when the festivities are done. But it always seems like such a waste and such an ungrateful act to throw it away.

So here is the perfect answer.

Several years ago we started this tradition. Take your tree out to the backyard and stand it up in the snow (if you have snow) or lay it down, which ever way works best for you, about ten feet from a bird feeder or bird bath.

This tree which has already given so much will now provide shelter as a snag for the wild birds from weather and predators. It will also give the birds a place to perch while waiting their turn at your feeding station.

When the weather warms up you can move the tree out in the bush or continue to add to it to make an even bigger brush pile. Many wild creatures besides birds will make good use of it and provide you with entertainment and an educational opportunity.

If you have a question or comment, click here. If you don’t want your name listed with the question you ask, we won’t include it. We always ask permission first.

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Wild Bird Ballyhoo

In the January 2008 issue =>
• How Birds Survive Winter Temperatures

In the February 2008 issue =>

• The Most Crucial Season to Feed Wild Birds is Coming
• February is National Bird Feeding Month

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We really hope that you enjoyed reading about how to make wild bird Christmas treats and get great satisfaction out of making them and even more pleasure out of watching them be consumed!

Have a very Merry Christmas and a prosperous and Happy New Year! (And to all those who celebrate other holidays at this time of year, I wish the very best holiday for you too!)

… and that’s "The Scoop" for now!

Judy

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