Of the many wonderful photos by Mr. Kinneer, this is my favorite icy scene. Look how skilled birds are to hanging onto iced branches!
How are your bluebirds doing? Are you feeding them live mealworms, roasted mealworms, bluebird nuggets, or soaked raisins? How about some shelled sunflower seeds or chips? Easy eats! What type of feeders do you serve your mealworms in? Are other native birds enjoying your donations during this cold period of time? Here is a good homemade suet recipe (crumbly mixture) specifically for the Blues:
“BLUEBIRD BANQUET” – SUET RECIPE FOR THE KITCHEN
Credit: Audubon Workshop Online ListServe “The Bluebird Box”:
http://audubon-omaha.org/bbbox/ljrecipe.htm
MIX:
1 cup peanut butter
4 cups yellow cornmeal
1 cup unbleached or whole-wheat flour
ADD:
1 cup fine sunflower seed chips
1 cup peanut hearts or finely ground nuts
½ to one cup currants (preferred) or soaked raisins cut in halves
DRIZZLE AND STIR IN:
1 cup rendered melted suet
LET COOL.
Resulting mix will be crumbly and should have bean/pea sized lumps from the drizzling of the melted suet. If too sticky after cooling, mix in a bit more flour. If too dry, drizzle in more melted suet. Refrigerate any mix you are not using – to prevent suet from turning rancid. I use a commercial pure bird suet cake. You can render you own suet. Grind or cube butcher store suet. Melt over low heat. Watch carefully as suet is a fat and can start on fire with too high heat. A microwave can be used. Strain out the stringy bits (cracklings). Cool. Remelt a second time for the recipe.
Nutritional Analysis of Bluebird Banquet – One Recipe
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Analysis by Felicia Busch, RD |
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| Calories 7663.1 Protein 189.2 G Carbohydrates 683 G Fiber 87.5 G Fat total 487.3 G saturated 142 G mono 208 G poly 114 G Cholesterol 223 mg |
A- carotene 258 RE A- preformed 0.5 RE A- total 259 RE Thiamin B1 7.68 Mg Riboflavin B2 2.9 Mg Niacin B3 74.5 Mg Vit B6 4.88 Mg Vit B12 0.001 mcg Folacin 763 mcg |
Pantothenic 9.82 mcg Vit C 4 Mg Vit E 78 Mg Calcium 463.8 Mg Copper 6.68 Mg Iron 51.43 Mg Magnesium 1585 Mg Phosphorus 3350 Mg Potassium 5002 Mg |
Selenium 134 mcg Sodium 1973 Mg Zinc 25.9 Mg |
The food mix is meant to be a dietary supplement to a healthy, free ranging bird. The food is NOT sufficient to be a complete diet. It is also not meant to be a food for abandoned nestlings. The food will not harm such a bird, but would require additional protein (ground dry cat food, dog biscuits, or monkey biscuits), additional calcium (finely powdered egg shell or oyster shell), and vitamin supplement (bird vitamins from vet or pet shop). Please consult an expert (Licensed Rehabilitator) in the care of injured or abandoned nestlings. Remember, nursing or caring for young or injured wild birds requires a Federal/State permit and special training. A healthy, free ranging bird will balance its own diet.
I like to mix dried (or roasted) mealworms with soaked cut-up raisins and “bluebird nuggets”. I boil water and let the raisins soak for a few minutes and then really dry them well. I find some, not all, bluebirds WILL go for this if I don’t have live mealworms available. The other native birds like this, too. The Carolina Wrens go crazy for this!
My strategy to keep bluebirds hanging out around the yard and by the house without ordering live mealworms so far seems to be working–by serving a mix of the suet nuggets, dried mealworms, and soaked raisins (generic brand raisins). They like this domed feeder on a shepherd’s hook underneath a big pine tree. Another open platform feeder has sunflower seeds added in for the other birds to enjoy, too. Raccoons are not accessing these setups below (yet). These are seen from the house windows, so I can keep watch!
- Berries are getting scarce now. This is a great time to supplement food. I like to keep the LIVE mealworms handy through December through at least the end of April because of the cold snaps and ice storms we can get here.
Check out my updated (suet free) wild bird food. The bluebirds ADORE this food and so do many other wild birds. Feel free to share too.
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PS: I do not ever feed dried mealworms as most come from China and I do not trust the source. Go the distance and order live mealworms from Grubco. Easy to care for in a plastic bin with oat bran. They adore fresh romaine lettuce leaves and carrots, as they need this for hydration. Organic sources please…think of our wild birds. They don’t need GMO feed of any kind. Not much more to go organic.
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I get my dried mealworms from NY (organic). No worries. I also like to feed the other birds. Thanks for sharing.
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Could you please give me contact info for the organic dried mealworms? Thanks for all you do!
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Sure, I order in bulk through Amazon.com Tasty Worms for the dried. You can also find them on their own website: http://tastyworms.com/I order my organic live mealworms from The Nature’s Way: http://thenaturesway.com/
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Thanks for the info! I use the bluebird banquet also and some of the blues eat it also.
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Thanks. We lightly coat the dried mealworms with powdered calcium as I’ve read that they can deplete calcium. We, too, feed them bluebird banquet and some of them really enjoy it.
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I feed hulled sunflower seeds, millet, currants (chopped) from Whole Foods bulk department and occasional nuggets. I order live mealworms from Grubco and feed all this buffet in platform feeders.
I pause using commercial suet as this supports feed lots in the mid-west, an inhumane industrial beef process. Undoubtedly the suet is loaded with antibiotics, which cannot be good for our wild birds. I understand there is a vegetable fat that can be used instead of animal. If you have a local source for suet from grass fed beef, all the better.
I feed 12 varieties of wild birds here in central VA and have four bluebirds. Two adults from past nesting season, and two of their offspring.
All these birds enjoy this buffet and I so enjoy every day with their presence.
Suggestion: do not use salted nuts, butters, or seeds in bird food. Grind organic eggs shells from hard cooked eggs in a coffee or spice grinder and sprinkle a pinch on every bowl of food going out to birds. This is especially helpful during laying season.
Happy birding in 2014!
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