MIKE BRAUN Feeding birds: helpful and fun

Setting up a backyard bird-feeding station can provide months of enjoyment, especially during the colder months when hunting and fishing opportunities are at their sparsest.
A visit to an area birding supply store -- Wild Birds Unlimited on U.S. 224 in Boardman or Wild Bird Crossing on East Market Street in Warren, for example -- can set you up with whatever you need to attract birds and make watching them an enjoyable pastime.
What you need
First, you need a sturdy bird feeder. Mount it on a pole or hang it from a tree or other yard structure. There are all manner of feeders out there, from wooden feeders to tube feeders, suet feeders and other specialty feeders, including window feeders and feeders specifically for small birds.
Unless you enjoy feeding the local squirrel population premium bird seed, there are a number of devices and special feeders designed to defeat even the most ardent bird-seed-loving bushy-tailed rodent. Some of them even provide hours of enjoyment as squirrels can be relentless -- and gymnastically inventive -- in their pursuit of a tasty morsel from your feeder.
The next requirement is stocking up on seed.
Make sure you go with a good mixture from a reputable seed dealer (such as the two I mentioned earlier). You can buy seed almost anywhere, but be aware that some seed mixtures contain filler seed such as milo or wheat that most birds (except for the less desirable species such as grackles and starlings) find distasteful.
You might also offer a suet block either plain or containing nuts, berries, fruits or any number of other additives. Suet contains fat and offers birds quick and readily available warming energy in frigid times. A block of suet can be purchased (or made from a number of readily available recipes) and placed in a mesh bag or suet feeder.
Weird things
And, if you would like to go off-menu and try your hand at feeding nontraditional items to the birds in your block, the most recent edition of Bird Watchers Digest has a nice article right up your alley.
BWD, which is published in Ohio, in its January/February "Special Winter Bird Feeding Issue" offers an interesting article: "10 Weird Things to Feed Birds."
Written by BWD editor Bill Thompson III, the article delves into some not-quite-so-usual bird feeding offerings that most anyone has around the house.
Since some birds that might frequent your yard are known as carrion feeders, the article suggests plucking roadkill off the local highways (watch for vehicles so you won't become roadkill yourself, mind you) and placing it where a hawk or similar species can dine in leisure.
For the less-squeamish, meat scraps from dinner or freezer-burned meats can often accomplish the same feat.
Also on Thompson's list is a generous dollop of grape jelly, a favorite of woodpeckers, orioles, tanagers and others.
Not the new macadamias
Other less-traditional foods the article suggests include holiday nuts (those that went stale, not the brand new bottle of macadamias), egg shells (baked 20 minutes at 250 degrees), grit (for the bird's gizzards), berries (collected fresh and then frozen for later use), pumpkin or melon seeds, pasta (hold the Ragu please, just the plain or buttered variety) or mealworms (if you have any left from your last fishing trip, toss them to the feeder.)
To get a more complete rundown on foods for birds, check into subscribing to BWD. For rates call (800) 879-2473, or check online at www.birdwatchersdigest.com). It's $19.99 for one year (six issues).
braun@vindy.com