One reader wondered about his suet feeder not getting any action so far, so I created the headline to illustrate how to have a lively bird experience.
Buggy
The bug eaters love suet, so I would hang suet where the feeding can be enjoyed by everyone. Birds are wary, so it takes several weeks to get them eager to feed. The process speeds up with the other methods employed below. Bug eaters include starlings, all woodpeckers, and bluebirds.
Trashy
A trashy yard does not have to look like Dogpatch. The term is used for areas left wild, such as an isolated area with long grass and weeds or berries. Piles of brush are loved by birds for resting and also by insects for breeding. Compost is alive with food for birds, so a compost area will be a permanent bird feeder. Plantings can be designed for being bird and insect friendly: sunflowers, butterfly bush, trumpet vine, raspberries, blackberries, and gooseberries. Mud and manure are good for birds and butterflies, believe it or not.
Splashy
Birds have to clean themselves and drink water, so they gather around water sources. The more sources, the better. They like shallow water and splashy sounds, which can be created with simple devices such as a leaky vessel suspended above a pan of water. I borrowed my dog watering device for the birds, since the dogs were raiding the shallow pan. The ceramic pan will now be a backup for dogs and birds alike.
Noisy
Birds cannot help themselves when they are having a good time. If they are cleaning and feeding, they will make happy noises, and that will attract even more birds - numbers and species. Throwing seed down by the suet will attract the ground feeders, who will make the suet feeders less wary.
Birds count on a scout to check an area first. If the scout is calm, more will settle around and wait their turn. If the scout flies away, they all leave at once. Only God knows how they figure this out.
Birdy
If I want to watch birds through our picture windows facing the ravine, I place myself where I can sit motionless in comfort. Birds stop seeing a motionless figure.
I have watched birds from a few inches away simply by continuing the feeding and showing up to look at them through the window. They become used to a non-threatening figure. Close-up views are especially fun.
I created a bird swing with two chains and a metal rod. I suspended that from two hooks outside a picture window when we lived in New Ulm. The birds rested on the swing before and after feeding. The total cost of the swing was a few dollars.
A bird-friendly yard will be endlessly entertaining and educational. People often despise the common birds, like sparrows and starlings, but those birds do more than their share in eating weed seeds and pests.
Birds are smart enough to train humans. Once the birds realize that I am the keeper of the food, they let me know they are around. Jays shriek or make their bell-like sounds. Robins perch on a nearby limb. Hummingbirds fly inches away, looking for another fine shower from the garden hose.
