:: Welcome to my Bird Watching & Feeding Page! :: Behold the fowls of the air: for they sow not, neither do they reap, nor gather into barns; yet your Heavenly Father feedeth them. Are ye not much better than they? Matthew 6:26 (KJV) 
One
of my most favorite things to do is to watch the daily happenings
of the many birds we have around here. They're so beautiful to watch!
It's such a peaceful feeling to see them all chattering around the birdfeeder
and hopping around on the ground beneath it! I've been a faithful reader
of Birds & Blooms magazine
for over 4 years now. I have so enjoyed the wealth of information I've gleaned from them! I think I've learned more through them (as well as through trial and error!) than any other source! 
A few links for the birds... :: Birds and Blooms Magazine :: :: National Bird-Feeding Society :: :: HGTV Birdfeeding :: :: Backyard Birdfeeding :: :: Online Tutorial on Birdfeeding :: :: Birdfeeding Tips :: :: Decorate a Tree for Birds :: :: Winter Birdfeeding :: 
One of the things I have noticed that birds LOVE is peanuts and/or peanut butter! Over the summer I would leave a plate of chunky peanut butter out for them and they would just gobble it up! They loved it! I would often see birds which wouldn't ordinarily stop by my feeder feasting on the delicious treat! Just make sure you put the plate in a place which is as unacessable to squirrels as possible or it will "mysteriously" disappear a lot quicker than you'd like! 
Another treat that birds of all kids seem to enjoy are pine cones covered in peanut butter and then rolled in seeds. I will leave one o two out on the picnic table which is right outside our back door (or you can hang them) and the birds will go right up next to our sliding glass door and eat away!
:: Bird Treats :: (gifts from the kitchen!) Corn Bread Ingredients: 1 1/2 c. corn meal 1 t. baking powder 1/4 c. fat drippings or lard 1 1/2 c. water Directions: Mix all ingredients and bake at 350 degrees for 35 minutes. When done, corn bread can be placed on feeder or leave it in a large piece and put it in a mesh onion bag and hang from a branch or feeder. Grandma's Sunflower Seed Cookies Ingredients: 1 c. softened, unsalted butter 3 beaten eggs 3 1/2 c. sifted flour 1 t. baking soda 1 1/2 t. cream of tartar sunflower seeds Directions: Setting sunflower seeds aside, mix all other ingredients together until soft dough forms. Roll out onto a lightly floured surface and cut cookies into any shape you desire. Sprinkle sunflower seeds on top and press firmly into dough. Bake at 350 degrees for 12 minutes. Cookies can be hung by making a 1/4" hole in top before baking them. When cooled add a string and hang as desired. In damp weather it is best to lay them on feeder or tray as they will crumble. Fat Cakes A simpler treat to make that is enjoyed every bit as much is called Fat Cakes. The Fat Cakes mixture can be put in small cans, like tuna cans, or stuffed into bottle caps screwed to an old piece of log. Directions for both types of feeders follow the recipe. Ingredients: 2 c. of melted fat 2 c. corn meal 1 c. peanut butter Directions: Mix all ingredients in a sauce pan over medium heat. Cook for 3 minutes or until well blended. Pour into containers and refrigerate or freeze until needed. There are a couple of old fashioned ways to serve up this recipe If you use the small cans, before filling them, drill 3, 1/8" evenly spaced holes around top sides of can. Attach 3, 8" pieces of string or wire to can. When can is filled it is ready to be hung from a branch or feeder. Another old favorite is to make a feeder log to hang from a tree. Using a piece of an old branch, approximately 3" in diameter and 12" long, drill a hole through log, from side to side, 1 1/2" down from top. Run a wire or string through the log for later attachment to tree. Take bottle caps (the plastic 1/2" to 1" deep ones work best) and screw them to the log. Stuff caps with Fat Cakes mixture and hang the log from the tree. No bottle caps? No problem. Just drill 1/2" x 1" holes into the log and fill them, or come up with your own version of a Fat Cakes feeder. After all, half the fun of making the recipes is in finding creative ways to serve them. Peanut Butter Pine Cone Ingredients: 3 parts peanut butter 1 part grit (Grit can be corn meal, stale bread crumbs or cracker crumbs, or finely chopped stale nuts. Peanut butter from a jar can stick in a bird's throat so a form of grit is necessary to prevent choking). Bird seed Directions: Tie a string around wide end of pine cone, leaving at least 5" on both ends for tying cone to a tree or feeder. Place peanut butter in microwave until soft. Stir grit into peanut butter in a deep bowl. Roll pine cone in peanut butter and then dip and roll in bird seed. Allow to sit on wide end of cone for at least 1/2 hour before hanging. Upon hanging the pine cone, as with all of these treats, your final task is to sit back, relax and enjoy the show of beauty that will soon be outside your window, as your feathered friends find their way to say "Thank you". (courtesy of coco.essortment.com) 
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