Downy Woodpecker's Favorite

Some birds come to my backyard just to eat the suet, not bird seeds or sunflower seeds.  The price of a store-bought suet is going up,  so I decided to make a home-made one from scratch.

Bird Suet Recipe

Ingredients:
1 and 3/4 C flour
1/2 C bird seeds
1/2 C peanuts, unsalted, crushed
3/4 C lard or Crisco (veggie based solid oil)
1/4 C sugar

1)  Melt the lard or Crisco on a stove or microwave.
2)  Add sugar, and then bird seeds and peanuts.
3)  Add flour, and mix well.
4) If you have the store-bought suet's plastic square container, pour into two of these containers.   Or you can make any simple shape.
5)  When cooled and hardened some, take it out from the container and slide  into the suet feeder.

Ready to drop into the suet feeder

One of the birds who like the suet is the Downy Woodpecker.


A week ago, a pair of Downy Woodpeckers stopped over after many months of absence.  Mr. Downy was on the apple tree, looking over the suet hanging at the wisteria.

"Is there any suet left at that feeder?"

I got a bad news for you, woody.  The other day a herd of European Starlings raided on that suet.  It took them only one day to finish.  Being so discouraged, I could not replenish it.  But if only I had known you would be over, surely I could have placed one for you ...

"Oh, no....  Nothing left.  I just have to scrape the left overs on the metal."

To make the matter worse, he was with his mate!!

"The backyard owner has been generous in the past.  So she must be out of town."

Backyard Owner:  "How kind of you.  I will try to be a better backyard owner for you.  So come back again before too long."