Warning: This post is not spooky. If you are a Halloween addict, you are advised to close this page now. This post contains pictures of cute, brightly colored birds. Of course, you can always channel your inner Hitchcock and get through it.
We are now in our fourth day of the tanager invasion. It started innocently enough on Sunday with just one female on the suet feeder. But Monday the weather moved in and we were invaded properly. Since then we have had snow and freezing temperatures and these poor little neotropic migrants are just stuck here. Needless to say, I am making a lot of suet. Here is the recipe for you if you ever find that you have a tanager invasion.
Homemade Suet
16 oz of lard
16 oz of chunky peanut butter
4 cups cornmeal
4 cups quick cooking oats
2 cups whole wheat flour
Melt lard and peanut butter. Remove from heat. Add all dry ingredients and mix well. Place in a well oiled pan and refrigerate till firm.
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Bullocks Oriole and 2 male Western Tanagers on the Suet. The one on the right is a first year male hence a little more green. |
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Bullocks Oriole and a female Black Headed Grosbeak |
For the darker Suet at the bottom, I substituted some organic buckwheat flour I needed to use up. They did not seem to mind.
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Downy Woodpecker |
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If you do not have time to make suet, they like oranges too. |
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Female Western Tanager |
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Four days later - still raining and they are still here |