AROUND AND ABOUT - Ladyfisher - January 11, 2010

AROUND AND ABOUT

We had a break today in the almost constant rain of the past week. Winter in the Pacific Northwest can be sloughy and messy at its worse, unless it snows. Then all bets are off. The landscape around here is hilly, some bigger than others, but not very flat. Snow and ice make it impossible to function. Oh sure, some folks have snow tires, and even studded ones if they are traveling to ski resorts or making regular trips across one of the big passes - but even those still require chains at the least threat of real snowfall.

We don't go quite as far as you, Deanna, but we do have a lot of fun watching the birds and squirrels in our yard. The jays and woodpeckers are fun to watch as they both love to run the poor squirrels off. The squirrels are definitely on the low end of the pecking order around here.

We'll have to try some of the suet. See how they like it. Since the Jays love the peanuts, we'll have to try the peanut butter version.

Dee,

Thanks for the suet recipe. We've been spending a bit on the little suet cakes for VEE's birds. Well, okay, I enjoy them too, especially the chickadees. We have several large flickers that visit our suet on a regular basis. Unfortunately, a large portion of the seed and suet goes to a large flock of starlings. (Wonder if I could interest Denny in skinning out about a 100 of those things.)

We'll be adding several suet logs to our trees soon.

REE and VEE

I'll have to give the suet recipe a try. I have a round log that I put suet in for the Downy and Hairy Woodpeckers that we have here. No Pilated though.

I also buy rejected peanuts at the grocery store and put them in my nut feeder.

Enjoyed the article. I am sitting here looking out my kitchen window at the 10 feeders (4 seed, 4 hummingbird, 2 suet) we have out. We have several pair of Anna's staying for the winter.

As an owner of a small internet bird feeder business, I like to remind folks that Fall and Winter are not the seasons to put away your feeders. With loss of habitat it is more important now to keep your feeders full. Also, be sure to clean your seed feeders at least monthly and your nectar feeders at least weekly. Sorry for the ramble.

Sure worth a try REE, but Denny would most likely insist that you use the feathers in a new fly of your making. Perhaps the "REE Starling"?

RonT,

The starling provides feathers for some of the best fishing flies I know. Almost every feather on the bird can be used for one purpose or another in fly dressing. I always have at least three skins on my desk at all times. None of the locally harvested though.

REE

We feed a lot of wild birds at several feeders here at the Ranch. I do enjoy watching them and do feed year round.
In answer to REE's question if I might skin 100 Starling? Not on your life. Starling are a stinky / greasy / buggy skin, no mater what you do to them. When we first started producing our JV hens we found that our Blacks (which we produce a lot of in the JV hen) were far better in all respects than the Starling. Many tiers have switched because the stems are superior in the genetic hen. All the feathers on one can be used.

I can not wait until the return of the Humming birds. They are my favorites to watch.

Denny

Well I guess I should have known :)

Fly tossers will have tried about every material. So why would a starling be any different. Of course you could always go to Tokyo, I hear they are having a heck of a time with crows/ravens. Then that's been done by now too, I'm sure.

Live and learn. :)

--Ron--

I made up a batch of the suet you described with oatmeal, peanut butter, and corn meal. I added a bunch of wild bird seed to half of it. I think it's presentation, as I put it into a couple of small foil loaf pans and set it out, but the only birds that are too impressed with it are the wood peckers. They love it!

Then there are the squirrels. This stuff is squirrel crack. They emptied a pan, and were dragging the pan all over the yard, chasing each other up and down the tree, dropping it and making a mad dash to retrieve it. Very entertaining!

I was watching one who was obviously in squirrel heaven with a face full of grease and paws covered, too, looking over at the house with what I swear was a big smile on his face. He got his fill and then found a spot in the tree and cleaned himself up.

It may not be popular with our birds, but it keeps the squirrels out of the peanuts for the Jays and has provided endless hours of entertainment.

Thank you!