Decorate a Tree for your Birds

While you are enjoying the many tasty treats that abound this holiday season, don't forget to share some goodies with the birds. Decorating a tree for our feathered friends and other wildlife is an activity the whole family can enjoy.

Here are some fun and easy recipes for making treats for the birds.

Suet Stuffing
• 1 cup Bark Butter® or chunky peanut butter
• 1 cup WBU Simply Suet ® (pure rendered suet)
• 2 ½ cups coarse yellow cornmeal
• WBU Deluxe Seed Blend, raisins, peanuts or other tree nuts (optional)

1. Mix Bark Butter or peanut butter, suet and cornmeal together.
2. Stir in birdseed, raisins or peanuts if desired.

Suet “Muffins”

1. Secure a piece of heavy craft paper to the bottom of a pipe cleaner.
2. Place in muffin tin cup. Spoon in Suet Stuffing.
3. Repeat for each muffin cup.
4. Place the muffins in the freezer to harden.
5. Once hardened, remove from the tin and hang the suet muffins on a tree or, if temperature is above freezing, place in feeding stations.

Pine Cone Feeder
1. Pack Jim’s Birdacious® Bark Butter® into pine cones.
2. Roll pine cones in WBU Deluxe Seed Blend.
3. Hang with string or ribbon from a tree.

Bagel Feeder
1. Split bagels in half and harden overnight.
2. Spread Bark Butter® or peanut butter on each side and then sprinkle with WBU Deluxe Seed Blend.
3. Tie a string through the hole, and hang from a tree.

Grapefruit Feeder
1. Poke three holes in the edges of a hollowed-out grapefruit half.
2. Run twine through the holes.
3. Spoon Suet Stuffing into grapefruit; sprinkle WBU Deluxe Seed Blend on top, and place in the freezer to harden.
4. Once hardened, knot the strings at the top and the bottom to secure.
5. Hang outside near a window.
 

Wild Bird Seed Cookies (makes 2-3 dozen)
• 2 cups flour
• 1/2 tsp. baking powder
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 2/3 cup WBU Simply Suet® (pure rendered suet)
• 2 eggs
• 2/3 cup WBU Deluxe Seed Blend
• Macaroni elbows or Ditali pasta pieces as hangers
• 1 egg white for wash
• 1 cup WBU Deluxe Seed Blend for garnish
• Bird-shaped cookie cutters.
• Yarn or twine to hang cookies

1. Sift dry ingredients together.
2. Cut in suet with pastry blender or fork until crumbly.
3. Add eggs and mix.
4. Add WBU Deluxe Seed Blend.
5. Turn out onto lightly floured board and knead until smooth.
6. Wrap in wax paper, seal in plastic bag and chill for at least an hour.
7. Roll out on lightly floured surface to ¼” thickness.
8. Cut out bird shapes.
9. Press in macaroni piece towards the top of each cookie for ease in hanging.
10. Brush cookies with slightly beaten egg white.
11. Press more WBU Seed Blend over the top of each cookie.
12. Place on an ungreased cookie sheet.
13. Bake at 325° F for 12-15 minutes or until cookies harden.
14. Cool and hang.

Decorating a tree for the birds is a fun and easy activity.

Be sure to select a tree somewhere near a window so that once you have completed your decorating, you and your family can sit back and watch as the many beautiful birds and creatures come to enjoy their holiday treats.

Additional Treat Ideas
Decorations that can be strung and placed on the tree include popcorn, fresh cranberries, thick fresh orange slices, peanuts in the shell, dried apples or dried figs on heavy string.

You can also hang rice cakes with string, fresh crab apples by the stem, baby dried corn bundles, dried ears of colorful corn husks, or red seedless grapes tied up in bunches.

In addition, peanuts in the shell and whole walnuts can be scattered under the tree.

Natural rough brown string, ribbon and raffia can be used for hanging the decorations. Also, consider decorating with lengths of natural wool or string. The birds will use this material for nesting in the spring.

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Comments

[The Zen Birdfeeder]

Dawn - have fun cooking up treats for the birds.
Vickie - maybe try a hot-pepper version of suet. Just be careful as you handle that you don't rub your eyes (just like handling any hot peppers). LMK if you do it and how it works for you. I use hot pepper suet in the suet log that you see in many of my pictures.
Con - you're welcome and thanks for spreading the word! I hope they enjoy their project.

[Con Daily]

Nice post on making treats for our friends. I'm recommending it to a friend who works with young 4H kids. She'll be so happy to have your detailed instructions and photos to show the kids as they work. Thanks.

[Vickie]

Inspiring post, Nancy. Any inexpensive and easy ideas for outwitting squirrels and racoons when you hang suet?

[DawnFine]

Hi ..I really have been enjoying your blog..so I am passing on a butterfly award that I received.
You need to go to my blog to receive it...
thanks for your great blog

http://dawnandjeffsblog.blogspot.com/2008/12/i-won-awardyipeeee.html

[DawnFine]

Awesome post...thank you..thank you...My sister and I will be making some of these for Christmas gifts.