Review: Secrets of Backyard Bird Feeding Success

Secrets of Backyard Bird Feeding
by Deborah L. Martin

Genre: Science, Birds
Publisher: Rodale Press, Inc.
Publish Date: August 31, 2011
Format: Paperback | 352 pages

Absolutely everything you ever wanted to know about attracting wild birds to your backyard can be found in this comprehensive book on bird feeding. There are chapters on many of the food types birds prefer from seeds to suet, fruit, nectar and bugs. There is even a section on home cooking with recipes for making your own bird treats and suet cakes, a chapter on various types of feeders, how to care for them and instructions on how to create your own inexpensive feeders.

A chapter that I was interested in was what kinds of plants and shrubs I should put in my garden to provide natural food for birds. I also wanted to know how to get rid of squirrels, but the advice was the same as what I already tried. They are impossible to get rid of and I end up feeding them in another part of the yard in an effort to keep them from disturb the birds.

Scattered throughout the book are lots of gorgeous photos and sidebars with tips and helpful tidbits of information. Such as, Myth or Truth: Does throwing rice at a wedding harm birds? Short answer, no it doesn’t. Some of the sidebars are in the form of charts, which I find easy to read, plus there are a series of informative quotes and other notes in highlighted boxes scattered among the text. This volume is much more visually pleasing than the previous edition of this book published a few years earlier.

The last chapter, which comprises the second half of the book, is a reference section including photos and profiles of about 100 of the most common feeder birds with information on what type of foods they eat, what part of the continent they can be found on and during what seasons of the year.

There is so much more in this book, I’m barely putting a dent in describing it. It is a great resource for anyone who wants to start a backyard feeding station, improve the one they have, or just make their yard more attractive to wild birds.

Peanut Butter Suet Recipe

The book includes an assortment of recipes and has a chapter called Kitchen Castoffs and Home Cooking, all for the birds. One of the recipes is the same one that I have used for my suet and I can guarantee that the birds love it. I serve this during the winter months when it’s cold and the ingredients won’t spoil in the sun. Other times of the year I use the no-melt store-bought variety.

Ingredients:
2 cups crunchy peanut butter
2 cup lard
4 cups plain yellow cornmeal
4 cups quick oats
2 cups flour
⅔ cup white sugar
1 cup hulled sunflower seed chips
12 x 8 baking pan

Preparation:

• Melt the peanut butter and lard. (Can be done in a large bowl in the microwave or a large pot on the stove). Use a low flame on the stove. In the microwave start with one minute increments on high, stir, and continue with 30 second increments until melted.
• Stir in the remaining ingredients
• Spread in a 12 x 8 baking pan and cool
• Cut into a 4×3 blocks, wrap in wax paper, place in storage container and keep in the freezer.

I refill the plastic suet containers that I save from the store-bought suet instead of using the 12 x 8 pan. Then I put each suet cake into a sandwich baggie before placing in the refrigerator or freezer.

Yield: 8 suet cakes

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Source: Library copy.

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