SCOTT SHALAWAY Suet provides energy and attracts birds

Woodpeckers, chickadees, titmice, and nuthatches invariably rank near the top of any list of favorite backyard birds What these birds lack in bright colors, they compensate for with acrobatics and personality. To attract these entertaining birds, make suet (animal fat) a part of the backyard menu. Build a simple suet feeder, and birds will come.
Suet cones
A holiday favorite for kids and parents with a little time on their hands, pine cones dipped in melted suet are the essence of simplicity. Collect a few pine cones, preferably mature open cones, and melt some suet in a pan over low heat. Make the recipe even more appealing by adding a bit of peanut butter. When the suet liquefies, dip the pine cones in the suet. Then sprinkle some sunflower seeds on the congealing suet. Suspend the suet cone from a tree branch on a length of monofilament fishing line, and you're in the suet business.
Suet bags
Next time you come home from the grocery store, save the plastic mesh onion and orange bags. Rather than tossing them in the trash, recycle them as suet bags. Simply place a suet cake or even a hunk of raw suet inside the bag and hang it near other feeders. Best of all, your cost is zero.
If you try this home-style suet bag, check it several times each day. It is conceivable, though unlikely, that a bird might get its feet tangled in the mesh. I have never observed this, but several readers have warned of this danger. Be vigilant, and observe the backyard birder's first commandment -- do no harm.
Suet logs
Any small log can be converted into a suet feeder. Find one with a knothole or two, and it's ready to go. Just smear the hole full of your favorite suet and hang it from a tree. All suet eaters have strong clinging feet, so perches are unnecessary.
If you cannot find a knotty log, take the same foot-long log and drill a series of inch-and-a-half holes about three-quarters inch deep. Then pack these holes with suet and hang from an eye screw.
Suet trees
My favorite suet feeder is a home-made suet tree. It is large, can accommodate a lot of suet and birds, and it's the only feeder I've ever seen pileated woodpeckers use.
The only material required is an untreated, eight-foot long four-by-four. Starting about six inches from the top, drill a series of three or four inch-and-a-half holes about three-quarters inch deep along one side of the post .
Leave about a foot between each hole. Next, do the same thing on an adjacent side of the post. Now dig a post hole in your feeding area about 30 inches deep. Set the post, make sure the sides with holes can be seen from the house, and backfill. Then fill the holes with suet, and enjoy the show.
The reason for placing holes on only two side of the post is to insure that you will be able to see the birds that use it. If holes are placed on all four sides, birds often stay out of sight by using the sides opposite the house. That's why I suggest using only two sides of the post. Just make sure those sides face the house.
As for the suet itself, here's a great recipe, which I originally borrowed from Martha Sargent, an avid Alabama birder. I've printed this recipe several times before and get requests for it each winter. So make your own suet, and reduce your bird food budget.
"No-melt Peanut Butter Suet" ingredients: One cup crunchy peanut butter, two cups "quick cook" oats, two cups cornmeal, one cup lard (no substitutes here), one cup white flour, and one-third cup sugar. Melt lard and peanut butter, then stir in remaining ingredients. Pour into square freezer containers about 11/2 inches thick. Cut to size, separate blocks with wax paper, and store in freezer.
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