FreeLists / tn-bird / [TN-Bird] Re: Feeding PB&J

[Dthomp2669@xxxxxxx]

In a message dated 6/1/2007 8:17:54 A.M. Central Daylight Time,  
timrid@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx writes:
I am  interested in feeding Peanut Butter & Jelly. What is the best way to  
present it? I do put out peanut butter at times but it seems the only  thing 
it attracts is squirrels.


Good morning,
 
It depends in how energetic I feel that determines how I present the peanut  
butter & jelly.  The best way I've found is to spread an apple half  with PB & 
put it inside a suet feeder.  If I am lazy I simply put  a spreader-full  of  
PB in my WET hand (so it won't stick), roll  it into a ball, and lay it on my 
deck rail and flatten it out with my still  wet hand.  I also feed orange 
halves which I impale on a nail driven into  my deck rail.  When birds (or 
squirrels) have eaten the orange flesh, I put  grape jelly into the empty 
shell.  I 
have two nails.  One is for a  "full" orange half, and the other is for the 
empty shell that I fill with the  jelly. Sometimes, I fill an empty orange half 
with the grape jelly and place it  in the suet feeder.  My suet feeder hangs 
on one of the poles from which  one hangs the usual tube-type bird feeders.  I 
just hang the suet feeder in  the center between the  crooks of the pole.  It 
just may take a while  for your birds to find the food or realize how good it 
is.  I put  all my chunks or strips of fat from cooked steaks, roasts or ham 
in the suet  feeder.  They will also finish stripping any meat that is left on 
roast,  steak or chop bones, which, after they are stripped, I remove and put 
in the  garbage.  The birds really love those treats!
 
When I call out "C'mon Boss," my "trained" mockingbirds come flying  in.  To 
see them come to my call has really impressed some visiting birders  who just 
couldn't believe how quickly they would respond from across the  street 
(outside a view of the deck) and from neighboring yards.  Often, when PB & 
jelly 
runs out, the mockingbirds come to my deck door  where they perch outside or 
fly 
around "looking at me" to remind me that their  food supply is gone.  It works 
for them.  I immediately replenish  their supply.  Mockingbirds, cardinals, 
starlings, chickadees and titmice  all go "ape" over the peanut butter and 
jelly.  Of course, I also have  squirrels who get the lion's share!  My recent 
brood of baby mockingbirds  really fought those squirrels off in a ferocious 
manner.  Those little  babies were truly fearless and brave!  Although I have 
none, I am told  that tanagers and orioles LOVE grape jelly.  Rarely, I have 
had   
catbirds come through, and they have  partaken of both foods.  For  three 
winters, I had a yellow-rumped warbler that came to my call and  practically 
lived on PB.  It learned to come to my call very quickly.
 
Good luck.  You'll just have to accept the fact that the squirrels are  going 
to eat most of it.
 
Dee Thompson



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