FreeLists / bristol-birds / [Bristol-Birds] 2 unusual feeder foods

["Bruce J. Turner" <fishgen@xxxxxx>]

Hi, all.  I set up at least 6 or 7 feeders of various sorts every winter.
Visitors include redbellied woodpeckers, downy woodpeckers, and, less
commonly, yellow-bellied sapsuckers and a flicker or two.  In addition, I
get large numbers of house finches, cardinals, jays, mourning doves,
white-breasted nuthatches, chicadees, titmice, and, in lower numbers, at
least two species of wrens.  Every once in a while I see a purple finch,
and one or two other species  (e.g. towhees) even more infrequent guests.
I dispense black oil sunflower seeds, various types of suet, and safflower
seeds.  Most of the time I add red pepper to my seeds to diminish the
enthusiasm (and gluttony) of the local squirrels; it often works.

Lately, I have had good success with two more or less unusual foods that
you might be ineterested in.  The first of these is suet containing pepper.
I ordered a whole case of this online, but nobody ate it when I initially
put it out in late Sept.  Now, however, the woodpeckers have become quite
enthusiastic about it, as have the nuthatches and titmice. Downy
woodpeckers are on it almost constantly. Squirrels leave it alone.  Until I
found this online, I didn't even know that a pepper-laced suet was
commercially available, but now I intend to always have some on hand.  If
you see some, and have a problem with squirrels eating your regular suet,
give this stuff a try.

The second unusual food is raw, unshelled peanuts.  Several birdfeeding
manuals that I have read warn against feeding these whole nuts to birds,
for they claim that the birds cannot get into the shells to get the actual
nuts out.  Whoever wrote that has not seen a red-bellied woodpeck in
action!  A pair of these take turns at my peanut feeder (essentially a
piece of 1/4 inch mesh screening nailed around a wood frame) for much of
the day, easily pecking into the peanut shells and extracting the nuts.
Downy woodpeckers try it too, but seem to prefer the pepper suet.  If you
want a supplement to the usual stuff, you might give these peanuts (from
kroger) a try.  The only problenm I'm having with them is that squirrels
love them too (also racoons).  I noticed this morning that the wire screen
had been pried off the feeder in certain strategic places.  Next week I
will fix it, but I will also lightly spray the raw peanuts with vegetable
oil and them coat them with pepper.  We will see if this works...  It is
NOT true that I hate squirrels.  I love them...But I would love them a
whole lot more in someone else's yard.


******************************************************************************

                                        Bruce J. Turner
                                        Assoc. Professor of Biology
                                        VPISU, Blacksburg, VA 24061
                                        (540)-231-7444
                                        fishgen@xxxxxx


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